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Protocol Overview

USDC Earn Vault

Learn how to deposit USDC, earn yield automatically, and withdraw anytime with no lockup. This guide covers how the USDC Vault works, fees, and risks

Earn Yield on USDC with Marinade

Marinade lets you put your USDC to work. The USDC Vault is a lending strategy built on Kamino that delivers risk-adjusted yield on your stablecoins: no lockup required and no need to leave the Marinade app.

What Is the USDC Vault?

The USDC Vault is a yield-generating vault powered by Kamino's on-chain lending markets. When you deposit USDC, your funds are supplied to liquid lending pools where borrowers pay interest. The vault curator (RockawayX) continuously reallocates capital across lending pools to optimize for steady, risk-adjusted returns.

Vault highlights:

  • Current APY: variable, shown live in the app. The figure displayed is a 14-day average, so it will not reflect a same-day move in lending rates.
  • Withdrawals: no lockup and no unbonding period, subject to available lending liquidity
  • Vault curator: RockawayX
  • Lending base: Kamino
  • Audited and verified

On-chain addresses

RoleAddress
USDC Vault (Kamino Earn vault)2TNCzzYJt3uHmpFpqeeJkza4pQUK9xoLa79DJH9AdgGA
Kamino vault programKvauGMspG5k6rtzrqqn7WNn3oZdyKqLKwK2XWQ8FLjd
Deposit asset (USDC mint)EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v

How It Works

  1. Deposit USDC: You deposit USDC into the Marinade vault.
  2. Supplied to Kamino: Your USDC is supplied to Kamino's on-chain lending markets through smart contracts.
  3. Rewards are generated: Borrowers post collateral and pay interest. Yield is generated from lending demand and market utilization. APY fluctuates based on market conditions.
  4. Strategy is actively managed: RockawayX, the external vault curator, reallocates capital across lending pools in response to market conditions to maintain consistent yield.
  5. Earn automatically: Vault interest accrues continuously in USDC with no action required. Any additional incentive rewards appear as pending and must be claimed manually.

How to Deposit USDC

Step 1: Visit the Marinade App

Step 2: Navigate to USDC Vault

Earn page with the USDC Vault card
  • From the main menu, select Earn, then click Deposit USDC on the USDC Vault card.

Step 3: Enter Your Deposit Amount

USDC Vault Deposit tab with an amount entered
  • On the Deposit tab, enter the amount of USDC you want to deposit, or click Max.

Keep a small amount of SOL in your wallet to cover transaction fees, even though you are depositing USDC.

Step 4: Confirm the Transaction

  • Click Deposit, then approve the transaction in your wallet. Your USDC will begin earning yield immediately.

Step 5: Monitor Your Position

USDC Vault My position tab with transaction history and rewards report
  • Once deposited, you can view your position on the My position tab of the USDC Vault page, along with your Transaction history and a Rewards report you can export. It also shows as a row under Earn positions on Portfolio. Vault interest accrues automatically and is reflected in your growing USDC balance.
    • If any incentive rewards are available, they appear as pending and can be claimed from the same page.

How to Withdraw

There is no cooldown and no unbonding period. A withdrawal is a single transaction.

USDC Vault Withdraw tab
  1. Go to app.marinade.finance and connect the wallet you deposited from.
  2. Select Earn, then open the USDC Vault.
  3. Open the Withdraw tab.
  4. Enter the amount you want to withdraw, or click Max for the full position.
  5. Click Withdraw and approve the transaction in your wallet. The USDC arrives once it confirms.

Keep a small amount of SOL in your wallet for the network fee, even though you are withdrawing USDC.

Claim bonus rewards before withdrawing in full. Vault interest is already part of your balance and needs no claiming, but campaign bonus rewards are separate. On the My position tab, look for a line reading "You've earned ... in bonus rewards" with a Claim all button, and claim before you withdraw everything.

If a withdrawal does not go through. Your USDC is supplied to Kamino's lending markets, so withdrawals depend on liquidity being available there. This is rare, but during periods of very high utilization a withdrawal can be constrained. Try a smaller amount, or try again shortly. The app lists this as Liquidity risk under Strategy overview.

Because the vault is a Kamino Earn vault, your position is also visible and withdrawable directly on Kamino at any time, at the vault address in the table above.

How Rewards Work

Yield is generated from the interest paid by borrowers in Kamino's lending markets. The APY you see is a 14-day average of the annualized rate, based on real-time lending demand and market utilization, so it lags a sudden move in rates.

There are two types of rewards:

  • Vault interest: Accrues automatically to your USDC balance as interest compounds. No claiming required, and it is already included in whatever you withdraw.
  • Incentive rewards: Additional rewards that may be available on top of vault interest. These appear as pending in the Earn page and must be claimed manually.
  • APY is variable. The rate fluctuates based on borrowing demand and pool utilization. It is not fixed or guaranteed.

Fees

Marinade does not charge a deposit or withdrawal fee for the USDC Vault.

FeeRate
Deposit0%
Withdrawal0%
Management fee0%
Performance fee5% of net interest earned

The performance fee is taken only on the net interest generated by your position. If your position generates $1,000 in interest, a $50 fee is taken and you keep $950. It is already reflected in the displayed net APY. Both the 5% performance fee and the 0% management fee are parameters of the on-chain vault account and can be read directly from it.

Risks and Disclaimers

The USDC Vault is a non-custodial, on-chain vault. It is not a savings account and carries the following risks:

  • Strategy risk: Yield is variable and depends on lending demand, collateral conditions, and the vault curator's allocation decisions. Returns are not guaranteed.
  • USDC depeg risk: USDC is designed to track 1 USD, but the peg is not guaranteed in extreme market conditions.
  • Smart contract risk: Funds are deployed through Kamino's smart contracts, which have been audited but may contain vulnerabilities.
  • Liquidity risk: Withdrawals rely on available liquidity in underlying lending markets and may be constrained during periods of high utilization.

This vault deploys capital on-chain and is not a bank deposit or savings account. Only deposit what you are comfortable with.