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Okay, picture this: You've got a stack of SOL sitting in your wallet, price is pumping, but you need some USDC quick for a new GPU or whatever. Selling means taxes and FOMO if it moons more. So what do you do? You head to a Solana lending platform, lock up that SOL as collateral, borrow stablecoins, and keep your position. Boom. I've done this exact play on Kamino last month-borrowed 500 USDC against 5 SOL at like 70% LTV, rates were around 4% borrow APR. Paid it back a week later after flipping the GPU. Zero selling, zero regrets.
That's the magic of Solana lending. Super fast txs, fees like 0.000005 SOL per action. No waiting for Ethereum gas wars. But it's not just borrowing. You can lend your idle USDC or stSOL and pull 5-15% APY depending on the market. Thing is, Solana's got a few top dogs here-Kamino, Marginfi, Solend, maybe Port Finance if you're feeling old school. In my experience, Kamino's the go to for most folks 'cause of its liquidity and no hack history.
Why Solana specifically? Speed. Like, borrow and repay in seconds. And yields beat CEXes sometimes. But watch liquidation- if SOL drops hard, your collateral gets yeeted at like 80-90% LTV threshold.
Don't even think about starting without Phantom. It's the wallet, dude. Download from phantom.app, create a new one, jot down that seed phrase on paper-never digital, seriously. Fund it with some SOL from Coinbase or whoever, like 0.1 SOL for fees covers you for days.
Pro move: Enable hardware wallet later, like Ledger with Solana app. I usually test with 10 bucks first. Sound familiar? That "start small" vibe saves headaches.
Done? Good. Now we're cooking.
Look, Kamino's basically Solana's prime broker. Lend, borrow, automate everything. TVL's massive 'cause traders love borrowing here for leverage without swapping. Supply USDC, earn maybe 8% APY right now-rates float with demand. Borrow SOL against it? Nah, usually stables against volatiles.
I usually park my stables here. No incidents ever, risk engine's solid. Competitors like Solend or Marginfi are cool too, but Kamino's liquidity means tighter rates. What's next? Let's walk through supplying.
Had a glitch once? Wallet not showing balance. Just refresh and re connect. Happens if Solana's congested, rare now.
Borrowing's similar but riskier. Supply collateral first (say SOL), then borrow USDC up to 75% LTV. Monitor that health factor-drops below 1, liquidation city. I set alerts on the app.
Okay, switch gears. Marginfi's killer for points farming sometimes-they drop KMNO tokens or whatever. But honestly, it's neck and neck with Kamino. Deeper on some memes or LSTs like JitoSOL. Fees? Same low Solana magic.
In my experience, use it if you want auto repay features or leveraged vaults. Rates? Borrow USDC at 5-6%, supply SOL at 3-5%. Volatile markets spike 'em.
| Feature | Kamino | Marginfi |
|---|---|---|
| TVL | Huge, $500M+ | $300M+ |
| Supply APY (USDC) | ~8% | ~9% |
| Max LTV | 75% | 80% |
| Points Program | Yes | Yes, juicy |
| Best For | Leverage trading | Yield on LSTs |
See? Marginfi edges on yields, Kamino on safety. Pick based on your stack.
But wait, Solend's not dead. It's simpler, less flashy. Good for newbies. Supply/borrow basics, rates competitive-USDC lend at 6-10%. I've used it back in 2024 when Kamino was tiny.
Issue? Less liquidity on exotics. Stick to SOL/USDC/USDT. Liquidation at 85% LTV, but they've had exploits before-check audits on their site.
Steps mirror others: Connect, supply, earn. Withdraws are instant. Why bother? If Kamino's down (rare), it's backup.
Port's got like $7M TVL, not huge, but reliable for USDT/SOL plays. UI's clean-shows market size, deposit APY right up front. Borrow APY around 10% lately.
Here's how I did my first lend there:
Potential issue: Smaller pools mean rates swing wild. Solved? Diversify across 2-3 platforms.
So you're lending happily, then SOL dumps 20%. Borrowers get liquidated, you take a haircut as supplier? Nah, not always-protocols isolate. But oracle fails or hacks? Happened to Solend once.
My rules: Never go over 60% LTV on borrows. Use stable collateral for stables. Check defillama for TVL drops-under $10M? Skip. And diversify: 40% Kamino USDC, 30% Marginfi LSTs, rest wallet.
Liquidation fear? Tools like Kamino's health slider warn you. Repay early if health <1.2. In volatile weeks, I bridge to Eth if needed, but Solana's fast recovery usually wins.
Now, wanna level up? Loop on Kamino: Supply SOL, borrow USDC, swap to more SOL, supply again. 2-3x leverage easy. But risky- one dip and cascade liquidation.
Or farm points: Marginfi drops 'em for supplies, redeem for airdrops. I've farmed 10k points last month, worth $50 so far. Track on their hub.
Question: Worth the gas? Yeah, if you're in for weeks. I usually cap at 2x.
Yield? Doubles your APY but amps risk. Test small.
Sometimes I cheat with OKX or Binance for SOL lending-8-12% APY, no wallet hassle. But custodial, and US folks? Limited. DeFi wins on control. Rates similar, but Solana DeFi's cheaper long term.
Table time:
| DeFi (Kamino) | CEX (OKX) | |
|---|---|---|
| Control | Full, non custodial | They hold keys |
| Fees | ~0.000005 SOL | 0% |
| Rates | Variable 5-15% | Fixed ish 8% |
| Risk | Smart contract | Platform bankruptcy |
Hybrid me: CEX for sleep easy, DeFi for max yield.
Earning yield? IRS wants 30% cut kinda. Every supply/withdraw is taxable event sometimes. I use Solana explorer + CoinTracker. Log APY accruals monthly.
Borrowing? Non taxable till repayment. But track basis. Nightmare otherwise come April.
Tip: Export CSV from platforms, import to tracker. Saved me hours.
Current meta: 50% stables in Kamino for steady 8%, 30% LSTs in Marginfi for 12%+, 20% SOL lend for upside. Rotate if rates flip.
Had a buddy ape 100% SOL lend-doubled during pump, liquidated half in dip. Lesson: Balance.
Weekly check: Defillama, birdeye.so for prices. Adjust LTVs.
One more: Bridges. Want Eth yield? Wormhole USDC to Solana, lend, back. Fees ~0.1%, but arb opportunities.
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