What is ksUSD?
ksUSD is a carry-backed dollar that earns from funding, lending, and staking.
Architecture:
One Anchor program
One PDA-owned vault
One share mint (
ksUSD)Three internal modes — picked automatically by the funding signal
No discretion. No off-chain components beyond the keeper that cranks permissionless instructions.
How ksUSD earns
Drift SOL-PERP funding
Normal & reverse basis modes
5–15% APR
jitoSOL staking yield
Normal basis (jitoSOL collateral)
~5.8% APR baseline
USDC lending carry
Always (buffer + reserve + idle parked capital)
~4–5% APR
When the funding signal sits in the dead zone, the active position closes and the entire NAV runs as USDC lending until the next active regime.
Strategy & modes
A single delta-neutral carry strategy runs through three modes, switched automatically by the smoothed funding signal:
Normal basis (funding ≥ +2%) — long jitoSOL on Drift, short SOL-PERP at 1×
Reverse basis (funding ≤ −12%) — post USDC on Kamino, borrow-and-sell jitoSOL, long SOL-PERP at 1×
Idle (dead zone) — close the position, park all NAV in USDC lending
Gross SOL delta stays ≈ 0 in every mode. See Strategy & Modes for the full mechanics, mode-switch guardrails, and why it composes only on Solana.
Related
Whitepaper — full design, NAV math, security, risk disclosures
Strategy & Modes — the three modes, guardrails, and why it's Solana-only
Risk management — drawdown guard, slippage bounds, dwell timers, depeg / staleness guards
Fee structure — 0% mgmt · 20% perf above HWM · 5% reserve skim
Last updated