Minterest
Minterest was a DeFi lending and borrowing protocol deployed across Ethereum, Mantle, Taiko, and Morph, serving 20,000+ on-chain users with an industry-first Solvency Engine and 100% fee redistribution via its Buyback Engine. Operations were permanently sunset in December 2025.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersTallinn, Estonia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Minterest does
Minterest was a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol operating on Ethereum, Mantle, Taiko, and Morph from 2021 until its December 2025 sunset. The protocol enabled users to supply crypto assets to earn yield and borrow against collateral, with the architectural centerpiece being an Interconnector contract that routed interactions across market-specific mToken contracts (mUSDT, mUSDC, mETH, mWBTC). Differentiated technical components included the Solvency Engine — described as an industry-first liquidation protection model — and a Buyback Engine designed to redistribute up to 100% of net protocol fees back to users rather than to a treasury, alongside MINTY governance token staking and a 3,000-piece NFT collection offering up to 50% emission boosts.
The protocol was operated by Sente Studios LLC (the post-restructuring successor to the bankrupt Minterest Labs) with a headcount reduced to 1-10 following 2023 restructuring. Total funding raised was approximately $12.02 million across a $6.5 million private round in September 2021 and a $5.52 million Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool in February 2022, which briefly valued the project at a $514 million fully diluted mark before official launch. Minterest reached a top-3 TVL position on Mantle and accumulated 20,000+ on-chain users at peak, but suffered a $1.4 million reentrancy exploit in July 2024, was restructured multiple times, and ultimately ceased operations with the UI taken offline on December 19, 2025 and infrastructure decommissioned by December 31, 2025. Revenue mechanics relied on interest rate spreads, flash loan fees, and liquidation value capture, though the value-return-to-users design model left minimal retained revenue at the entity level.
Minterest firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Minterest
- Legal name
- Sente Studios LLC
- Website
- https://minterest.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Minterest was a DeFi lending and borrowing protocol deployed across Ethereum, Mantle, Taiko, and Morph, serving 20,000+ on-chain users with an industry-first Solvency Engine and 100% fee redistribution via its Buyback Engine. Operations were permanently sunset in December 2025.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Minterest industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Lending Protocol
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Decentralized Lending Protocols (DeFi Money Markets) (FSADAFAB)
Keywords
Where Minterest is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tallinn
- HQ country
- Estonia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Minterest business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Interest Rate Spread: Protocol captures value from the spread between lending and borrowing interest rates. This is a core revenue mechanism for DeFi lending protocols.
- Flash Loan Fees: Fees generated from flash loan transactions executed within the protocol.
- Liquidation Value Capture: Protocol's Solvency Engine captures value from liquidation events, which is then redistributed to users through the Buyback Engine.
- Buyback Engine Revenue Distribution: Net protocol fees are designed to be routed back to users through the Buyback Engine mechanism, creating value capture for liquidity providers and MINTY stakers.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Minterest product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Minterest operated a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol that enabled users to supply crypto assets (e.g., USDT, USDC, ETH, WBTC) to earn yield and borrow against crypto collateral. The protocol was designed around an automatic Buyback Engine intended to route up to 100% of net protocol fees back to users via repurchase of the native MNT/MINTY token, combined with a Solvency Engine for liquidation protection. It issued a MINTY governance token and mToken receipt tokens, with supplementary offerings including a 3,000-NFT yield-boost collection and a Points (Mints) engagement rewards system, before completing a wind-down in late 2025.
Product overview
Minterest was a DeFi lending and borrowing protocol that operated across multiple blockchain networks (Ethereum, Mantle, Taiko, and Morph). The protocol was architected as a platform centered around the MINTY governance token and mTokens representing user supply positions. Key protocol components included the Solvency Engine for liquidation protection, Buyback Engine for value distribution, RewardsHub for emission distribution, and Cooldown Engine for staking management. Additional offerings included Minterest NFTs (3,000 tokens across 12 tiers providing yield boosts up to 50%) and a Points System (Mints) for engagement rewards. The protocol completed an orderly wind-down in late 2025, with all deployments sunset and smart contracts remaining active only for user withdrawals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Minterest Protocol A decentralized lending and borrowing protocol enabling individual crypto users to supply digital assets to earn yield and borrow against crypto collateral. Designed to route up to 100% of net protocol fees back to users via the Buyback Engine and to protect borrowers through the Solvency Engine.
- MINTY Token Minterest's native governance token, used for staking, voting on protocol decisions, calculating loyalty boosts, and receiving Buyback Engine rewards.
- Minterest NFTs A collection of 3,000 NFTs across 12 tiers providing emission boosts of up to 50% to holders supplying or borrowing on the protocol, with higher rarity NFTs providing longer boost durations.
- Minterest Points System (Mints) Engagement reward system awarding Mints points to users for supplying, borrowing, referrals, and special tasks, with a daily-updated leaderboard designed to be redeemable for future rewards including MINTY tokens and NFTs.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 50% emission boost with NFT holdings
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Minterest
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Minterest technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Feature8 records
Minterest partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- PeckShieldcoreLeading cybersecurity firm specializing in blockchain technology and smart contract auditing. Conducted comprehensive security audit of Minterest's USDY token market and broader codebase, identifying and helping resolve critical vulnerabilities.
- Mantle NetworkcoreLayer 2 blockchain network where Minterest deployed one of its main protocol instances. Achieved top-3 TVL ranking on Mantle. Ecosystem grants and performance awards received totaling approximately $1M.
- TaikocoreZero-knowledge rollup Layer 2 network compatible with Ethereum. Minterest deployed protocol instance on Taiko and launched Points System to reward user activity.
- SEAL 911coreGroup of volunteer white-hat hackers supporting the crypto ecosystem during security incidents. Minterest engaged SEAL 911 during the July 2024 security breach response.
- BlockseccoreBlockchain security firm providing forensics analysis and incident response. Assisted Minterest during the July 2024 security breach with root cause analysis and attack vector identification.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Minterest competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aave: Aave is the largest decentralized lending protocol, offering supply/borrow markets across multiple chains. It is the canonical direct competitor to Minterest, operating the same DeFi money-market model with mToken-equivalent aTokens and competing for the same on-chain lender and borrower base.
- Compound: Compound is one of the original Ethereum-based decentralized lending protocols, offering supply/borrow markets with cToken receipt tokens. It competes with Minterest for the same pool of DeFi lenders and borrowers and uses the same algorithmic interest-rate model paradigm.
Broad incumbents
- MakerDAO (Sky): MakerDAO (rebranded to Sky) operates one of the largest DeFi credit platforms via DAI/sUSDS vaults and CDP-style lending. While its lending mechanism differs (vault/overcollateralization based), it competes with Minterest for crypto-collateralized lending demand and stablecoin liquidity.
Emerging players
- Morpho: Morpho is an emerging lending optimizer and lending protocol that builds on top of Aave/Compound markets and now operates standalone lending. It overlaps with Minterest's lending/borrowing use case and has been aggressively expanding to multiple L2s including those where Minterest deployed.
- Spark Protocol: Spark is a Sky/MakerDAO-aligned lending protocol offering DAI savings and ETH collateral borrowing. It is a relevant emerging peer because it captured a substantial share of DeFi lending demand that smaller protocols like Minterest were also targeting.
- Radiant Capital: Radiant is a cross-chain money market protocol that — like Minterest — deployed lending markets across multiple chains (Arbitrum, BNB, ETH). It is a direct comparable in terms of multi-chain lending strategy and target user base of yield-seeking crypto holders.
- Venus Protocol: Venus is a leading lending and borrowing protocol on BNB Chain, offering money markets with similar mechanics to Minterest's protocol (mToken-style receipt tokens, algorithmic interest rates). It is comparable as a chain-anchored lending protocol competing for similar user segments.
- Silo Finance: Silo Finance operates isolated lending markets that enable permissionless asset listing, a structural alternative to Minterest's pooled markets. It is relevant as an emerging DeFi lending peer targeting the same kind of yield-seeking crypto supplier base.
- Euler: Euler is an Ethereum-based lending protocol that — like Minterest — emphasizes modular architecture and novel liquidation mechanisms. It is a relevant emerging peer for users evaluating non-Aave/Compound lending protocols on Ethereum mainnet.
Regional players
- JustLend: JustLend is the dominant DeFi lending protocol on the TRON network, operating money markets comparable to Minterest's protocol. It serves a primarily regional (TRON-ecosystem) user base but is structurally analogous to Minterest's DeFi lending model.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Minterest social profiles
Digital presenceMinterest compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Minterest financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Minterest leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Minterest funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors29 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Minterest M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Minterest
What does Minterest do?
Minterest operated a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol that enabled users to supply crypto assets (e.g., USDT, USDC, ETH, WBTC) to earn yield and borrow against crypto collateral. The protocol was designed around an automatic Buyback Engine intended to route up to 100% of net protocol fees back to users via repurchase of the native MNT/MINTY token, combined with a Solvency Engine for liquidation protection. It issued a MINTY governance token and mToken receipt tokens, with supplementary offerings including a 3,000-NFT yield-boost collection and a Points (Mints) engagement rewards system, before completing a wind-down in late 2025.
Is Minterest a public or private company?
Minterest is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently closed.
When was Minterest founded?
Minterest was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Minterest based?
Minterest is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, in the Europe region.
How does Minterest make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Interest Rate Spread is the primary driver. The others are flash Loan Fees, liquidation Value Capture and buyback Engine Revenue Distribution.
Who are Minterest's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aave and Compound. MakerDAO (Sky) is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Morpho, Spark Protocol, Radiant Capital, Venus Protocol, Silo Finance and Euler. JustLend is listed as a regional player.
Does Minterest have an API?
No public API is recorded for Minterest.
What industry is Minterest in?
Minterest's product category is Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Lending Protocol. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAFAB, Decentralized Lending Protocols (DeFi Money Markets). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6200.