Kamino Lend Monthly Risk Insights

Allez Labs will be sharing deep dives into Kamino’s lending markets, risks, and trends. Follow this topic to stay up to date.

Kamino Monthly Report - January 2025

Kamino experienced impressive growth in January, with total deposits rising by 31% to $3.8B, and borrows increasing by 36% to $1.5B. The Total Value Locked (TVL) reached an all-time high of $2.3B, +28% in January, supported by $10.9B in transaction volume.
Market volatility between January 18-20 led to fluctuations in borrow rates, with SOL market rates spiking to over 50% before stabilizing. DeFi Dollar supply rates declined from 9% to 5.7%, while SOL rates rose from 4.9% to 5.5%.
$7.3M in collateral was liquidated in the Altcoin and Main markets, with no liquidations in other markets, demonstrating resilience. The JLP Market stayed liquidation-free.
USDC remains the dominant stablecoin, showing strong supply growth but posing potential concentration risks. High leverage demand in SOL markets, interest rate volatility, and liquidation clusters require close monitoring.
:magnifying_glass_tilted_right: Check out Kamino January 2025 Dashboard for more details

Overview of Market Performance

Kamino maintained strong market activity throughout January, with robust deposit growth and active borrowing. Total deposits increased to $3.8B (+31%), while borrowing surged to $1.5B (+36%), leading to a 28% rise in TVL to $2.3B, these metrics are at all-time highs. The $10.9B in total transactions, reflects its expanding ecosystem.

Despite this growth, the number of unique wallets increased only slightly to 134,309 (+0.05%), indicating that while capital inflow is strong, user adoption remains relatively stable. The average transaction volume per user reached $81K, suggesting a highly active existing user base.

January saw increased price volatility compared to December, particularly around the 19th & 20th.

Supply/Borrow Trends and Protocol Revenue

The Main market continues to dominate, holding $2.2B in deposits and $934M in borrows. JLP follows with $1.05B in deposits and $343M in borrows, while Jito reached $487M in deposits and $251M in borrows.

JLP and Jito markets experienced notable supply growth, reflecting increased confidence in these segments. However, their higher leverage levels necessitate close monitoring to mitigate risk exposure.

Kamino generated $10.7M in interest revenue from borrowers, with $9.7M distributed to liquidity providers.

SOL & Kamino Dollar

The month was characterized by fluctuations in borrow rates, especially in the SOL market, where rates spiked multiple times, reaching up to 60% between January 18th and 20th. The rapid stabilization highlights responsive user behavior and market efficiency.

Demand for SOL-denominated leverage remains high, with 3.6M SOL deposits (+11%) and 3.3M SOL borrows (+13%). Utilization was stable with a slight rise from 90% to 91%, reflecting strong borrower demand. SOL deposit rates improved from 4.9% to 5.5%, indicating sustained borrowing interest in SOL-denominated assets.

The Kamino Dollar supply increased by 33% MoM to $813M, while borrows grew by 25% to $668M. Despite this expansion, stablecoin utilization declined from 88% to 81%, signalling deleveraging trends. DeFi Dollar supply rates declined from 9% to 5.7%, reflecting this relative reduction in demand.

USDC saw the largest growth in both supply and borrowing, reinforcing its role as the dominant stablecoin.

Transaction Volume and User Behavior

Kamino’s total transaction volume reached $10.8B with a net positive flow, of $4.2B in deposits versus $3.2B in withdrawals.

The global utilization rate grew from 38% to 40%, indicating higher leverage. Borrowing hit record levels, with $1.5B borrowed and $1.3B repaid, signalling sustained leverage demand.

The Main market continues to dominate, followed by JLP and Jito, reinforcing their significance within Kamino’s ecosystem.

Liquidations and Risk Events

The protocol saw $7.3M in liquidations in the Altcoin and Main markets, mostly SOL ($5.5M) and Altcoin longs, with spikes in periods of price volatility on January 13, 19, and 20.

A deeper analysis of distance-to-liquidation metrics reveals that 60% of Jito’s liquidity is within 10% of liquidation, allowed by the correlation of supply and debt asset, demonstrating a high appetite for xSOL/SOL leverage.

The Main, JLP, and Altcoin markets have heavier-tailed liquidation distributions, making them more resilient to minor fluctuations but vulnerable to cascading liquidations in severe downturns.

In case of market shock, the largest exposures — USDC and SOL — would likely be repaid first in a liquidation scenario, they are also most liquid assets able to sustain large transactions with small price impact.

Stress Testing

Total Collateral at Risk & Bad Debt Exposure (ceteris paribus):

  • In a -30% market event, $457M would be liquidated, potentially resulting in $2.2M in bad debt

  • In a -60% market event, $1B would be liquidated, with bad debt rising to $168M

Conclusions & Risk Considerations

Kamino’s continued growth and increased borrowing demand pushed the protocol to all-time high levels of liquidity alongside higher systemic risks:

  • High utilization across stablecoins and SOL markets presents potential liquidity risks during rapid market downturns

  • Stablecoin concentration in USDC increases protocol dependency on a single asset, necessitating diversification strategies

  • Interest rate fluctuations across markets highlight different risk level offering potential arbitrage opportunities

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Kamino Mid Month Update - February 2025

Crypto markets experienced significant volatility in early February, culminating in a major market downturn on February 3rd.
During the crash, SOL dropped by 23% while Altcoins saw drawdowns of up to 51%. Kamino saw $9.2 million in collateral liquidations and $8.7 million in debt repaid via liquidations, demonstrating the resilience of the protocol’s risk framework. Interest rate volatility spiked during the downturn, creating arbitrage opportunities and contributing to rapid market stabilization.
SOL-denominated borrowing demand remains high, while stablecoin utilization dropped from 83% to 79% in the first half of the month, indicating partial deleveraging post-crash.
Jito and JLP markets remain highly leveraged, with the JLP market experiencing its first liquidations since launch.
:point_right: For an in-depth breakdown of the crash, see the February 3rd Dashboard.

Market Trends

Deposit & Borrowing Activity

February began with heightened volatility, leading to increased activity on the protocol. As prices declined, total deposits fell to $3.6B (-7.3% in Feb), while borrowing dropped to $1.4B (-7.5%). The Total Value Locked (TVL) fell to $2.1B (-8.6%).

Despite these declines, Kamino’s overall transaction volume remains strong, reaching $4 billion by mid-month, with $1.23 billion transacted over the crash weekend. This highlights continued engagement from active users despite market turbulence.

Stablecoin & SOL Markets

While market volatility had limited impact on Kamino’s interest rates, some deleveraging occurred.

Kamino Dollar

  • Supplies increased slightly to $837M (+1% in Feb), while borrowing dropped to $658M (-2.4% in Feb)

  • Utilization fell from 84% to 79%

SOL Markets

  • Deposits grew to 3.8M SOL (+5% in Feb), while SOL borrows reached 3.5M SOL (+6%)

  • Borrow rates hit 14.5% at peak but reverted to 8.6%

  • Utilization remained steady around 91%

The partial deleveraging in stablecoin markets suggests a risk-off sentiment following the crash, while the demand for SOL-denominated leverage remains high, driven by LSTs and JLP positions.

The February 3rd Market Crash

Macroeconomic uncertainty, including concerns over US trade policies and tariffs, technology stock corrections, and rising Federal Reserve interest rates, which ranged from 4.25-5.5% contributed to a broader reduction in risk appetite across crypto markets. Kamino assets experienced significant selloffs, with drawdowns reaching as high as 51%, leading to notable liquidations.

Kamino users responded quickly to market volatility, topping up their obligations and repaying debt. Liquidation transactions accounted for only 0.7% of the $1.3B transaction volume over the weekend. With an average drawdown of 14% across Kamino assets, a total of $9.2M collateral was liquidated, a level consistent with the January stress test projections.

There was a slight increase in price impact on the USDC/SOL pairs, but liquidity depth remained resilient. Arbitrageurs took advantage of the rapid rate movements, accelerating price discovery and market stabilization.

Kamino’s liquidation mechanism functioned efficiently, ensuring that high-risk positions were cleared without accumulating any bad debt.

Stress Tests

Total Collateral at Risk & Bad Debt Exposure (ceteris paribus):

  • In a -30% market event, $477M would be liquidated, potentially resulting in $5.4M in bad debt.

  • In a -60% market event, $997M would be liquidated, with bad debt rising to $174M.

Despite lower asset prices compared to January, stress test results indicate only a minor increase in potential liquidations and bad debt exposure, suggesting that Kamino’s risk parameters continue to be effective in extreme market conditions.

Conclusions & Risk Considerations

The February 3rd market volatility showcased the robustness of Kamino’s risk framework. While liquidations were significant, the protocol proved resilient. SOL markets remain highly utilized, while stablecoin markets have shown signs of partial deleveraging.

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Kamino Lend Monthly Report - February 2025

February saw one of the sharpest market downturns of the past year, significantly impacting Kamino Lend. Deposits declined by 25% to $2.9B, while borrows fell 28% to $1.1B. This was driven by lower prices with a net positive flow of $3.17B deposits vs $3.13B withdrawals.
Market volatility throughout February triggered substantial liquidations on the protocol totaling $35.2M in collateral seized across 3,616 unique wallets. The Main market was most heavily impacted, accounting for 68% of all liquidation volume.
Despite the market turbulence, Kamino’s liquidation ecosystem performed efficiently, with 80 active liquidators participating.
Interest rates fluctuated in response to volatility, with Dollar borrow rates peaking over 10% multiple times. Ultimately utilization decreased from 81% to 75% for Kamino Dollars and 92% to 74% for SOL, reflecting deleveraging across the platform.
Transaction volume decreased to $7.9B (-28% vs January), concentrated in periods of volatility. Despite these challenging conditions, users remain loyal with 130k unique wallets (down only 3% since last month). The Main market continues to dominate in deposits, followed by JLP and Jito.
:magnifying_glass_tilted_right: Check out Kamino February 2025 Dashboard & February Monthly Snapshot for more details

1. Overview of Market Performance

Kamino Lend experienced significant liquidity contraction in February, with broad-based decreases across key metrics driven by the severe market downturn. Total deposits fell to $2.9B (-25% month-on-month), while borrowing declined to $1.1B (-28% MoM), leading to a 22% TVL reduction to $1.8B.

The number of active positions decreased slightly to 154,891 (-4% compared to January), while the number of unique wallets actually increased to 130,441 (-3%), suggesting users remain loyal despite market conditions.

February was characterized by extreme price volatility, particularly in the latter half of the month when SOL price declined by approximately 35%, from around $200 to $130, with a modest recovery toward month-end. This volatility triggered significant deleveraging across all Kamino markets.

These conditions emphasized the solid liquidator ecosystem with a record number of participants which kept bad debt at zero throughout the downturn.

2. Supply/Borrow Trends and Protocol Revenue

The Main market remains the largest, holding $1.7B in deposits (-23% MoM) and $694M in borrows. JLP follows with $722M in deposits (-31% MoM) and $231M in borrows, and Jito $368M in deposits (-25% MoM) and $183M in borrows.

While all markets experienced significant supply contraction, there was some notable SOL deposit activity, a whale position providing $120M of SOL collateral to borrow USDC.

The overall debt decrease was primarily driven by stablecoin borrowing reduction, while SOL and JitoSOL borrows actually increased by $42.5M, indicating a strategic shift from long to short positions as users adapted to the declining market.

Kamino generated $8.8M in interest revenue from borrowers in February, down 18% MoM, reflecting the reduction in leverage, prices falling and a shorter month.

3. Kamino Dollar & SOL

February saw fluctuations in borrow rates, especially in the SOL market, where rates spiked multiple times throughout the month. The rapid stabilization highlighted responsive user behavior and market efficiency.

Demand for SOL-denominated leverage continued, with a slight 7% increase in SOL borrows to 3.5M. SOL supply grew significantly to 4.7M SOL (+30% MoM), driven by a single 883k SOL deposit. As a result of this large deposit, utilization fell from 90 to 70% pushing the borrow rate from 7.5% to 5%. The market is gradually absorbing this additional liquidity, creating opportunities for borrowers.

Both Kamino Dollar supply & borrows contracted significantly this month, supply by 28% to $694M, and borrows by 23% to $519M. This contraction was accompanied by a slight decline in utilization 81% to 74%, signalling deleveraging trends across the platform. DeFi Dollar supply rates declined from 5.7% to 4.3%, reflecting this reduction in demand.

USDC experienced the largest decline in both absolute supply and borrowing, reflecting its position as the dominant stablecoin.

4. Transaction Volume and User Behavior

Kamino’s total transaction volume reached $7.9B in February, marking a 28% decline from January’s $10.9B. This drop was primarily driven by price action rather than user disengagement. Liquidity remained balanced, with $3.17B in deposits nearly offset by $3.13B in withdrawals.

The global utilization rate held relatively stable at 39%, despite a slight reduction in demand where repayments ($966M) marginally surpassed new borrows ($883M). Transaction activity peaked during the highest volatility periods around February 25-26, demonstrating that users remain actively engaged during market stress. This pattern indicates a measured deleveraging rather than panic selling, with users maintaining positions while adjusting leverage levels.

5. Liquidations and Risk Events

February’s market downturn triggered significant liquidation events, with $35.2M in collateral liquidated across 12,683 positions, impacting 3,616 unique wallets—a nearly fivefold increase from January’s $7.3M.

The majority of liquidations occurred in the Main and JLP markets, with SOL positions accounting for $20.1M and the JLP market seeing $10.2M in liquidations following a 23% price drop. Notably, while the JLP market’s seized collateral represents 97% of all liquidations since its launch, it accounted for 2% of the market’s total collateral JLP deposits.

Kamino’s largest single-day liquidation events occurred on February 25 and 26, coinciding with SOL’s price drop below $140. Liquidation cascades were particularly pronounced in the Main market, where highly leveraged SOL positions were unwound rapidly.

Given the severity of the market conditions – with an average -23% return and an average max drawdown of -37% for assets listed on Kamino – the level of liquidations was remarkably contained. The $35M of collateral seized represents less than 8% of last month’s ceteris paribus stress testing projection for a -30% market event, showcasing effective risk management from both Kamino and its users.

The liquidator landscape has moderate concentration with increased participation of 80 liquidators. The top 11 liquidators, handled 96% of the volume, each seizing more than $1M of collateral. Various liquidations strategies can be observed, some focused on transaction size and others on frequency.

6. Stress Testing

The distribution of collateralization levels has flattened compared to last month, with price action impacting the margin on some positions, while others have been topped up by prudent users managing their risk exposure.

Analysis of distance-to-liquidation metrics confirms that remaining positions have healthier collateralization ratios, with fewer positions within 10% of liquidation compared to January.

In case of market shock, the largest exposures —USDC and SOL— would likely be repaid first in a liquidation scenario, they are also most liquid assets able to sustain large transactions with small price impact.


Total Collateral at Risk & Bad Debt Exposure (ceteris paribus):

  • In a -30% market event, $254M (-44% MoM) could be liquidated, potentially resulting in $3.5M in bad debt (+59% MoM)
  • In a -60% market event, $823M could be liquidated (-18% MoM), with bad debt rising to $117M (-30% MoM)

These figures represent improved resilience compared to January’s stress test results despite the market turbulence, suggesting that the February liquidations removed the most vulnerable positions.

7. Conclusions & Risk Considerations

February’s market downturn served as a critical stress test for Kamino’s risk systems, which remained effective despite elevated liquidation volumes. The protocol demonstrated strong resilience in handling extreme volatility.

Key risk takeaways:

  • Liquidation mechanisms operated as intended, with 80 active liquidators ensuring full market coverage during periods of high volatility.
  • The reduction in leverage and utilization rates across markets suggests a more conservative positioning by users, reducing systemic risk.
  • Interest rate mechanisms responded appropriately to volatility and to the sudden SOL supply growth, with temporary spikes incentivizing deleveraging when needed.

Going forward, ongoing efforts to diversify stablecoin usage, improve liquidation efficiency during extreme volatility, and continue incentivizing prudent leverage levels will be important for maintaining system stability.

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Kamino Lend Monthly Report - March 2025

March was marked by continued market volatility, driving a contraction in activity across Kamino Lend. Total monthly volume fell to $5B, representing a 37.7% month-over-month decline. The USD value of supply, debt, and TVL also declined modestly (–4.8%, –1.2%, and –7.2% respectively), primarily due to price contractions and user deleveraging. This was reflected in a significant drop in borrow interest revenue, down 36.5% to $6.6M.
Despite the challenging conditions, liquidity stuck around; both stablecoin and SOL markets recorded nominal growth. By the end of March, stable supply reached $729M (+5.2% MoM), while SOL supply rose to 4.76M (+1.7% MoM), ($595M). The number of active positions (155k) and unique wallets (130k) remained stable.
Kamino users also demonstrated prudent risk management. While $19.4M in collateral was seized (–44.8% MoM), this represented a record 0.75% of total volume - highlighting the system’s ability to process liquidations effectively even in turbulent conditions. Notably, JLP collateral accounted for over half the liquidations with $10.4M, followed by SOL positions at $7.7M.
The month also brought meaningful protocol improvements: Max JLP leverage was raised to 6x, Squad X integrations launched to support institutional adoption, and the $USDG growth initiative began rolling out with generous borrow incentives.
:magnifying_glass_tilted_right: Check out the March Monthly Snapshot for more details.

1. Overview of Market Performance

March was defined by heightened volatility across crypto markets, with sol oscillating between $114 and $150. Total deposits dropped 4.8% to $2.7B, and borrowing decreased slightly to $1.1B (–1.2% MoM), resulting in a 7.2% decline in total value locked (TVL), which ended the month at $1.6B.

Despite these headwinds, user retention was high with the number of active positions (155k) and unique wallets (130k) holding firm. Stablecoin and SOL markets continued to grow in nominal terms. Stable supply climbed to $729M (+5.2% MoM), with deposits yielding 3.7%, while SOL supply increased to 4.76M SOL (+1.7% MoM), generating 3.6% for depositers.

SOL reached a yearly low of $114 during March, triggering deleveraging across Kamino markets. This resulted in liquidation activity, most notably in the JLP market where $10.1M of the $19.4M total seized collateral originated. Nevertheless, the protocol’s liquidation infrastructure performed well, with the expanding liquidator ecosystem continuing to safeguard solvency and maintain system integrity.

Kamino continued to build throughout March, launching several key upgrades:

  • JLP Leverage Upgrade: Maximum leverage increased to 6x to enhance capital efficiency.
  • Squad X Integrations: Rolled out to support institutional adoption and improve composability.
  • USDG Growth Initiative: Deployed with attractive borrow incentives to diversify stablecoin use across the platform.

Together, these developments reflect Kamino’s continued focus on resilience and innovation, even as macro conditions introduce short-term headwinds.

2. Supply, Borrowing & Revenue Trends

Across markets, supply and borrowing activity remained resilient. The Main market retained its leadership with $1.7B in supply (–4.2% MoM) and $694M in debt. JLP followed with $671M in supply (–7% MoM) and $217M in debt, while Jito saw more volatility, with $294M in supply (–20% MoM) and $148M in debt.

Liquidity across markets remained remarkably stable despite negative price action. In fact the markets experienced net nominal growth in SOL, with higher supply of SOL & JupSOL as well as the newly launched stablecoins FDUSD & USDG.

Despite lower overall demand, protocol revenue remained solid. Kamino generated $6.7M in interest from borrowers in March (–24% MoM), supported by sticky liquidity and organic demand across stablecoin and SOL markets.

3. Kamino Stable Dollar & SOL

March experienced minor fluctuations in borrow rates—particularly in the SOL market, where sharp intraday spikes were followed by rapid normalization. Despite turbulent market conditions, demand for SOL-denominated leverage remained strong. SOL borrow volume increased 8% month-over-month to 3.8M, while total SOL supply remained stable at 4.7M (+1.7% MoM), supporting continued risk-adjusted yield.

On the stable side, both Kamino Stable Dollar supply and debt posted healthy growth. Stable supply reached $729M (+5.2% MoM) while debt rose to $530M (+2% MoM). Utilization declined slightly from 75% to 72.4%, a signal of platform-wide deleveraging. Correspondingly, Kamino Dollar supply rates dropped from 4.3% to 3.7%, reflecting the easing borrowing pressure.

Stablecoin diversification advanced this month. FDUSD and USDG both grew meaningfully, benefiting from ecosystem incentives. In contrast, PYUSD saw a sharp contraction as incentives tapered off. Meanwhile, USDC staged a modest recovery after February’s decline, contributing to a more balanced and resilient stablecoin mix across the platform.

4. Transaction Volume and User Behavior

Kamino processed a total of $5B in transaction volume during March (-37%MoM), reflecting less user activity. Deposits led at $2B (-33.3%MoM), followed by withdrawals at $1.9B (-35.4%MoM), and borrows at $617M (-30%MoM). Repays accounted for $551M (-43%MoM), while liquidations remained modest at $38.1M — further emphasizing the protocol’s strong collateral management and risk controls.

Overall, this activity distribution indicates continued engagement in Kamino’s core markets. Even amid macro uncertainty, users actively managed risks — shifting collateral, adjusting leverage, and exiting or entering positions. The data underscores the protocol’s role as a stable and efficient venue for DeFi lending activity through the market cycles.

5. Market Movements & Liquidations

SOL hit its lowest price in the past year at $114 during March with 17.9% average drop across listed assets, intensifying deleveraging trends across Kamino markets. This led to increased liquidation activity, particularly in JLP, which accounted for $10.4M of the total $19.4M in seized collateral.

The liquidator ecosystem expanded to 113 active participants (+41% MoM), processing 12,683 liquidations with no bad debt. Notably, the top liquidator seized $5.1M in collateral, while six others each handled over $1M. Liquidation bonuses remained contained, indicating prompt processing of risky positions.

6. Stress Testing

In March, most markets shifted towards higher risk, with user positions clustering closer to liquidation thresholds compared to February. Main, JLP, and Altcoin markets all saw increased concentration in the 20–30% distance range, indicating greater leverage or reduced collateral buffers.

March distance to liquidation reflects a trend toward thinner safety margins across most markets.

In case of market shock, the largest exposures —USDC and SOL— would likely be repaid first in a liquidation scenario, they are also most liquid assets able to sustain large transactions. The price impact has remained stable through this period of market volatility.

Total Collateral at Risk & Bad Debt Exposure (ceteris paribus):

  • Should a 30% market drop occur, $348M in collateral could be liquidated (+37% MoM), potentially resulting in $13.3M in bad debt (+280% MoM)
  • In a 60% crash scenario, liquidation exposure rises to $844M (+2.5% MoM), with potential bad debt reaching $143M (+22% MoM)

These increases underscore the reduced margin of safety across user portfolios.

7. Conclusions & Risk Considerations

Market turbulence continues to test Kamino’s risk systems, which continue to be effective The protocol Kamino’s systems performed well under pressure, with efficient liquidation handling and a growing network of liquidators. User behavior demonstrated increased risk awareness, and core markets - such as SOL and stables - remained active despite market turbulence.

With utilization and leverage both down, Kamino’s ecosystem is more resilient but also more sensitive to further volatility. Ongoing monitoring of liquidation distances, market activity, and stablecoin flows will be critical in the months ahead.

Kamino remains well-positioned for recovery and continued growth as markets stabilize.

Key risk takeaways:

  • The reduction in leverage and utilization rates across markets continues. The market conditions continue to impact user margins.
  • Liquidation mechanisms operated as intended keeping liquidation bonus in the lower range. The liquidator landscape continues to grow with now 113 players across markets.
  • FDUSD & USDG show significant growth.
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Kamino Lend Monthly Report - April 2025

:pushpin: As market volatility eased after a bumby Q1, TVL jumped 25.5% to $2B, fueled by a renewed demand to supply (+26.1% to $3.37B supplied) and borrow (+27.1% to $1.37B) across Kamino markets.

SOL supply expanded to 5.99M (+1.22M), while Kamino Dollar utilization hit ~75% despite a slight dip in supply. Borrowers paid $6.95M in interest, and liquidations held steady month over month at $17.2M.

User activity remained strong with 152.6K active positions and nearly 129K wallets, reinforcing Kamino’s role as Solana’s core credit layer.

Kamino also shipped upgrades in April:

  • Meta-Swap, an RFQ aggregator powered by Pyth Express Relay
  • Confluence, a creator economy layer
  • Chainlink VDS integration to enhance risk infrastructure

Kamino heads into May firmly positioned as Solana’s leading credit protocol.

:magnifying_glass_tilted_right: Check out the April Monthly Snapshot for full details.

1. Overview of Market Performance and Developments

After a rocky start to April, Kamino ended the month with strong momentum. Price recoveries and renewed borrower demand helped reverse March’s slowdown, while deposit flows into core markets remained strong. Supply, debt, and TVL all posted double-digit gains, with supply rising to $3.37B (+26.1%), debt climbing to $1.37B (+27.1%), and TVL increasing to $2.00B (+25.5%).

Total transaction volume reached $5.25B, a modest +4.6% increase month-over-month, indicating stable protocol usage. Volatility in rates was low. Kamino Stable Dollar borrow and supply rates increased slightly to 9% (+0.25%) and 4.5% (+0.42%) respectively. So did SOL borrow and supply rates to 5.4% (+1%) and 7.3% (+0.88%), as utilization remained elevated in SOL markets.

Kamino maintained a fast shipping cadence, delivering major product updates:

  • Meta-Swap Launch: Introduced a novel RFQ-powered swap aggregator using Pyth Express Relay. Surpassed $10M volume in its first 24 hours.
  • Confluence Announcement: Introduced Kamino’s creator economy layer to empower ecosystem contributors through aligned incentives.
  • Chainlink Integration: Integrated Chainlink’s Verifiable Data Standard (VDS) to improve data robustness and protocol security.

These initiatives demonstrate Kamino’s continued focus on protocol extensibility and risk infrastructure, building toward a more composable DeFi ecosystem on Solana.

2. Supply, Borrowing & Revenue Trends

Kamino Lend rebounded strongly in April, with supply and borrowing activity growing across major markets. Total supply rose to $3.37B (+26.1% MoM), while ending debt expanded to $1.37B (+27.1%), reflecting renewed appetite for leverage and increased user confidence.

Kamino’s flagship Main Market accounted for much of the growth, with supply climbing to $2.40B (+43.7%) and debt to $1.03B (+45.6%). Jito markets also expanded meaningfully, with supply up to $335M (+13.8%) and debt reaching $171M (+15.5%). Smaller markets like Altcoin and Ethena remained relatively stable.

Meanwhile, JLP markets contracted: debt declined to $191M (–12.0% MoM) from $217M in March, while supply also fell to $619M (–4.6% MoM).JLP saw ~$30M in net outflows, reflecting cautious behavior in a high leverage environment.

On the asset side, SOL borrowing surged by $170M while SOL deposits increased by $122M — including a $130M single-day deposit on April 6, which the protocol absorbed seamlessly via dynamic rebalancing. Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs also saw significant $224M supply growth, with over $100M of JupSOL supplied (followed by JitoSOL, mSOL, hSOL, vSOL), as users take advantage of Kamino’s Multiply increased leverage from end of March. New stablecoin EURC also saw notable inflows boosted by Circle’s incentives.

Kamino generated $6.95M in borrow interest (+0.8% MoM) and paid $6.27M to suppliers — maintaining strong protocol revenue despite competitive dynamics and steady rates.

3. Kamino Stable Dollar & SOL

April marked a strong month for Kamino’s core markets, with sustained demand for leverage and continued growth in SOL-denominated activity. Both stablecoin and SOL markets recorded healthy utilization, supporting stable protocol revenue.

SOL Markets

SOL liquidity saw robust expansion across all core metrics:

  • SOL supply rose to 5.99M (+1.22M MoM), driven by a 1.2M deposit on April 6 - absorbed by the dynamic rebalancing mechanisms within a week
  • SOL debt increased to 5.20M (+1.39M MoM)
  • Utilization climbed to 86.83% (+6.95%)
  • Borrow rate ticked up to 7.31%, while the supply rate rose to 5.39%

Growth was driven by strong demand for staking exposure. JupSOL led with $113M in new deposits, followed by jitoSOL and cbSOL — anchoring Kamino’s dominant position in the LST ecosystem.

Stable Dollar Markets

Despite a slight dip in Kamino Dollar supply (–$17.15M to $712.1M), utilization rose to 74.95%, and rates rose on both sides of the book, with average borrow rates reaching 9% and supply rates climbing to 4.45% - signaling stickier borrow demand relative to supply-side inflows.

Inflows were concentrated in USDG, USDT, and USDS — all of which saw higher supply, with USDG and USDT also recording increased borrowing. Declines in USDC and PYUSD reflected tapering incentive programs.

4. Transaction Volume and User Behavior

Kamino processed $5.25B in total transaction volume during April, a modest +4.6% increase month-over-month, user engagement remains stable following the volatility of Q1:

  • Deposits $2.17B +8.5% MoM,
  • Withdrawals at $1.83B –6.8% MoM,
  • Borrows at $698M +13.1% MoM,
  • Repays at $513M –6.9% MoM,
  • and Liquidation volumes remained consistent at $17.2M -11.3% MoM

The Main Market handled over 70% of activity ($3.68B), followed by JLP ($850M) and Jito ($707M). Altcoin and Ethena remained niche but stable.

User behavior reflected active risk management and responsiveness to shifting rates and incentives. Borrowers adjusted positions to reflect prevailing rates and incentives, while suppliers continued to provide liquidity to key markets — especially SOL and Kamino Dollar. Liquidation volume remained steady despite increased leverage and deposit growth.

5. Market Movements & Liquidations

After a volatile Q1, early-April turbulence triggered elevated liquidation activity which stabilised for the rest of the month. Max drawdowns across listed assets remained sharp in some segments — particularly long-tail tokens and xSOL — prompting risk-off behavior in the first half of the month.

Total collateral seized in April amounted to $17.2M (—11.3% MoM), with $16.6M in corresponding repaid debt — broadly in line with March. Activity was concentrated in the JLP and Main markets, which together represented over 99% of total liquidations. JLP alone accounted for $10.47M in seized collateral (up MoM), reflecting the high-leverage of the JLP market. SOL-correlated collateral (SOL + JitoSOL) made up over $6.7M of all seized positions.

Kamino’s liquidator ecosystem continued to expand, with 117 active liquidators (+3.5% MoM) processing 15,520 liquidations across 6,745 unique wallets. The 3 top individual liquidators handled $2M in collateral value, while more than 19 addresses liquidated over $100K each, demonstrating a healthy distribution of responsibility across the ecosystem. This increase in participation reinforces the robustness of Kamino’s backstop systems and liquidation coverage. Liquidation bonuses remained minimal — signaling efficient, competitive processing of risky positions without excessive slippage.

6. Stress Testing

Following a quarter of price consolidation, risk concentration across core markets stayed elevated. However, user portfolios remained broadly risk-aware through April. A large share of obligations across JLP, Main, and Altcoin markets remained within the 20–30% distance to liquidation range — suggesting persistent thin collateral buffers and moderate leverage usage.

Notably, over 60% of JLP accounts sits within 30% of their liquidation threshold, reaffirming JLP’s role as Kamino’s most risk-tolerant isolated market. By contrast, Altcoin and Main market positions displayed wider collateral margins.

In the event of a market shock, dominant collaterals SOL, JitoSOL & JupSOL, and JLP would be the first to face liquidation exposure. These assets are also the most liquid and composable on Solana, enabling graceful position unwinding with limited price impact. Trade size analysis shows low slippage and stable price impacts for large sizes across USDC–SOL pairs.

Total Collateral at Risk & Bad Debt Exposure (ceteris paribus):

  • Should a 30% market drop occur, $359M in collateral could be liquidated (+3% MoM), potentially resulting in $3.3M in bad debt (-75% MoM)
  • In a 60% crash scenario, liquidation exposure rises to $864M (+2.3% MoM), with potential bad debt reaching $143M (-37% MoM)

Modeled bad debt fell sharply despite higher nominal exposure — a result of improved borrower behavior, deeper liquidity, and more effective liquidations.


7. Conclusions & Risk Considerations

April was a month of recovery for Kamino — with activity, confidence, and protocol performance all rebounding from Q1 lows. User behavior remained cautious but active, with lower leverage, tighter risk buffers, and selective participation in high-yield markets. The continued increase in liquidator participation (now 117 active addresses) further strengthened the protocol’s liquidation infrastructure.

At the same time, thin margins across user portfolios and sustained exposure near liquidation thresholds underscores the need for ongoing vigilance as markets re-lever. As the market re-levers, Kamino’s ability to dynamically adjust incentives and monitor risk remains critical.

Kamino enters May well-positioned for continued growth and innovation: scaling its architecture, diversifying its collateral base, and reinforcing its position as Solana’s leading credit infrastructure.

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Proposal: Integrating SWIFT Transfers with DeFi Strategies on Kamino (Solana)

Overview

This proposal aims to build a real bridge between the traditional financial system (TradFi) and the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem on the Solana blockchain by integrating SWIFT transfers directly into Kamino Finance’s automated yield strategies.

With this integration, any global user would be able to send an international bank transfer (via SWIFT) and, within minutes, see their funds converted into USDC or SOL and automatically allocated into a DeFi yield strategy.

The Problem

Despite the growth of DeFi, users still face major barriers to entry, including:

  • Regulatory and banking restrictions
  • Requirement for stablecoins or native tokens
  • High technical complexity for non-crypto natives
  • Dependence on centralized exchanges (CEXs)
  • Minimal interoperability between TradFi and DeFi

As a result, many institutional and retail investors remain on the sidelines, unable to access DeFi products efficiently.

The Solution

We propose creating a SWIFT-to-DeFi gateway that enables:

  • Entry via a traditional SWIFT bank transfer
  • Automatic conversion to Solana-based stablecoins (USDC, SOL)
  • Direct allocation into Kamino Finance strategies, such as jitoSOL vaults, automated LPs, and risk-managed farming vaults

All in a seamless, secure, and compliant workflow.

How It Works

  1. The user visits a web or app interface and receives payment instructions.
  2. They send a SWIFT transfer with a unique reference code.
  3. A licensed custodian partner receives the funds in an international bank account.
  4. Funds are converted to crypto via regulated providers like Circle, Ramp, or Transak.
  5. Tokens are transferred to the user’s Solana wallet and automatically deposited into a Kamino strategy.
  6. Yield generation starts immediately, with no CEX interaction or technical setup required.

Compliance & Infrastructure

  • KYC/AML procedures managed by the licensed custodian
  • Fiat-to-crypto conversion handled by compliant partners (e.g., Circle, Ramp, Transak, Helio)
  • Institutional-grade custody infrastructure (e.g., Fireblocks)
  • Secure and audited DeFi strategies provided by Kamino, Sanctum, Jito

Why Solana and Kamino?

Solana provides:

  • Ultra-fast transaction finality
  • Low transaction costs
  • Deep liquidity in USDC, SOL, and liquid staking tokens
  • A thriving DeFi ecosystem with composability and performance

Kamino offers:

  • Automated vaults with optimized yield
  • Advanced risk management
  • Institutional-grade security and UX

Comparable Projects (Context Only)

While no current solution directly links SWIFT transfers to DeFi vaults, several projects are building foundational infrastructure:

Ramp Network: Offers crypto on-ramping via bank transfers and cards (SWIFT supported)
Transak: Enables fiat-to-crypto conversion (SWIFT supported)
Monerium: Provides euro-backed stablecoins with IBAN accounts
Circle APIs: Facilitate bank-to-USDC flows across multiple chains

However, none of them route funds directly into DeFi strategies. This makes our proposal **truly unique and pioneering.

Impact

  • Makes DeFi accessible to a broader global audience
  • Lowers technical and regulatory barriers to entry
  • Channels more TradFi capital into the Solana ecosystem
  • Positions Kamino as the leading platform for institutional DeFi participation

Next Steps

  • Secure a banking and custodial partner that supports SWIFT transfers and compliance
  • Integrate fiat on-ramp APIs (Ramp, Circle, Transak)
  • Develop smart contracts for automatic routing to Kamino vaults
  • Build a simple and intuitive front-end interface (web/mobile)
  • Launch a closed beta to validate the MVP

Call for Partnerships

We are actively looking for:

  • Banking and custodial partners with SWIFT capabilities
  • Solana smart contract developers (Anchor, Rust)
  • Legal and compliance advisors
  • Institutional partners in custody, audits, and fiat-crypto operations

If you’re building the future of TradFi or DeFi, let’s collaborate.

This is the bridge between TradFi and DeFi the ecosystem needs. Solana is ready. Kamino is ready. Let’s build.*

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Kamino Lend Monthly Report - May 2025

:pushpin: May was a landmark month for Kamino, marked by the launch of Kamino Lend V2 - a modular upgrade that reshapes the credit market ecosystem on Solana. Built on top of Kamino’s battle-tested foundation, V2 introduces permissionless market creation coupled with liquidity allocating vaults, creating a flexible yet capital efficient system designed to scale lending across a wide range of asset types and use cases. This upgrade also unlocks more granular, market-specific risk controls, giving risk managers tighter tools to govern risk, exposure, and to tailor strategies.

The community response was immediate: over $70M was deposited into V2 markets within its first 24 hours both directly from suppliers and from the vault layer.

Protocol-wide growth continued alongside the launch. Supply rose to $3.56B (+3.6%) and debt to $1.49B (+6.4%), supported by both inflows and increased leverage. Borrowers paid a record $9.3M in interest, underscoring continued appetite for credit.

SOL markets remained a key driver, with supply expanding to 6.32M SOL (+333K) and debt to 5.72M SOL (+525K) with rising utilization and rates. In contrast, Kamino Dollar markets saw modest pullbacks, with supplies and borrows dipping slightly.

On top of all of this, Kamino concluded season 3 of its points program, distributing $26M in KMNO to its users. Season 4 kicked off with a new incentives scheme with updated mechanics designed to reward long-term alignment.

Ecosystem momentum accelerated as well, with integrations and partnerships across Steakhouse, Hashflow, Huma, Re7, MEVCapital, and others - all building on top of Kamino’s new architecture.

:magnifying_glass_tilted_right: Check out the May Monthly Snapshot for full details

1. Overview of Market Performance

Kamino entered May with strong tailwinds from April and ended the month with its most transformative launch to date: Kamino Lend V2. Demand for leverage remained high, with $1.492B in total debt and a record $9.3M in interest paid by borrowers, sustained by stable market conditions and renewed user confidence across Solana DeFi.

Market activity remained steady, demand for leverage continues while new vault-based lending strategies now provide efficiency through the various markets. Protocol revenue grew with borrowers paying $9.3M in interest.

While the Main and Jito markets continued to lead in volume, May marked a clear pivot toward market diversification, with new V2 markets and integrations absorbing liquidity from outside the protocol as well as some existing markets .

Alongside Kamino V2, The team announced several major developments:

  • Kamino Lend V2 Launch: Introduced modular lending with automated vaults, margin trading, and RWA support. V2 surpassed $70M in supply and $30M in borrows within 24 hours.
  • Season 3 Rewards & Season 4 Preview: Distributed 350M KMNO (~$26M) and announced a shift away from Points-only incentives, with Season 4 set to launch soon.
  • Binance Listing: KMNO was listed on Binance, increasing liquidity and global exposure.
  • Hashflow Integration: Enabled RFQ-based swaps for better execution and reduced slippage.
  • Yala Collaboration: Activated $YU incentives for BTC-backed stablecoin vaults.
  • Huma Finance Boost: Offered a 5x reward multiplier for PST deposits, driving 10.5% APY through RWA exposure.
  • Technical Upgrades: Shipped multiple SDK updates and completed smart contract audits across the board.

These initiatives reflect Kamino’s accelerating momentum as it scales toward a more flexible, capital-efficient, and integrated DeFi credit layer on Solana.

2. Supply, Borrowing & Revenue Trends

As a whole, Kamino Lend continued its steady expansion in May, with total protocol debt reaching $1.49B (+6.4%) and supply growing to $3.56B (+3.6%), marking a more measured pace after April’s sharp rebound.

The Main Market remained the protocol’s anchor, with supply climbing to $2.54B (+5.8%) and debt to $1.1B (+6.7%). A significant portion of this month’s growth came from Kamino V2 markets, particularly those enabling LST-based leverage strategies.

The Marinade Market led with $70.3M in supply and $33.1M in debt, driven by strong demand for mSOL looping. The Sanctum Market followed with $15.5M supplied and $7M borrowed. The Exponent Market, featuring Principal Tokens as collateral, also saw solid adoption, with $13.6M in supply and $7.8M in debt, with good early traction for fixed-income primitives on Solana.

The Jito Market saw a modest decline as users shifted toward newer V2 vaults offering higher yields and dynamic parameters. The JLP Market continued to contract, likely reflecting lower internal yields and diminished incentive alignment.

On the asset side, inflows centered around new markets: SOL (+$51M), JupSOL (+$34M), cgntSOL, (+$30M), mSOL (+$19.1M), INF (+$8.5M) and PT tokens (+$11.5M). At the same time, cbBTC (–$71.6M), USDC (–$61.4M), and JLP (–$48.9M) experienced notable outflows as users rotated capital into V2 strategies. The growing share of LST loop vaults also contributed to a $81M increase in SOL-denominated debt.

Kamino V2 Markets & Vaults

The launch of Kamino Lend V2 on May 22 marked a fundamental upgrade in Solana’s credit infrastructure. V2 introduced modular lending markets built atop an overarching vault-native architecture—enabling isolated risk management, programmable collateral onboarding, and composable capital strategies.

Read more in our deep dive: Inside Kamino V2

By the end of May, V2 markets had attracted $134M in supply and $53.4M in borrows, despite launching in the final week of the month.

Kamino V2 launched with 10 new isolated markets:

  1. Marinade (mSOL)
  2. Sanctum (INF)
  3. Exponent, using Principal Tokens (PTfragSOL, PTkySOL)
  4. Solblaze (bSOL)
  5. Bonk (BONK)
  6. Fartcoin (FART)
  7. Jito Restaking (rsjitoSOL)
  8. Bitcoin (WBTC)
  9. JTO
  10. Jupiter (JUP)

These markets range from high-yield LST loops to experimental collateral and restaking strategies, all operating under customized risk profiles.

In parallel, 8 lending vaults were live by month-end, actively deploying capital into the new markets while managing risk and yield profiles across isolated pools:

  1. USDC Prime by Steakhouse
  2. AllezSOL
  3. MEV Capital SOL
  4. AllezUSDC
  5. Steakhouse USDG
  6. MEV Capital USDC
  7. Re7 SOL
  8. AllezUSDT

Combined, these vaults had allocated over $40M in liquidity across Kamino’s V2 markets by the end of May, less than two weeks after launching.

V2 sets the foundation for a more modular and scalable lending system on Solana, where credit, incentives, and risk can evolve at the vault level. With new markets and vaults onboarding rapidly, V2 is on track to become the backbone of Kamino’s next growth phase.

3. Kamino Stable Dollar & SOL

May saw continued strength in Kamino’s core markets, with SOL-denominated strategies accelerating and stablecoin markets experiencing modest rebalancing. Utilization remained healthy across both segments, supporting robust protocol revenue.

SOL Markets

SOL markets continued to grow steadily in May:

  • SOL supply increased to 6.32M (+333K MoM)
  • SOL debt expanded to 5.72M (+525K MoM)
  • Utilization rose to 90.6% (+3.8%)
  • Borrow rate ticked up to 8.16%, while the supply rate rose to 6.30% lifted by the new market subsidies

This growth was largely driven by continued demand for LST leverage strategies met with increased capacity across both V1 and V2 markets. SOL continues to be the most borrowed asset on Kamino, underscoring its centrality within the protocol.

Kamino Stable Dollar Markets

Stablecoin markets saw a slight contraction in May:

  • Kamino Dollar supply decreased by $58M to $665.9M
  • Debt dipped by $11.6M to $532.7M
  • Utilization remained stable at 80.0% (–0.4%)
  • Borrow rate fell to 7.89% (–1.11%)
  • Supply rate rose slightly to 4.68% (+0.17%)
  • High rate variability driven by lower liquidity stables

The reduction in supply and debt was primarily concentrated in legacy assets like USDC and PYUSD. By contrast, USDG continued growing supported by incentives.

4. Transaction Volume and User Behavior

The Main Market remained dominant with 64% of the total volume. The JLP and Jito market show modest decline in market share and in some cases capital migration to newer, more subsidized V2 markets and vaults.

Kamino V2 markets, contributed to late months volume, and are expected to expand further in June:

  • Marinade: $239M
  • Sanctum: $40.5M
  • SolBlaze: $36.1M
  • Altcoin: $25.9M
  • Exponent: $18.6M
  • Bonk: $5.19M
  • Bitcoin: $5.06M
  • Fartcoin: $1.69M

Borrowers showed increasingly dynamic behavior, repaying in higher volumes and rotating into new vaults and markets. The rise in withdrawals aligns with this shift, as users reallocated capital across the expanding Kamino ecosystem. Notably, liquidation volume dropped sharply thanks to stabilising market prices.

5. Market Movements & Liquidations

After subdued volatility throughout most of May, liquidation activity remained low and well-distributed, despite several long-tail assets experiencing sharp drawdowns. Core assets such as SOL, JitoSOL, and mSOL saw only moderate drawdowns (10–20%).

Total collateral seized in May amounted to just $1.9M (-88.9% MoM). Activity was concentrated in the Main market, and SOL exposures with SOL and JitoSOL accounting for over $1.5M in collateral seized.

Kamino’s liquidator activity decreased in May, with 39 addresses executing 816 liquidations—down from April in line with lower market stress. Coverage remained efficient and well-distributed, with minimal bonuses and no systemic gaps.

6. Stress Testing

Portfolio risk across Kamino markets remained concentrated but controlled in May. User positions continued to cluster near liquidation thresholds, particularly in JLP, Main, and Altcoin markets, though the overall collateral profile appeared healthier than in prior months.

Over 60% of JLP accounts continue to sit within 30% of their liquidation threshold. By contrast, Altcoin and Main market positions displayed wider collateral margins.

New V2 markets especially those centered around LSTs like Marinade, and PT show narrow distance to liquidations but lower liquidation risk ast these markets benefit from strong correlation between supplied and borrowed assets, limiting net exposure during price swings.

In the event of a market shock, dominant collaterals SOL and JLP would be the first to face liquidation exposure. These assets are also the most liquid and composable on Solana, enabling graceful position unwinding with limited price impact. Trade size analysis shows low slippage and stable price impacts for large sizes across USDC–SOL pairs.

Total Collateral at Risk & Bad Debt Exposure (ceteris paribus):

  • Should an instant 30% market drop occur, $177.3M in collateral could be liquidated (-50.5% MoM), potentially resulting in $2.9M in bad debt (-12% MoM)
  • In a 60% crash scenario, liquidation exposure rises to $705M (-18.4% MoM), with potential bad debt reaching $90.6M (-36.6% MoM) under absolute worst case scenarios.

Despite steady protocol growth, modeled systemic risk decreased, underscoring the improved borrower behavior as volatility eased across May.

7. Conclusions & Risk Considerations

May was a defining month for Kamino, with Lend V2 catalyzing a shift toward vault-based, modular markets that now underpin the protocol’s architecture. While overall growth was more modest than April, the protocol continued to expand - reaching $3.56B in supply and $1.49B in debt, supported by steady inflows and sustained borrowing demand.

Users exhibited improved risk posture, with wider buffers and reduced proximity to liquidation thresholds. The rise of new V2 markets with their initial focus on LSTs, has allowed for higher LTVs due to the inherent collateral-debt correlations. Simulated bad debt risk fell sharply, down 55% in a 30% market shock scenario, reflecting both market stability and healthier borrowing practices.

Kamino closes May in a strong position — scaling new architecture, deepening integration across the Solana ecosystem, and reinforcing its role as the chain’s leading credit layer.

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Thanks for the report. It’s very useful. Keep up the good work!

Net Interest Margin seems to be about 1.25M USD for May, being the difference between Interest received from borrower (9.3M) and Interest paid out to Lenders (8.04M)

In DefiLlama, May Fees for Kamino Lend are 9.3M which seems to indicate this is the same as Interest Received?
But May Revenue for Kamino Lend is 2.3M or so. This is much larger than the 1.25M Net Interest Margin. Why?
Is DefiLlama Revenue giving the correct proxy for protocol gross profits (earnings before staff and other costs)?
Or would it be more accurate to use the Net Interest margin as the correct proxy for protocol gross profits (earnings before staff and other costs)?