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Borrow USDST

Access USD liquidity without selling your crypto assets.

Alternative: Mint via CDP

You can also mint USDST via CDP which typically has lower fees but requires more active management.

Variable Parameters

Interest rates, gas costs, and asset parameters shown are typical examples. Actual values may vary based on network conditions, asset type, and governance settings. Always check current rates in the app before transacting.

Complete Example: Borrow $1,000 USDST

Your situation:

  • You have: 1 ETHST in your wallet
  • ETHST price: $3,000
  • You need: $1,000 USDST for expenses

What you'll do:

  1. Supply 1 ETHST as collateral
  2. Borrow 1,000 USDST
  3. Use your USDST
  4. Repay the loan (anytime)
  5. Withdraw your collateral

Time needed: 5 minutes
Total gas cost: ~$0.30 (3 transactions)
Interest cost: ~$4 per month (5% annual rate)

Step 1: Supply Collateral

What you have:

  • 1 ETHST worth $3,000

In the app:

  1. Go to Borrow page (in sidebar)
  2. In the Collateral Management table, find ETHST
  3. Click the "Supply" button for ETHST 4. In the modal:
  4. Enter amount: 1.0 (or click "Max")
  5. Review the health impact preview
  6. Click "Supply"
  7. Confirm in wallet (~$0.10 gas)
  8. Approval + supply happen automatically in one transaction
  9. Wait 1-2 seconds

Result: 

✅ Collateral supplied: 1 ETHST ($3,000)
✅ Can borrow up to: $2,250 USDST (75% of collateral)
✅ Health Factor: N/A (no debt yet)

Your wallet:

  • Before: 1 ETHST
  • After: 0 ETHST (moved to collateral vault)

Step 2: Borrow USDST

What you want: $1,000 USDST

In the app:

  1. Go to Borrow section → Click "Borrow"
  2. Enter amount: Type 1000 USDST

  3. Review the preview:

  4. Borrowing: 1,000 USDST

  5. New Health Factor: 1.8 (Safe ✓)
  6. Interest Rate: ~5% annually
  7. Max you could borrow: $2,250
  8. Click "Borrow"
  9. Confirm in wallet (~$0.10 gas)
  10. Wait 1-2 seconds

Result: 

✅ Borrowed: 1,000 USDST
✅ Health Factor: 1.8 (Safe)
✅ Your wallet: +1,000 USDST

Your position now:

  • Collateral: 1 ETHST ($3,000)
  • Debt: 1,000 USDST
  • Health Factor: 1.8 (very safe)
  • Still available to borrow: $1,250 more (but don't!)

What is Health Factor? - Above 2.0: Very safe ✅ - 1.5 - 2.0: Safe with buffer - 1.0 - 1.5: Moderate risk ⚠️ - Below 1.0: Liquidation danger ❌

Your 1.8 health factor means you have a good safety buffer.

Step 3: Use Your USDST

You now have 1,000 USDST to use for:

  • ✅ Transaction fees on STRATO
  • ✅ Swap for other tokens
  • ✅ Provide liquidity
  • ✅ Bridge to other chains
  • ✅ Any other purpose

Your debt grows slowly:

  • Interest: ~5% per year = 0.014% per day
  • After 1 day: Owe $1,000.14
  • After 30 days: Owe ~$1,004
  • After 1 year: Owe ~$1,050

Step 4: Repay (Anytime)

When you're ready (no rush, but interest accumulates):

  1. Get USDST to repay
  2. You might have it from what you borrowed
  3. Or swap other tokens for USDST

  4. Or mint more via CDP

  5. Go to Borrow page (in sidebar) → "Repay"

  6. Enter amount:

  7. Type specific amount (e.g., 1004 to repay all)

  8. Or click "Repay Max" to close loan completely
  9. Click "Repay"
  10. Confirm in wallet (~$0.10 gas)
  11. Wait 1-2 seconds

Result after full repayment: 

✅ Debt repaid: 1,004 USDST (1,000 principal + 4 interest)
✅ Health Factor: N/A (no debt)
✅ Gas cost: ~$0.10

Your position:

  • Collateral: 1 ETHST (still in vault)
  • Debt: 0 USDST
  • Health Factor: No debt
  • You can now withdraw collateral

Step 5: Withdraw Collateral

After repaying fully:

  1. Go to Borrow page (in sidebar)
  2. In the Collateral Management table, find your asset
  3. Click the "Withdraw" button for that asset
  4. Select asset: Choose ETH
  5. Enter amount: Type 1.0 (or click "Max")
  6. Click "Withdraw Collateral"
  7. Confirm in wallet (~$0.10 gas)
  8. Wait 1-2 seconds

Result: 

✅ Withdrawn: 1 ETHST to your wallet
✅ Total position closed

Final accounting:

  • You borrowed: 1,000 USDST
  • You repaid: 1,004 USDST
  • Total cost: $4 interest + $0.30 gas = $4.30 total
  • You still have: 1 ETHST (same as you started)

What If Prices Change?

Scenario: ETHST Drops to $2,500

What happens:

  • Your collateral value: Now $2,500 (was $3,000)
  • Your debt: Still 1,000 USDST (unchanged)
  • Your health factor: Drops to 1.5 (caution ⚠️)

What to do:

  • Option 1: Add more collateral - Supply 0.2 more ETHST - Option 2: Repay some debt - Repay 400 USDST
  • Option 3: Monitor closely - Still safe, but watch the price

Scenario: ETHST Drops to $2,000 (Danger!)

What happens:

  • Your collateral value: Now $2,000
  • Your debt: Still 1,000 USDST
  • Your health factor: 1.0 (liquidation risk ❌)

Danger zone:

  • Health factor below 1.0 = you can be liquidated
  • Liquidators can repay your debt and take your collateral
  • You lose 5-10% of collateral value as liquidation bonus

What to do immediately:

  1. Add more collateral, OR
  2. Repay some/all debt
  3. Don't let health factor drop below 1.0!

Best practice: Keep health factor above 2.0 for safety buffer.

Managing Your Position

Check Your Position

In the app:

  • Go to Borrow page (in sidebar)

  • You'll see:

  • Collateral amount and value

  • Debt amount (with accrued interest)
  • Health Factor with color indicator
  • Available to borrow or withdraw

Health Factor colors:

  • 🟢 Green (> 2.0): Safe
  • 🟡 Yellow (1.5-2.0): Caution
  • 🟠 Orange (1.0-1.5): Warning
  • 🔴 Red (< 1.0): Danger - liquidation imminent

Adding More Collateral

If health factor drops:

  1. Go to Supply
  2. Add more collateral
  3. Health factor improves immediately

Partial Repayment

Don't need to repay all at once:

  1. Go to Repay
  2. Enter any amount to repay
  3. Reduces debt and improves health factor

Tips & Best Practices

DO ✅

  • Over-collateralize: Supply 2-3x what you plan to borrow
  • Monitor daily: Check health factor when prices move
  • Set alerts: Use price alerts for your collateral assets
  • Keep buffer: Maintain health factor above 2.0
  • Start small: Test with small amounts first
  • Save USDST: Keep some USDST for gas fees

DON'T ❌

  • Max out: Don't borrow your maximum capacity
  • Ignore warnings: Yellow/orange health factor = take action
  • Forget interest: Debt grows daily (track it)
  • Use all crypto: Keep some assets liquid
  • Panic sell: Add collateral instead during dips
  • Forget gas: Always have USDST for fees

Common Issues

"Insufficient collateral"

Problem: Trying to borrow more than your collateral allows

Solution:

  1. Supply more collateral first, OR
  2. Reduce the borrow amount

"Would exceed health factor limit"

Problem: This borrow would make your health factor too low

Solution:

  • Reduce borrow amount
  • Supply more collateral
  • Check your calculation: Can borrow up to 75% of collateral value

"Insufficient USDST balance"

Problem: Don't have enough USDST to repay

Solution:

  1. Swap other tokens for USDST, OR
  2. Mint USDST via CDP, OR
  3. Repay a smaller amount now, rest later

"Approval needed" or "Insufficient allowance"

Problem: Token approval failed in the bundled transaction

Solution:

  1. Try the supply operation again
  2. Ensure you have enough gas for the transaction
  3. Wait for confirmation
  4. Then retry your action

Health factor dropping

Problem: Your collateral value is decreasing

Solution (act quickly):

  1. Add collateral: Supply more assets
  2. Repay debt: Even partial repayment helps
  3. Monitor closely: Set price alerts
  4. Don't wait: Act before it reaches 1.0

Understanding Costs

Interest Rates

How interest works:

  • Interest accrues every second
  • Typical rate: ~5% annually
  • Compounds continuously

Example costs: | Borrowed | Time | Interest Owed | |----------|------|---------------| | $1,000 | 1 day | $0.14 | | $1,000 | 1 week | $1 | | $1,000 | 30 days | $4 | | $1,000 | 1 year | $50 | | $10,000 | 30 days | $40 |

Gas Fees

Action Gas Cost
Supply collateral ~$0.10
Borrow ~$0.10
Repay ~$0.10
Withdraw ~$0.10

Total for complete cycle: ~$0.30-$0.40

When to Borrow vs Mint (CDP)

Choose Borrowing (Lending Pool) If:

  • ✅ Short-term liquidity need (days/weeks)
  • ✅ Want flexibility to add/remove collateral easily
  • ✅ Comfortable with variable rates
  • ✅ Need quick access

Choose Minting (CDP) If:

  • ✅ Long-term position (months)
  • ✅ Want lower, more stable fees
  • ✅ Maximizing capital efficiency
  • ✅ Willing to manage vaults

See: Mint USDST via CDP Guide

Next Steps

Earn While You Have USDST

Learn More

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