From the Ethos Dashboard you can see everything you need to know at a glance. Let’s explore.

At the top of the page there are three boxes, for BTC, ETH, and OP. These will show the current Chainlink price of each asset, as well as the system’s Total Collateral Ratio (TCR). Click on any of these boxes to see more details.

The first thing you’ll see on your dashboard is the My Positions box, which will show each opened or unopened position you have available. You’re able to have a single position of each type, and any unopened position types will prompt you to get started. Otherwise they will show up with your current collateral ratio (CR), liquidation price, collateral, and ERN debt.

Below the My Positions section, you’ll find the Stability Pool and Staking Pool. Click on either of the Deposit buttons to get started opening your first position.

When you’ve opened positions in either section, they will show up on the dashboard with all of your position data.

Here is a list of useful addresses you can use to interact with Ethos Reserve.

If you have any questions about a particular contract address, please reach out to our team on Discord.

The Optimism Bridge makes it easy for users to onboard crypto assets from many popular networks, centralized exchanges, or even through a credit or debit card. Select your desired onboarding method and follow instructions to fill your Optimism wallet.

After moving assets onto Optimism, if you don’t already have wrapped BTC (wBTC), wrapped ETH (wETH), or OP, the best way to get it is through a DEX. You can find some popular options below.

When you have your OP or wrapped Ethereum or Bitcoin, navigate to the Ethos Reserve Dashboard to begin creating a position.

From your dashboard, click on Get Started in the Open a Position box to open the position creation interface.

In the New Position interface, select the amount of collateral you would like to deposit and the amount of ERN you’d like to borrow.

When you’re satisfied with your deposit and borrow amounts, click on Open Position to perform the necessary transactions. Your wallet will request confirmation for each incomplete transaction.

After your position has been opened, you will see it every time you open your Ethos dashboard!

Now that you’re an official Ethos Reserve user, it’s time to learn how to earn with your ERN.

Now that you’ve opened your first position, it’s time to put your ERN to work in the Stability Pool. Navigate back to the Ethos Reserve Dashboard to get started.

From the dashboard, click on Deposit in Stability Pool.

From the Stability Pool interface, it’s as easy as typing in the amount to deposit and then clicking on Join Pool.

Clicking on Join Pool will open up the transaction window. You will be asked by your wallet provider to confirm the transaction.

After the transaction is confirmed, you will see your deposit alongside pending rewards.

When your rewards are ready to claim, you’ll see a box show up prompting you to claim them!

Congratulations! You’ve just created a yield-bearing decentralized financial position with Ethos Reserve! Learn more about the mechanics of the Stability Pool here.

Staked ERN (stERN) is an interest-bearing ERC-20 token representing ERN that has been staked in the Stability Pool on Ethos Reserve. It is a receipt token received from staking ERN into the stERN vault on Reaper.

When you stake ERN directly into the stability pool, you earn yield from the underlying collateral and liquidation income – rewards which must be claimed. The stERN vault on Reaper compounds the yield back into more ERN, producing a composable, interest-bearing version of ERN that grows in value in accordance with the yield earned by the Stability Providers. By holding stERN, users are given access to the benefits of being a Stability Provider all while holding a liquid ERC-20 token that can be used across DeFi.

In summary, stERN is a liquid and composable interest-bearing stablecoin derivative with built-in access to blue-chip yield and exposure to market volatility through liquidation income via Ethos Reserve.

You can acquire stERN in two ways: By staking ERN in the stERN vault on Reaper, or by swapping for it using a decentralized exchange that supports a stERN pool.

You can acquire bOATH by providing liquidity to the Bonded Oath Token pool on BeethovenX. The pool can be accessed via the Ethos UI or via this link. Note that you will need to provide 80/20 OATH/wETH liquidity to the pool to mint bOATH.

Once you have acquired bOATH LPs, you can stake them on Ethos Reserve in the Staking Pool.

Once deposited, your bOATH will earn yield from the protocol mechanics in the form of ERN via borrowing fees, swap fees from BeethovenX, and BTC/ETH/OP from redemption fees.

It is important to note that there is no locking mechanism for bOATH. Users can withdraw from the staking pool at any time.

Ethos
Short for Ethos Reserve. Alternatively, the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations.

Position
A collateralized debt position, bound to a single Ethereum address. Also referred to as a “CDP” in similar protocols.

ERN
The stablecoin that is issued from a user’s collateralized debt position upon opening. 1 ERN can always be exchanged for $1 of collateral or deposited in the Stability pool to earn yield.

Bonded OATH
Bonded OATH (bOATH) is both OATH and ETH, backed by a Balancer-powered 80/20 liquidity pool. bOATH benefits from trading fees generated by Ethos’ incentive buyback and distribution strategies, and earns Ethos platform fees when deposited in the staking pool.

Collateral
Any asset used to open a position on Ethos Reserve. Each collateral has its own isolated pool and associated TCR, CCR, and MCR.

Collateral Pool
All the collateral for a given type deposited in Ethos Reserve. Each collateral pool has their own TCR, CCR, and MCR, and is isolated from each other pool. This means that the ETH pool wouldn’t need to worry about changes in the BTC pool’s TCR and vice versa.

Collateral Ratio
The ratio of the USD-denominated value of some collateral to the ERN debt that collateral backs. There are multiple important types of collateral ratios, described below.
Personal Collateral Ratio
The collateral ratio of an individual wallet’s position.

Total Collateral Ratio (TCR)
The collateral ratio of an entire collateral pool. Each collateral type has its own total collateral ratio.

Critical Collateral Ratio (CCR)
The TCR below which a given collateral pool will enter Recovery Mode.

Minimum Collateral Ratio (MCR)
The minimum required amount of collateral to debt ratio required to maintain an active position in Ethos Reserve.

Stability Pool
Pooled ERN which exists to liquidate under-collateralized positions in exchange for discounted collateral and OATH yield.

Staking Pool
Pooled bOATH that earns all fees from ERN issuance and redemption.

Borrower
A wallet or smart contract that locks collateral in a position and issues ERN tokens to their own address. They “borrow” ERN tokens against their ETH or BTC collateral.

Depositor
A wallet or smart contract that has deposited ERN tokens in the Stability Pool in order to earn returns from liquidations and receive OATH token issuance.

Redemption
The act of swapping ERN tokens with the system in return for an equivalent value of collateral. Any wallet with an ERN token balance may redeem, whether or not they are a borrower. When ERN is redeemed, the collateral is always withdrawn from the lowest collateralized positions, in ascending order of their collateral ratio. A redeemer can not selectively target positions with which to swap ERN for ETH.

Repayment
When a borrower sends ERN tokens to their own position, reducing their debt and increasing their collateral ratio.

Liquidation
The act of force-closing an under-collateralized position and redistributing its collateral and debt. When the Stability Pool is sufficiently large, the liquidated debt is offset with the Stability Pool, and the collateral distributed to depositors. If the liquidated debt can not be offset with the Pool, the system redistributes the liquidated collateral and debt directly to the active positions with healthy collateral ratios. Liquidation functionality is permissionless and publically available – anyone may liquidate an undercollateralized position one at a time or batched in ascending order of collateral ratio.

Liquidator
Usually a role filled by bots, liquidators call liquidation functions on the Ethos Reserve smart contracts in exchange for users’ gas deposits.

Recovery Mode
Recovery Mode activates when a pool’s TCR falls below the CCR. During Recovery Mode, positions with a collateral ratio below that pool’s CCR are subject to liquidation in ascending order from the lowest collateralized position until the system’s TCR is above the CCR. During Recovery Mode, positions are closed as normal using their associated MCR and any leftover collateral will be made claimable on the Ethos Reserve website.

Optimal usage of Ethos Reserve is directly correlated to optimal understanding of the ERN token, why it matters, and how different market conditions can impact its use cases.

The ERN Peg
While ERN mechanics establish a soft peg to the US dollar, its true value lies in a range between $0.995 and $1.085. The reason for this is due to the minting and redemption features available to ERN holders.

When ERN is below $1…
Each ERN token can be redeemed for $1 worth of collateral from the Ethos Reserve smart contracts. This operation is called a Redemption, and incurs a 0.5% fee which is sent to the Staking Pool.

Redemptions are different from withdrawals or repayments, as they can be performed by users whether they have an open position or not. This makes arbitrage when ERN is below $1 very profitable.

When ERN is above $1…
When ERN rises above $1, minting it gets progressively cheaper. This is because Ethos values each ERN token as $1 at time of issuance. This means when ERN is valued at $1.05 on an external DEX, every $100 of ERN minted nets an extra $5.

The stability pool is able to close unhealthy debt positions within Ethos Reserve for a profit to ensure it remains fully collateralized. Arbitrage efficiency and liquidation bonus mean that ERN price may range slightly, but it should never deviate excessively from $1 without effectively being able to restore itself.

Ethos Reserve issues interest-free loans denominated in the $ERN stablecoin. Instead of paying interest, users pay a 0.5% issuance fee, meaning they don’t need to worry about micro-managing their position.

There is no fee for paying back a loan.

ERN Loan Example

• If a user deposits sufficient collateral, they can take out a 100 ERN loan.
• Their total debt will appear as 110.5 ERN, which is made up of a 0.5% issuance fee (in this case 0.5 ERN), 10 ERN held as a liquidation deposit, and 100 ERN minted to the user’s wallet.
• When the user pays back 100.5 ERN, the 10 ERN liquidation deposit will automatically be paid into their position and the position will be closed.

The Stability Pool is Ethos Reserve’s ultimate source of ERN liquidity, designed to repay debt from liquidated positions and establish a consistent source of yield for ERN.

When positions are liquidated under normal circumstances, an amount of ERN equal to that position’s remaining debt is burned from the Stability Pool’s balance for repayment. In exchange, the entire collateral from the position is transferred to the Stability Pool.

To users, these liquidations can be thought of like purchases of discounted collateral from each pool each time a position becomes unhealthy. Your balance of ERN will continuously decline as your balance of collateral tokens will continuously increase.

Benefits of the Stability Pool

• Single-Sided pool
• Excellent source of real yield for ERN depositors
• Easy way to earn OATH rewards
• Ensures efficient and reliable liquidations for ERN

Can I withdraw my ERN deposit whenever I want?
Generally speaking, the Stability Pool is not locked and remains accessible. However, withdrawals may be temporarily suspended whenever there are positions with collateral ratio below 110% that have not been liquidated yet.

A key stabilizing mechanic of Ethos Reserve is liquidations. A liquidation occurs when your collateral ratio falls below the minimum required amount. In the event of liquidation, your position will be closed by the system, debt repaid, and collateral forfeited to the Stability Pool depositors.

Liquidations occur at different collateral ratios for different collateral types, and each pool has its own liquidation parameters. These parameters are based on the associated collateral type’s risk profile.

If you haven’t read the previous section, you may be wondering what a Critical Collateral Ratio is. Also known as the CCR, this is collateral ratio at which you may be subject to liquidation during a period of Recovery Mode.

Recovery Mode
Recovery Mode is triggered when a pool’s TCR falls below the CCR, and is designed to ensure that ERN always remains over-collateralized by a sufficient amount. Instances of recovery mode are rare, brief, and isolated to the associated collateral pool.

What oracle are you using to determine the price of collateral?

The protocol uses Chainlink price feeds, falling back to secondary oracles under the following (extreme) conditions:

• Chainlink price has not been updated for more than 4 hours
• Chainlink response call reverts, returns an invalid price or an invalid timestamp
• The price change between two consecutive Chainlink price updates is >50%.

Please note that although the system is diligently audited, a hack or a bug that results in losses for the users can never be fully excluded.

Liquidation example (Stability Pool)

Say there is a total of 1,000,000 ERN in the Stability Pool and your deposit is 100,000 ERN.

A position with debt of 200,000 ERN and collateral of 23.6 BTC is liquidated at a BTC price of $10,000. The collateral ratio in this case is 118%.

Given that your pool share is 10%, your deposit will go down by 10% of the liquidated debt (20,000 ERN). In return, you will gain 10% of the liquidated collateral (2.36 BTC), which is currently worth $23,600. Your net gain from the liquidation is $3600.

Depositors can immediately withdraw the collateral received from liquidations and sell it to reduce their exposure.

What happens if the Stability Pool is empty when liquidations occur?

If the Stability Pool is empty, the system uses a secondary liquidation mechanism called redistribution. The system redistributes the debt and collateral from liquidated positions to all other existing positions. The redistribution of debt and collateral is done in proportion to the recipient collateral amounts.

Liquidation example (Empty Stability Pool)

The example below demonstrates the redistribution of a position that is liquidated at 108% CR, assuming the Stability Pool is empty.

As a user, it is important to understand how to keep your position healthy and how to maintain a level of liquidation risk you are comfortable with.

Here are some important metrics you must be aware of:

Minimum Collateral Ratio (MCR)

The minimum amount of collateral that can back a user’s position for each asset:

• ETH → 108% MCR or $1.08 worth of ETH collateral for every $1 of ERN borrowed
• BTC → 110% MCR or $1.10 worth of BTC collateral for every $1 of ERN borrowed
• OP → 130% MCR or $1.30 worth of OP collateral for every $1 of ERN borrowed

Total Collateral Ratio (TCR)

The ratio of the total dollar amount in collateral in the protocol at the current price, to its total debt. Each collateral asset has a different TCR, they are siloed and managed separately.

Critical Collateral Ratio (CCR)

The threshold at which, when crossed, triggers recovery mode.

• ETH → 120% CCR
• BTC → 135% CCR
• OP → 150% CCR

When the Total Collateral Ratio (TCR) falls below the Critical Collateral Ratio (CCR), recovery mode gets turned on: TCR < CCR → Recovery Mode Active

Recovery Mode

When active, any position below the CCR may be liquidated. Liquidations are ordered starting with the position that is least collateralized and ending with the most collateralized. Recovery mode is active until the TCR is above the CCR. Liquidation happens at the MCR and the user keeps the difference.

Example

You have opened a position with WETH. The TCR of WETH drops to 110% – below the CCR of 120%, recovery mode gets turned on. Your collateral ratio at this time is 115% and you are at risk of being liquidated. If you get liquidated, the liquidation will occur at the MCR of 108% and you will be able to claim the difference of (115 – 108) = 7% in collateral.

To maintain a healthy position, it is also important to monitor the value of the assets in your position and make adjustments accordingly. This means being cognizant of the market value of your collateral and adjusting your position accordingly if need be to ensure that it stays within the required limits.

Now that you are familiar with relevant ratios and metrics, let’s discuss how you can keep your position healthy and avoid the risk of liquidation (assuming that is your goal).

Firstly, it is important to maintain a healthy Personal Collateral Ratio (CR) for each position. This means keeping your CR above the minimum required amount for each asset in your position, as represented by each asset’s Minimum Collateral Ratio (MCR) discussed in the previous section.

By maintaining a healthy position, you ensure that you have enough collateral to cover any potential losses or fluctuations in the asset’s value. If you are not comfortable with the health of your position, or your position is at risk of being liquidated, you may want to take steps to manage it. Similarly, managing your position could include borrowing more ERN or withdrawing some collateral to decrease your CR in a situation where you feel comfortable doing so.

To manage a position, simply click the ‘Edit’ button on the desired position, then proceed in the same manner by clicking the edit button icons either on the collateral side or the ERN side. This will give you the option of withdrawing/adding collateral, or repaying/borrowing ERN.

Additionally, it is important to keep track of the Critical Collateral Ratio (CCR) and take appropriate action if necessary. When the TCR falls below the CCR, recovery mode is activated, which means that any position below the CCR may be liquidated. To avoid liquidation, you should consider adding more collateral to your position to bring the TCR back above the CCR.

If recovery mode is active, it is important to be aware of your position in regards to the increased liquidation threshold. It is important to note that, during recovery mode, liquidations happen at the MCR and the user keeps the difference.

Bonded Oath, or $bOATH, is both OATH and ETH, backed by a Balancer-powered 80/20 liquidity pool. $bOATH earns platform fees and benefits from trading fees generated by Ethos’ incentive buyback and distribution strategies. These strategies create a constant source of demand for $OATH as it buys it back to fund yield.

A $bOATH position staked on Ethos will earn yield from ERN loan issuance fees, and Redemption rewards. Redemption typically only occurs when ERN falls below $1. You can read more about Redemption in Understanding ERN.

Please note that Redemption is not the same as repayment. There is no fee for repaying a loan.

Ethos Reserve is fully audited by Certik. View the report. Additionally, Ethos Reserve has been extensively audited in a Code4Rena contest. View the results.

Ethos Reserve is an initiative by the Oath Foundation to create a fully decentralized, community-governed stable asset protocol. This protocol is designed to provide a new decentralized base-layer for financial applications to be built upon which is underpinned by fair and sustainable mechanisms.

Ethos Reserve is maintained by the Byte Masons, a development collective pursuing open, secure, and reliable systems focused on helping users navigate the new web and Decentralized Finance.

Byte Masons, in the pursuit of public good, seek to improve access to financial tools, transparency of financial organizations, and ethos in business operations. We will strive to set safety, security, and service standards in the DeFi industry and seek excellence in everything we do for the betterment of our community and ecosystem.

You can find the Byte Masons website here.

We enjoy and empower business and community engagement and hope to learn as much from you as you do from us. You can find us on Twitter, Telegram, and Discord.

Information Published is Not Advice
The information provided on Ethos Reserve does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other sort of advice, and you should not treat any of Ethos Reserve’s content as such. Our team provides Ethos Reserve as a service to the public, and is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within Ethos Reserve. While the information contained within Ethos Reserve is periodically updated, no guarantee is given that the information provided in Ethos Reserve is correct, complete, and up-to-date.

Usage Risks
Ethos Reserve is not responsible for any losses, damages, or claims arising from events falling within the scope of events such as, but not limited to: mistakes made by the user (e.g. payments sent to wrong addresses), software problems of Ethos Reserve or any related software or service (e.g. malware or unsafe cryptographic libraries), technical failures (e.g. hardware wallets malfunction), security problems experienced by the user (e.g. unauthorized access to wallets), actions or inactions of third parties (e.g. bankruptcy of service providers, information security attacks on service providers, and fraud conducted by third parties).

Investment Risks
Investment in cryptocurrencies can lead to loss of money and prices having large range fluctuations. The information published on Ethos Reserve cannot guarantee no money loss. Ethos Reserve users are responsible for understanding these risks, doing their own due diligence, and making their own decisions on how to interface with Ethos Reserve.

Compliance with Tax Obligations
The users of Ethos Reserve are solely responsible to determine what, if any, taxes apply to their cryptocurrency holdings. The owners of, or contributors to, Ethos Reserve are NOT responsible for determining the taxes that apply to user transactions.

No Warranties
Ethos Reserve is provided on an “as is” basis without any warranties of any kind regarding Ethos Reserve and/or any content, data, materials and/or services provided on Ethos Reserve. Ethos Reserve functionality is not guaranteed and could be disabled fully or in part without prior notice.

Security
Security audits do not eliminate risks completely. Ethos Reserve is not guaranteed to be secure or free from bugs or viruses.

Limitation of Liability
Unless otherwise required by law, in no event shall the owners of, or contributors to, Ethos Reserve be liable for any damages of any kind, including, but not limited to, loss of use, loss of profits, or loss of data arising out of or in any way connected with the use of Ethos Reserve.

Arbitration
Users of Ethos Reserve agree to arbitrate any dispute arising from or in connection with Ethos Reserve or this disclaimer, except for disputes related to copyrights, logos, trademarks, trade names, trade secrets or patents.