> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.keystonefi.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.keystonefi.xyz/readme.md).

# Introduction

**ksUSD turns SOL staking into dollar yield.** It is a vault share, not a pegged dollar — the price floats with what the vault holds.

* **Deposit** USDC, get ksUSD at the current share price.
* **Hold** it. Nothing to stake, nothing to claim — yield accrues into the price.
* **Withdraw** anytime. Small amounts pay out instantly, larger ones queue.

With the money it stakes, hedges the price away, and parks in USDC lending when the hedge stops paying for itself. It picks between those from an on-chain funding signal, on a schedule, with nobody steering it. [What is ksUSD? →](/start-here/reserve-asset.md)

**Staking is the engine, not funding.** Staking accrues on every hedged day and nothing is traded for it; funding decides whether the hedge is worth putting on. On this window funding is the larger leg at the margin: take staking out of the backtest and the vault nets 5.20% against a published 7.19%; take funding out and it never hedges at all, netting 4.52%. Neither leg alone gets near the combined figure. [Where the yield comes from →](/how-it-works/strategy-and-modes/historical-simulation.md#where-the-yield-comes-from)

Backtested on Phoenix's own funding, over every day the venue has quoted a SOL perp: **7.19% net, −0.314% max drawdown** across 316 days. The window's last month, September 2026 (+22% funding), is the venue's best; ending a month earlier gives 5.86%. [Historical simulation →](/how-it-works/strategy-and-modes/historical-simulation.md)

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Pre-deployment.** Not yet on mainnet; audit pending. v1 hedges on Phoenix Perps (Ellipsis Labs), posting USDC as margin via Ember with jitoSOL held unlevered as the spot leg. Phoenix's SOL perp opened 18 November 2025, so the backtest covers the venue's entire life — 316 days, which is a young venue's record rather than a market cycle.
{% endhint %}

***

## Where to go next

**Depositing?** [What is ksUSD?](/start-here/reserve-asset.md) → [Deposit](/start-here/deposit.md) → [What it costs](/start-here/fees.md) → [What can go wrong](/start-here/volatility-risk-management.md)

**Building on it?** [Quick start](/build-on-it/quick-start.md) → [Instructions](/build-on-it/quick-start/instructions.md) → [Accounts](/build-on-it/quick-start/accounts.md)

**Running a keeper?** [Keeper bot](/run-it/keeper-bot.md) → [Monitoring](/run-it/keeper-bot/monitoring.md) → [Admin ops](/run-it/keeper-bot/admin-ops.md)

**Just want the mechanism?** [Strategy & Modes](/how-it-works/strategy-and-modes.md) for the modes, the funding threshold and the rebalancing rules; the [whitepaper](/how-it-works/whitepaper.md) for the derivations, the risk disclosures and why the design only assembles on Solana; the [Hylo comparison](/how-it-works/whitepaper/hylo.md) for the closest Solana-native alternative.

**Unfamiliar term?** The [glossary](/reference/glossary.md) defines funding, delta-hedged, NAV and the rest.

***

## Program

| Network | Program                                        | Address                                        |
| ------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Devnet  | `keystone_finance` (ksUSD vault)               | `E7tpCcxtvuTXLAckBGWb1AsndpLQ1Y9hQA3iGYSXz2vJ` |
| Mainnet | `E7tpCcxtvuTXLAckBGWb1AsndpLQ1Y9hQA3iGYSXz2vJ` | Pending audit / deploy                         |