Frequently ask questions

• Sign up with an email address;
• Follow the confirmation link sent to your email address;
• Contact us at [email protected] to receive further instructions.

Offer acceptance

Select an offer and indicate the details you need: amount, loan term and payment option.

Next, you need to enter your payment details and your Bitcoin address.

For Stablecoins Loans:

• Payment address — the Stablecoins address to which the debt payment will be transferred.
• Bitcoin collateral release address — the address that will be used to refund your collateral after the contract has been completed (can be amended afterwards).

After providing the necessary information, you’ll receive a prompt to confirm the payment details through the Debifi mobile app.

Public key provision & Contract signing

You can review the contract terms and either Provide public key or cancel the contract. In order to proceed with the contract please provide public key through your Debifi mobile app.

After which you will be asked to sign a contract with 2FA code and private key from your Debifi mobile app. Open your Debifi app and follow the instructions. When the contract is confirmed by Lender, Borrower, and Third-Party key provider the contract will be secured, and the escrow process will begin.

Collateral Deposit

Depositing stage lasts for 12 hours, at this stage you are asked to deposit the required BTC amount (collateral + Debifi commission) in escrow. After you have sent the funds to escrow and all requested confirmations are in place (3 confirmation required), the Contract will be transferred into the Loan transfer stage.

Loan origination

The Lender now sees your payment details and is asked to complete the payment within the next 8 hours. After the Lender completes the payment, they must attach the link/s to the payment transaction (Stablecoins Loans). You will be asked to confirm the receipt with 2FA code and in your Debifi mobile app.

Loan fee payment

After receiving the payment, you need to make an Origination fee payment by clicking on the ‘Make payment’ button and confirm through your Debifi mobile app. After this the Contract will be transferred into the «In Progress» stage.

Loan In progress

The Contract remains in this stage until the repayment date, or forced liquidation (if any). You can partially or fully repay the loan anytime until the repayment date by making a partial or early repayment. Note, that in order to avoid force liquidation of your contract, you should keep the LTV ratio below 90%. The current LTV ratio is always displayed in the specific Contract. You can always balance the LTV by sending more Bitcoin to escrow (increasing collateral) or by making a partial repayment (decreasing the debt amount).

Loan Repayment

After the Contract period is over, it will automatically be transferred into the Repayment stage. You will have 24 hours to complete the repayment before the lender is able to transfer the Contract into the Forced liquidation stage. After the repayment is done, you are asked to Confirm transfer and the Lender is asked to confirm or reject it within the next 12 hours. When the funds are received and the repayment is confirmed, the Contract is transferred into the Completed stage.

Completed stage

The contract has been successfully completed. You can now refund the collateral back to your Bitcoin wallet.

For more detailed information about LTV, collateral amount, Forced liquidation, etc., please visit our FAQ section.

Debifi ensures user’s safety by providing a unique multisig escrow for every Contract created on our Debifi Platform. During the Contract, the bitcoin remains locked in the multisig escrow (P2SH) address on the blockchain.

In order to release the Bitcoin from escrow, three (out of four) keys are needed — one belongs to the Borrower, one belongs to the Lender, one belongs to the Authorized Keyholder and the other belongs to Debifi. This system ensures that both Borrower and Lender are protected from scams, since no transaction can happen without a signature from three of the four parties.

The Borrower is not able to refund the Bitcoin from escrow without the approval, and the Lender is not able to receive the Bitcoin, unless Forced Liquidation occurs. Debifi uses its key in case there is a Dispute.

Bitcoin private keys are generated within Debifi application using the user’s mnemonic seed phrase. Each mnemonic generates a unique key pair, comprising a private key and a corresponding public key, which together form the basis for Bitcoin ownership and transaction authorization.

In addition to your email address and PIN, 2FA requires you to enter a 6-digit code that was generated in an authenticator app on your device, such as Google Authenticator or Authy. This makes it impossible to log into your account without accessing your 2FA code.

The linked devices feature at Debifi is an additional level of security. To use Debifi, linking your device is mandatory. This ensures an additional level of security, as logging into your account is only permitted from verified devices.

Whenever there is a problem during a Contract, both parties are able to start a Dispute if they cannot resolve the issue by themselves.

Once a Dispute has been started, the support manager will study the case, and give you further instructions on how to resolve the Dispute.

The dispute will be resolved according to the Dispute rules by Debifi support staff https://debifi.com/dispute-rules.

Non-custodial Bitcoin-backed lending providing institutional-grade liquidity. Debifi allows you to borrow against your Bitcoin in a non-custodial way.

The Borrower chooses and accepts a loan offer. Debifi generates a unique Bitcoin (3 out 4) multisig escrow address with 4 keys distributed among independent counterparties — The Borrower, The Lender, Debifi, and a trusted third party (Authorized Key Holder).

The Borrower deposits Bitcoin collateral to the multisig escrow directly from their wallet. After the deposit is confirmed, the Lender transfers the loan amount to the Borrower according to the Contract terms.

The Borrower repays the loan amount plus the interest directly to the Lender’s wallet. After the repayment is confirmed, Bitcoin is released back to the Borrower’s wallet.

• Sign up with an email address and credentials;
• Follow the confirmation link sent to your email address;
• Check our FAQs and Guides and engage in contracts right away!

KYC requirements vary depending on your Lender. All offers without KYC are labeled accordingly. KYC procedure is conducted by a third-party provider such as Sumsub, or by a third-party provider utilized by the Lender.

The Stablecoins Loans is available globally.

Debifi mobile app is required to make loans on the platform. Using the app, you securely confirm your Loan and Collateral.

Application is available for both Android and iOS devices. You can also download the .apk file from the main page of our website.

Debifi’s Origination fee is 1.5%. It is paid by the Borrower and is locked in the multisig escrow address along with the Collateral. The commission will be charged separately after confirmation of payment receipt by the borrower.

Bitcoin only.

Collateral amount = (Loan Amount + Loan Amount * Interest rate) / LTV Ratio

The value of the Collateral is determined by the LTV ratio. In general, the lower the LTV, the higher the value of the Collateral.

Debifi supports cryptocurrencies as well as fiat loans.

Stablecoin Loans: USDT (ERC-20, TRC-20, Liquid), USDC (ERC-20)

Fiat loans: USD, EUR, GBP, AED, BRL, and CHF

LTV ratio = Loan Amount / Collateral amount * 100

A Loan’s LTV (Loan-to-value) ratio determines the amount of crypto Collateral you need to secure in order to receive the Loan. In other words, the LTV ratio shows the relation between the Loan amount and the Collateral’s value.

In case the Collateral’s value goes down — the LTV ratio goes up, and the Borrower needs to either increase the amount of Collateral or partially repay the debt to keep the LTV ratio at the required level. Otherwise, if the customer fails to balance the LTV ratio in a timely manner, Forced Liquidation occurs.

The following LTV ratios are allowed:

• 30% — 70% LTV for fiat backed Cryptocurrencies

The Loan amount of the Contract will be fixed in USD equivalent at the Contract creation moment.

The actual exchange rate and liquidity of the collateral’s cryptocurrency and the Contract’s cryptocurrency will be evaluated by Debifi as a median from the exchange rates of the following cryptocurrency exchanges: Binance, Kraken, KuCoin, Coinbase, Bitfinex, ByBit, OKX, Huobi, Bitstamp, Gemini, Bittrex, Bitrue, MEXC, HitBTC, BitMart, Compound, BKEX, Cryptology.

Interest rates are set by the offer creator and applied for the whole loan term. For example:

For the Lender.

You lend 100k USDT at 3% for 1 month, at the end of the period you will receive 100k USDT + 3% (3k USDT) = 103k USDT. In case you lend 100k USDT at 3% for 5 months — you will still receive 103k USDT by the end of the Loan, since the Interest rate is set for the whole period.

For the Borrower.

You choose to borrow 100k USDT for 1 month at 3%, this means that at the end of the period, you will need to repay 103k USDT despite the fact that you may have repaid the Loan earlier (in two weeks, for example). In case you borrow 100k USDT at 3% for 5 months — you will still need to repay 103k USDT by the end of the Loan, since the interest rate is set for the whole period.

Annual percentage rate (APR) is the yearly interest applicable to the Contract.

Loan durations start from 1 month to 12 months. The loan duration will be increased in Q2 2024.

Yes, you can obtain more than one loan at a time. However, during the first month after the app launch, each individual loan will be limited to up to $100,000. We anticipate removing these limits in Q2 2024.

The Borrowers will be alerted about the price decrease, the information will also be available on the Contract summary page. To bring a Loan back to the original Loan-to-value ratio, a Borrower shall:

• Deposit additional Collateral
• Proceed with a Full or Partial Repayment of the debt

Any gain in the value of Collateral is Borrowers to keep. The Borrower only ever owes the Loan amount, which is pre-determined and not affected by the price of Bitcoin.

Forced Liquidation (5% fee applies) — applies if Bitcoin’s price fluctuations affect Collateral and the LTV ratio falls below what is agreed in the Contract, and meanwhile, there have been no attempts from the Borrower to either increase the Collateral amount or repay part of the debt to keep the LTV ratio at the required level.

In case the LTV ratio has dropped to 90% — Lender, Borrower and Authorized Keyholder will be informed about the start of a Forced Liquidation procedure. In this case, the Contract will be terminated, and the Collateral will be transferred to the Lender. If the amount locked in the multisig escrow address is greater than the outstanding debt — the difference will be refunded to the Borrower.

Another reason for Forced Liquidation (5% fee applies) — is the inability of the Borrower to repay the debt. In this case, after the Contract period ends, and there were no attempts from the Borrower to repay the debt within 24 hours, the Collateral will be liquidated in favor of the Lender.

The Liquidation of the collateral will be performed using the exchange rate of the specific cryptocurrency to USD at the moment of Liquidation.

A margin call occurs when the value of the Collateral falls below the value that the Contract requires.

The Borrower will be informed about price fluctuations and a falling LTV ratio in advance via dashboard notifications and email as follows:

• 75% LTV: 1st Margin Call (the possibility exists to increase Collateral or partially repay the outstanding debt in order to keep the LTV ratio at the required level)
• 80% LTV: 2nd Margin Call (the possibility exists to increase Collateral or partially repay the outstanding debt in order to keep the LTV ratio at the required level)
• 85% LTV: 3rd Margin Call (the possibility exists to increase Collateral or partially repay the outstanding debt in order to keep the LTV ratio at the required level)
• 90% LTV: Forced Liquidation alert

After the LTV ratio reaches 90% — the Contract will be transferred into the Forced Liquidation stage, and the Collateral will be automatically liquidated. No amendments or payments will be allowed after the Contract enters the Forced Liquidation stage.

A 5% Collateral Liquidation fee is calculated from the initial Loan amount in the case of Forced Liquidation.

Until the ratio reaches 90% LTV. After the LTV ratio reaches 90% — the Contract will be transferred into the Forced Liquidation stage, and the Collateral will be automatically liquidated. No amendments or payments will be allowed after the Contract enters the Forced Liquidation stage.

The Origination fee is calculated from the initial Loan amount and is 1.5%.

The Loan principal and interest can be paid down at any time and without penalty.

A 5% Collateral Liquidation fee is calculated from the initial Loan amount in the case of Forced Liquidation.

The main priority of Debifi is to keep your funds and data safe.

Debifi does not have any access to your funds. During a Contract, the bitcoin is locked in multisig escrow, which requires 3 (out of 4) keys to release the funds, which means that no transaction can happen without the signature of two of the Contract’s parties and Authorized Keyholder, therefore even if something happens to the Platform, your Bitcoin remains in the multisig storage.

No, we are not holding your funds. We only hold one out of the four keys to the multisig escrow to be able to arbitrate in case of any disagreements between the Lender and the Borrower.

An Authorized Key holder is a company that has been granted the authority to act as an additional key in certain situations, such as during Forced liquidation or in the resolution of disputes. This means that they have the legal or contractual right to access certain assets, make decisions, or otherwise intervene in circumstances where access or control is required. Essentially, they serve as a trusted party with the power to manage or resolve specific issues as outlined in their authorization.

Our authorized key holders are AnchorWatch Inc. and Hodling SA.

A PIN code is a personalized 6-digit password required for logging in. It adds an extra layer of security to ensure that only authorized users can access the app and their account information. The PIN code is also required for confirming various operations, such as payment confirmation, signing transactions, and more.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an advanced level of security for your account. For security reasons, Debifi requires you to have a 2FA enabled. In order to use it, Debifi requires you to have a device with a 2FA application installed. We advise you to use Authy or Google Authenticator.

Invalid tokens are sometimes caused by incorrect device clock settings. Your clock must show the correct local time, date and time zone to work properly. Phones must be set to use internet time to make sure the clock is synced properly. If you do not wish to sync your clock, Android and Windows phones have an option to correct for time errors inside the Authenticator app properties.

Bitcoin private keys are generated within Debifi application using the user’s mnemonic seed phrase. Each mnemonic generates a unique key pair, comprising a private key and a corresponding public key, which together form the basis for Bitcoin ownership and transaction authorization.

Changing private keys is not possible. If you lose your private keys, unfortunately, you will lose access to the platform. It’s crucial to securely store and back up your private keys to prevent this situation.

A Seed passphrase functions like an extra word added to your seed phrase. Using your seed phrase alone grants access to a completely different set of keys. Passphrase protects your keys in case of theft of a seed phrase.

The public key is a cryptographic key that pairs with the private key and is used to generate the escrow address of the contract. The application provides a new unique key for each contract, which is necessary for generating the escrow. It is provided upon request within the contract flow.

On the «Sign in» page in app, click «I didn’t receive a code» and follow the instructions.

You can contact [email protected]

The Debifi mobile application is the official app of the Debifi platform. It works in conjunction with the platform and is necessary for issuing loans. Using the app, you securely confirm your Loan and Collateral.

Please note that without the mobile app you will not be able to use the Debifi platform.

The Debifi mobile application serves as the official interface for users to access and interact with the Debifi platform. It is needed for various purposes:

1. Loan Management: Users can access a list of contracts and track their repayment schedules through the application.
2. Collateral Verification: The application allows users to securely confirm their loan agreements and collateral details, ensuring the integrity of transactions.
3. Secure Authentication: Utilizing a passwordless system, the application securely stores users’ cryptographic keys, enabling seamless and secure authentication without the need for traditional passwords.
4. Key Storage: Cryptographic keys stored within the application play a crucial role in verifying users’ identities and ensuring the security of their transactions on the Debifi platform.
5. Notifications: The Debifi app sends timely updates on repayment deadlines, loan approvals, and collateral changes, helping users stay informed and manage their finances effectively.

Overall, the Debifi mobile application provides users with a user-friendly and secure way to access financial services, manage their accounts, and conduct transactions on the Debifi platform.

Application is available for both Android and iOS devices. You can download it from our platform debifi.com.

At the moment, the application is not open-source, but we plan to fully open source it in Q2 2024.

An Offer is an open proposal for a Loan on the Debifi platform. A counterparty may accept your Offer and create a Contract with you.

The available hours determine the time period that your Offer will be active and visible to other users in the Offer list and/or available by the link.

You can make your Offer private. This means that other users will not see it in the Offer list, and it will only be available through the link. To make your Offer private, you need to check the «Private» checkbox on the Offer creation or editing page.

Yes, if you want to make your Offer temporarily unavailable, turn off Enable toggle on the Offer page. To activate the Offer, you will need to turn on the toggle.

Go to the «My Offers» page, open the Offer and click «Delete».

• Active — the Offer is visible to other users in the Offer list and/or available by the link.
• Inactive — the Offer is not visible to other users in the Offer list and not available through the link, for example, due to available hours.
• Disabled — the Offer is not visible to other users in the Offer list and not available through the link. To activate it, you need to enable it.

Enabled Offers can automatically change from «Active» to «Inactive» statuses, and vice versa, in the following cases:

• Available hours. The Offer will be «Active» only during the set available hours.
• Account suspension. Your Offers become «Inactive» if your account has been suspended.

An agreement between the Lender and Borrower, which starts by accepting an Offer and is followed by the Collateral deposit and Loan transfer to the Borrower (transaction ID is required as a confirmation).

The minimum Loan amount is 25,000 USD.

The maximum loan amount during the first month after the platform launch is $100,000 USD. However, after the initial month, there are no limits on the loan amount.

After the Contract has been created, the applicable Origination fee from 1.5 to 2%, depending on the Contract’s period, will be taken from the amount the Borrower locked in the multisig escrow address.

The Platform charges Origination fees in Bitcoin only.

For example: the Loan amount is 100,000 USDT (price of 1 BTC is also 100,000 USDT), LTV Ratio is 50%, Interest rate is 10%.

Origination fee (transaction fee included) is 1,5% of the Loan amount in BTC + the fixed transaction fee (txfee) of 0.0001 BTC. In this case, 1,5% of the Loan amount will be 1500 USDT or 0.015 BTC. Adding a fixed txfee value to this amount, we get 0.0151 BTC (0.015 BTC + 0.0001 BTC).

Amount to be Deposited is calculated using the formula «(Loan Amount + Loan Amount * Interest rate) / LTV Ratio + Origination fee (transaction fee included)».

In this case, the deposited amount will be: «Loan amount of 100,000 USDT + Loan amount of 100,000 USDT * Interest rate of 10%) / LTV Ratio of 50% + Origination fee of 1,5% (transaction fee is 0.0001 BTC)», when converted into BTC, the Borrower needs to send to escrow: 2.2151 BTC (1 BTC + 1 BTC * 10%) / 50% + 0.0151 BTC).

Amount to be Repaid is calculated as «Loan amount + Loan amount * Interest rate». In our example, it will be 110,000 USDT (100,000 USDT + 100,000 USDT * 10%).

The Borrower covers both Bitcoin transaction fees to escrow and from escrow. The amount of the fee for the escrow deposing transaction is determined by the Borrower and should reflect the current state of the mempool, taking into account that the transaction is expected to receive 3 confirmation within the depositing timeframe.

The escrow is a P2SH Bitcoin multisignature address, which requires 3-out-of-4 keys to sign the transaction. Each time a Contract is created between two parties, the Platform generates a unique multisig escrow Bitcoin address. The Borrower then sends Bitcoin from their wallet to this escrow, and while the Bitcoin is locked in escrow, Lender sends Loan amount to the Borrower. After the contract period ends, the Borrower receives the Bitcoin Collateral back in their wallet.

Depositing transaction requires 3 confirmation. The Contract will be transferred into the Payment stage only after the Collateral has been sent to escrow and the transaction has received 3 confirmation.

Yes, Debifi supports SegWit in the following scope:

• Native Bech32 SegWit addresses: send funds directly to escrow from Bech32 addresses, and receive funds directly from escrow to Bech32 addresses;
• P2SH-P2WSH SegWit multisig escrow addresses: every multisig address on the Debifi Platform is generated in SegWit format.

• Offer acceptance — the initial stage, the Offer has been accepted by the counterparty.
• Public key provision & Contract signing — the stage involves the provision of public keys and the signing of the contract.
• Collateral Deposit — the Borrower is in the process of sending Collateral to escrow.
• Loan origination — the Collateral has been sent to escrow; the Lender is transferring the Loan amount to the Borrower.
• Loan fee payment — the Borrower providing payment for the loan Origination fee.
• Loan In progress — the Collateral is in escrow, and the Loan amount has been transferred to the Borrower’s account. The Contract remains at this stage until the end of the Loan term or Early Repayment.
• Repayment — the Borrower provided a repayment. Collateral remains locked in escrow.
• Liquidated — The Contract entered the Forced Liquidation stage. Collateral is liquidated in favor of the Lender.
• Completed — the Lender receives back the Loan amount, with interest for the entire period, and the Collateral can be returned to the Borrower. The Contract is finalized.
• Disputed — one of the counterparties started a Dispute because of problems or miscommunication.

• Acceptance timeout (8 hours) — time limit for the Contract to be signed. When the timer expires, the Lender and the Borrower can cancel the contract.
• Depositing timeout (12 hours) — time limit for the Contract amount to be deposited. When the timer expires, the Lender can cancel the Contract.
• Payment timeout (8 hours) — time limit for the Payment to be made. When the timer expires, the Lender and the Borrower can start the dispute.
• Payment confirmation timeout (4 hours) — time limit for the Payment to be confirmed. When the timer expires, the Lender and the Borrower can start the dispute.
• Repayment timeout (24 hours) — time limit for the Repayment to be made. When the timer expires, the Lender and the Borrower can start the Dispute.
• Repayment confirmation timeout (12 hours) — time limit for the Repayment to be confirmed. When the timer expires, the Lender and the Borrower can start the Dispute.

You can only cancel a Contract at the following stages:

• Public key provision & Contract signing — both — the Lender and Borrower — can cancel the Contract after the payment window expires.
• Collateral Deposit — the Borrower can cancel the Contract at any time, the Lender can cancel after the timeout expires.

If a Contract was canceled before the Bitcoin was sent to the escrow address, nothing happens — both parties may continue using the Platform, the same as prior to beginning the Contract.

If a Contract is canceled in the «Collateral Deposit» stage, and the Bitcoin has already been sent to the escrow address or was sent after the Contract was canceled, the Borrower makes the refund directly to their Bitcoin address, which they specifies during the refund process. Refund transaction fees for delivering the Bitcoin to the Borrower’s address are deducted from the amount locked in escrow.

You can send funds to the escrow in multiple transactions with different amounts and from different wallets.

The Bitcoin address can be changed directly before the refund/release.