Summary
- Stipend is non-custodial software. We never hold your keys or your funds.
- Your USDC is supplied to a third-party lending market (Kamino Lend). The yield is variable and not guaranteed, and the value of your position can fall.
- You can only spend the interest your deposit has earned. Only you can withdraw your principal.
- Stipend is not a bank, and deposits are not insured by any government scheme.
What the service is
Stipend provides a website and an open, on-chain program on the Solana blockchain (the “Vault”). The Vault lets you deposit USDC, supplies it to a single Kamino Lend reserve, and records two separate values for you: your principal and the interest it earns. The Vault only lets interest be spent, and only lets you, as the owner, withdraw principal. These rules are enforced by the program itself, not by our website.
The website is an interface to the Vault. You can also interact with the Vault directly on-chain without it. We don’t operate the Solana network, the USDC token (issued by Circle) or Kamino Lend, and we are not affiliated with any of them.
Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into these terms. You may not use Stipend if you are located in, or a resident of, a country or region subject to comprehensive sanctions, or if you are on any sanctions list. You are responsible for complying with the laws that apply to you, including tax.
Accounts & wallets
Your account is identified by your wallet address. You sign in by signing a message with your wallet. This proves ownership and does not send a transaction. Each wallet address corresponds to one account. You are solely responsible for the security of your wallet, seed phrase and devices. We cannot recover access to a wallet or reverse transactions.
Deposits, interest & withdrawals
- Deposits become principal credited at the value of the reserve shares actually received. Rounding is in the Vault’s favour and amounts to fractions of a cent.
- Spending draws only from accrued interest. A spend larger than your available interest is rejected in full. Spends require fresh lending-market data and are refused if it is unavailable.
- Withdrawals return principal to the wallet that deposited it. They can never be paused by us. They depend on free liquidity in the lending market. If the market is fully utilised, a withdrawal may have to wait, or you can close your position in kind and receive the lending market’s own receipt tokens.
- Early access. Deposits are capped per wallet and in total. We may pause new deposits and spends (never withdrawals) to protect users, for example if we detect a problem in the lending market.
Risks
Using Stipend involves real risk of loss. In particular:
- Smart-contract risk. The Vault, Kamino Lend and the token programs may contain bugs. The Vault has not yet been externally audited.
- Lending-market risk. If borrowers default or a market suffers a loss, the value of your position can fall below your principal. The Vault then lets you withdraw your share of what remains.
- Liquidity risk. Withdrawals can be delayed when the lending market is highly utilised.
- Stablecoin risk. USDC may lose its peg or be frozen by its issuer.
- Rate risk. Interest rates change constantly and can fall to zero. Any rate shown is a live estimate, not a promise.
- Network risk. Solana can experience congestion or outages.
Fees
Stipend currently charges no deposit, withdrawal or management fee. You pay Solana network fees for your transactions. The lending market keeps a share of borrower interest as its own protocol fee, which is reflected in the rate you see. Rounding remainders of a few base units per spend are retained by the Vault. Any future fee will be shown before you sign.
The $STIP token
$STIP is a separate token. Your deposit and its interest never touch $STIP, and holding $STIP gives no claim on deposits, interest or revenue. Nothing on this site is an offer to buy or sell any token, and nothing here is investment advice.
The card
The Stipend card shown on this site is in development and is not available yet. Our card programme is under review with a licensed card issuer. We expect physical Visa cards to be available within about a month. Joining the waitlist does not create a card, an account with a card issuer, or any obligation. Card-network names and marks shown on mockups belong to their owners.
Acceptable use
Don’t use Stipend for anything illegal, including money laundering, sanctions evasion or fraud. Don’t attempt to disrupt the service or exploit it. We may restrict access to the website for addresses associated with illicit activity. The on-chain Vault is permissionless and cannot be restricted by us.
Disclaimers & liability
The service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for losses caused by blockchain networks, third-party protocols, wallets, stablecoin issuers, or your own actions. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
Changes & termination
We may update these terms. Material changes will be announced on this page with a new date. You can stop using the service at any time, and your on-chain position always remains withdrawable by your wallet. You can delete your account data from your account page.
Contact
Questions and support: @Stipendcash on X. See also our Privacy Policy.