What Moonwell does

Moonwell is a decentralized, community-governed lending and borrowing protocol operating across Ethereum Mainnet, Base, and Optimism. Founded in 2021 and structured as a DAO, the protocol enables users to supply digital assets to earn variable interest or borrow against collateral without monthly payments or explicit platform fees. Its core product is the Moonwell Lending Protocol, supported by a suite of V2 vaults (Flagship ETH, Flagship USDC, Flagship EURC, Frontier cbBTC, and Ecosystem USDC), WELL staking with a 7-day cooldown that backstops the protocol against Shortfall Events, and the Mamo auto-compounding strategy tool. Cross-chain USDC transfers are facilitated through the USDC Anywhere feature, and protocol parameters are adjusted through on-chain and snapshot governance proposals.

The protocol earns revenue via the spread between algorithmic lending and borrowing rates set by community governance, with no explicit user-facing platform fees. Distribution is product-led and self-serve via moonwell.fi, augmented by the Nook mobile channel partnership that brings simplified onboarding for non-crypto-native retail users (50,000+ on Nook's waiting list). Security infrastructure includes audits from Halborn Security and Certora, plus a Code4rena-powered bug bounty program with a maximum payout of $250,000.

In 2024, Moonwell expanded to Ethereum Mainnet, adjusted USDC/USDT interest rate curves (driving a 135% week-over-week increase in USDC borrowing), and completed three rounds of cbETH remediation compensation totaling 390.62 ETH following a misconfigured Chainlink oracle incident that caused estimated losses of $1.78M–$2.68M. Contributors to the ecosystem include Lunar Labs, Anthias Labs, and Boardroom, and the protocol continues to broaden its asset coverage to include AI-narrative tokens (VIRTUAL, VVV), stablecoins (EURC, USDC), and Bitcoin-adjacent assets (cbBTC).

Name

Moonwell

Website

https://moonwell.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Moonwell is a DAO-governed decentralized lending protocol that lets users supply and borrow digital assets across Ethereum, Base, and Optimism, earning revenue through variable interest rate spreads set by community governance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Lending Protocol

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Decentralized Lending & Borrowing Protocols (FSADAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

DAO Treasury, Governance & On-Chain Finance Tools (FSADAMAL)

Keywords

• Decentralized lending protocol
• DeFi yield vaults
• Crypto collateral borrowing
• Multi-chain DeFi markets
• Algorithmic interest rates

Headquarters

HQ city

Finland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Interest Spread: Moonwell earns revenue through the spread between lending rates paid by borrowers and earning rates offered to suppliers. The protocol facilitates lending and borrowing of digital assets with variable interest rates governed by the community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Moonwell operates a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol deployed across Ethereum Mainnet, Base, and Optimism networks. Users supply digital assets to earn variable interest, or borrow against supplied collateral with flexible repayment terms and no monthly fees. Supporting products include automated yield vaults, the Mamo AI auto-compounding agent, and WELL token staking, all governed by a community DAO.

Product overview

Moonwell is a decentralized lending protocol operating as a unified platform across Ethereum, Base, and Optimism networks. The core offering consists of the Moonwell Lending Protocol enabling lend/borrow operations, supported by multiple V2 vault products (Flagship ETH, Flagship USDC, Flagship EURC, Frontier cbBTC, Ecosystem USDC) that allow users to deposit assets and earn yield. Additional platform features include Mamo (an auto-compounding strategy tool), WELL Staking (for protocol backstop and rewards), USDC Anywhere (cross-chain lending), and a Governance Portal for community-driven protocol decisions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Moonwell Lending Protocol A decentralized lending and borrowing protocol deployed on Ethereum Mainnet, Base, and Optimism that allows users to supply digital assets to earn variable interest or borrow against supplied collateral with flexible repayment terms and no monthly fees.
• Mamo
• Moonwell Flagship ETH Vault
• Moonwell Flagship USDC Vault
• Moonwell Flagship EURC Vault
• Moonwell Frontier cbBTC Vault
• Moonwell Ecosystem USDC Vault
• WELL Staking
• Moonwell Governance Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• 135% week-over-week increase in USDC borrowing on Ethereum following interest rate overhaul
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NookcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 June 2025Nook is a crypto savings app built by three former Coinbase engineers that launched publicly with Moonwell as its first lending partner. The app aims to simplify access to DeFi lending, reducing the 14-step process typically required to access protocols like Aave. Nook has raised $2.5 million in seed funding from Coinbase Ventures, Defy.vc, and UDHC, and offers approximately 8-9.34% APY on USDC savings through Moonwell's markets. The partnership extends Moonwell's reach to non-crypto-native retail users.
• Lunar LabscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLunar Labs is listed as a contributor to the Moonwell protocol ecosystem, providing development and consulting services for the decentralized lending platform.
• Anthias LabscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAnthias Labs is a contributor to Moonwell's ecosystem, providing development services and reserve recommendations. They have published reserve recommendations and risk parameter updates for the protocol.
• Halborn SecuritycoreOthersHalborn Security conducted comprehensive audits of Moonwell's smart contracts as part of the protocol's security infrastructure.
• CertoracoreOthersCertora performed comprehensive audits of Moonwell's smart contracts as part of the protocol's security verification process.
• Code4renaminorOthersCode4rena powers Moonwell's bug bounty program that rewards discovery of vulnerabilities with maximum bounty of $250,000.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MakerDAO / Sky: MakerDAO (now branded Sky) operates the DAI/USDS stablecoin lending system and Spark Protocol, the largest lending market on Ethereum. It is a direct competitor offering lending, borrowing, and savings products across the same target market as Moonwell.
• Spark Protocol: Spark is Sky/MakerDAO's lending product deployed natively on Ethereum mainnet and is the largest single lending market there. It directly overlaps with Moonwell's recently launched Ethereum mainnet USDC and USDT markets.
• Radiant Capital: Radiant is an omnichain money market protocol originally launched on Arbitrum and expanding to multiple chains. Its cross-chain lending model is structurally similar to Moonwell's multi-chain deployment strategy.
• Morpho: Morpho is an Ethereum-based lending protocol offering peer-to-peer matching and optimized yield through Morpho Blue vaults. It competes with Moonwell for borrower and lender flow on Ethereum and Base.
• Compound Finance: Compound is a foundational Ethereum-based decentralized lending protocol where users supply assets to earn interest or borrow against collateral. It is one of the canonical DeFi money markets that Moonwell competes with on Ethereum mainnet.
• Silo Finance: Silo Finance is an Ethereum-native lending protocol that creates isolated risk markets for different assets. It competes with Moonwell for borrower and lender capital on Ethereum and other supported chains.
• Euler Finance: Euler is an Ethereum-based modular lending protocol enabling the creation and listing of custom lending markets. It is a direct competitor in the permissionless DeFi money market space where Moonwell operates.
• Aave: Aave is the largest decentralized lending protocol by TVL, operating across Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base. It is Moonwell's most direct competitor in multi-chain DeFi lending and is explicitly referenced in Moonwell's own value proposition.
• Venus Protocol: Venus is a multi-chain decentralized lending and borrowing market primarily serving BNB Chain, with expansion to other networks. It targets the same DeFi lending use case as Moonwell with a comparable interest spread model.

Broad incumbents

• Frax Finance: Frax Finance is a broad DeFi incumbent operating the frax stablecoin, Fraxlend money market, and a range of yield products. While not a pure lending protocol, Fraxlend overlaps with Moonwell's lending and borrowing offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MoonwellDeFi
• GitHubgithub.com/moonwell-fi

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Moonwell