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The mechanics behind self-repaying loans on 40 Acres.

The Core Mechanic

Think of your collateral as a revenue-generating business. Every week, it earns fees and bribes from the DEX it votes on. 40 Acres lets you borrow against that future revenue today, and automatically uses each week’s earnings to pay down your debt. The simplest mental model: your rewards are your repayment schedule.

Step by Step

1

Deposit your veNFT

Your asset is deposited into a 40acres smart contract and locked as collateral for the duration of the loan, subject to the protocol rules.
2

Borrow USDC

Your maximum loan amount is calculated based on your assets average weekly rewards multiplied by the epoch multiplier (currently 10 epochs). You receive USDC instantly from the lending vault.
3

40 Acres votes on your behalf

Your deposited asset is put to work immediately. The 40 Acres vote optimizer allocates your assets voting power to the highest-yielding pools each epoch. You can also vote manually if you prefer; as long as you vote on supported pools.
4

Rewards repay your loan

Each week at epoch flip, rewards flow in and are automatically applied to your loan balance. 75% goes toward repayment. 20% goes to lenders. 5% goes to the protocol treasury.
5

Reclaim your collateral

Once the loan is fully repaid, you can withdraw it from 40acres.

Loan Sizing

Your borrow limit is calculated at origination:
Max Borrow = locked_amount × rewards_rate × epoch_multiplier
VariableDescription
locked_amountSize of the asset
rewards_rateAverage weekly rewards per unit of locked token (recalculated each epoch)
epoch_multiplierCurrently 10 — the number of epochs you can borrow against
The epoch multiplier will increase incrementally as the protocol grows and TVL deepens.

What Happens If Rewards Underperform?

If your asset generates less than expected in a given epoch, repayment simply takes longer. The loan remains open and continues being repaid by whatever rewards flow in. Your loan is repaid over time using rewards generated by your collateral, when available. Higher rewards may accelerate repayment, while lower rewards may extend it.

What Happens If Vault Utilization Is Full?

New loans cannot be opened if vault utilization exceeds 80%. This protects lenders from overextension. Existing loans continue normally; repayments flow in and reduce utilization over time, reopening capacity for new borrowers.