> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ethosis.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ethosis.org/introduction/readme.md).
# Ethosis in brief
Ethosis is a lending marketplace with no custodian in the middle. Borrowers and lenders agree loans with each other for a fixed term, and the loans are secured by tokenized real-world assets. The whole life of a loan, from the signed offer through the fill, repayment, refinancing and any liquidation, is recorded on Robinhood Chain where anyone can read it.
The first market is securities-backed lending done on-chain. Private banks sell the same thing under the name Lombard loan or margin loan. Someone who holds Robinhood Stock Tokens (tokenized AAPL, NVDA, SPY and the like) locks them as collateral and draws USDG from one lender or several, at a rate the parties settle on themselves.
{% hint style="info" %}
Ethosis runs on Robinhood Chain mainnet (chain ID 4663) and the platform is at [ethosis.org/platform](https://ethosis.org/platform). Verified, eligible participants can lend and borrow. None of this documentation constitutes investment advice.
{% endhint %}
## A loan from start to finish
The borrower posts a request that names the collateral, the principal sought, the highest APR they will accept and the term. Lenders answer with offers signed off-chain at whatever rate suits them. When enough offers line up, the borrower sends them to the contract in a single transaction. The contract checks each signature and each party's eligibility, takes the collateral into escrow, transfers USDG from every lender to the borrower, and mints a slice token for each lender's share. From then on interest accrues at the agreed fixed rate. When the term ends the borrower either repays, rolls the loan over through a rate auction, or defaults, in which case the collateral is sold in a Dutch auction. Lender capital that has not yet been matched is placed in an existing Morpho money market rather than sitting unused.
## Compared with a pooled market
| | Pooled RWA money market | Ethosis |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| How the rate is set | Variable, from a utilisation curve | Agreed per loan, fixed for the term |
| Duration | No fixed end | Fixed term, rolled over by refinancing auction |
| Which collateral qualifies | A curated, liquid, capped list | Any Stock Token with an oracle price, including the long tail |
| Who carries the risk | Shared by the whole pool | Each lender and each syndicate separately |
| Where bad debt lands | On every supplier | On the lender who set the price |
| Unmatched capital | Earns the pool's rate | Parked in a pool until a match is found |
| Recovery route | Liquidation into DEX liquidity | Dutch auction with bounded floors, or settlement in kind |
A pooled design suits collateral that is deep and liquid. It struggles with everything else: single-name stocks, tokens with thin DEX liquidity, weekends when the underlying market is shut, tokens of private companies. Those assets need a price set per loan and a fixed term, and serving them is the gap Ethosis fills.
## Essentials
| | |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Network | Robinhood Chain, an Arbitrum Nitro L2 (chain ID 4663) |
| Loan asset | USDG (Paxos Global Dollar) |
| Collateral today | Robinhood Stock Tokens |
| Collateral next | Long-tail Stock Tokens, followed by tokenized treasuries and fund shares (see the [Roadmap](/roadmap/phases.md)) |
| Loan shape | Fixed rate, fixed term, syndicated across any number of lenders |
| Custody | None. Nothing moves until a loan originates, and collateral sits in an immutable escrow contract |
| Default handling | A Dutch auction run by the smart contract, never a legal process |
## Out of scope
* Uncollateralised or undercollateralised lending, in any form.
* Issuing a protocol token.
* Pooled vaults run by Ethosis itself.
## Reading paths
* First time here: [Why now](/introduction/why-now.md), then [Design principles](/introduction/design-principles.md).
* For the mechanics: the [Loan lifecycle](/protocol/loan-lifecycle.md), followed by [Offers and matching](/protocol/offers-and-matching.md) and [Health factor and liquidation](/protocol/health-and-liquidation.md).
* Integrating or building: [System overview](/architecture/overview.md), [Smart contracts](/architecture/smart-contracts.md) and [Deployment](/architecture/deployment.md).
* Evaluating risk: the [Risk framework](/risk/framework.md) and [Lessons from RWA lending](/risk/lessons.md).
* Using the platform: [For borrowers](/guides/borrowers.md) and [For lenders](/guides/lenders.md).
---
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