How CRT Works

CRT is a yield-bearing token backed by stablecoins. When you deposit into the Carrot vault, your capital is distributed across multiple Solana lending protocols. The vault continuously monitors rates and rebalances allocations to capture the best available yield. As interest accrues, CRT's net asset value (NAV) rises — which is how your yield is delivered.

If you're new to CRT, start with What is CRT? for the basics.

Deposit mechanics

When you deposit a stablecoin, you receive CRT at the current exchange rate:

CRT_received = stablecoin_amount × stablecoin_price / CRT_NAV

For example, if CRT's NAV is $1.05 and you deposit 100 USDC, you'd receive approximately 95.24 CRT.

The vault accepts USDC, USDT, and PYUSD. Each deposit increases the vault's total capital, which is then allocated across lending protocols.

Vault strategy and allocation

The vault deploys capital across 8+ lending protocols on Solana:

Kamino — Lending
Save (formerly Solend) — Lending
Drift — Lending
JupLend — Jupiter's lending product
Gauntlet — Risk-managed lending
NeutralTrade — Lending
cLend — Carrot's own lending infrastructure
Boost pools — Internal Carrot lending pools

The specific allocation across protocols is dynamic and changes based on where the best risk-adjusted yield is available. Capital is also diversified across USDC, USDT, and PYUSD to reduce single-stablecoin risk.

Rebalancing

The vault monitors lending rates across all integrated protocols continuously. When rebalancing improves yield for all token holders collectively, the vault moves capital to higher-yielding positions.

Rebalancing decisions consider:

Current and projected lending rates across protocols
Available liquidity in each pool
Transaction costs of moving capital
Overall risk exposure and diversification targets

Individual token holders don't need to do anything — rebalancing happens at the vault level and benefits all CRT holders proportionally.

NAV and yield accrual

CRT uses a NAV (net asset value) model. As the vault earns interest from lending protocols, the NAV per CRT token increases. This means:

You don't need to claim rewards
You don't need to stake or compound
Your yield is reflected in the rising value of CRT

APY calculation: The displayed APY is derived from the daily change in CRT's share price, averaged over multiple windows (7-day, 14-day, 30-day). The highest window is typically shown. This is a historical, backward-looking metric — not a guaranteed forward rate.

APY is variable

Lending rates fluctuate based on supply and demand across Solana DeFi. CRT's APY will change over time as market conditions shift. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Withdrawal mechanics

To withdraw, you redeem CRT for your choice of stablecoin:

stablecoin_received = CRT_amount × CRT_NAV × (1 - 0.0005) / stablecoin_price

The 0.05% redemption fee (5 basis points) protects the vault from arbitrage and ensures fair treatment of remaining token holders. There are no lock-up periods — you can withdraw at any time.

Fees

Fee	Amount	Notes
Management	0%	No management fee
Redemption	0.05% (5 bps)	Applied on withdrawal
Performance	None	—

Carrot does not charge management or performance fees on CRT. The 0.05% redemption fee is the only cost to users.

CRT vs. lending directly

Aspect	CRT	Lending directly
Protocols	8+ simultaneously	One at a time
Rebalancing	Automatic	Manual
Diversification	Multi-protocol, multi-stablecoin	Single pool
Fees	0% management, 0.05% redemption	Varies by protocol
Complexity	Hold one token	Manage multiple positions
Monitoring	None required	Rate-check and rebalance yourself

Risks

Understand the risks

CRT carries risk despite diversification. Smart contract risk exists across all integrated protocols. A stablecoin depeg could impact the vault's NAV. Protocol exploits, while mitigated by diversification, remain possible. Yield is variable and not guaranteed. See Risks for a full breakdown.

Next steps

What is CRT? — The basics of CRT
Product Overview — Compare CRT with Boost, Turbo, and other Carrot products
FAQ — Common questions
Deposit CRT on Carrot — Go to the app