Glossary.
A working dictionary of the terms used across the Northvault site. We try to use these consistently across the product, transparency, and risk pages — if you spot a mismatch, please tell us.
The continuous build-up of yield against a principal balance. Northvault accrues estimated yield on every balance read and settles to the ledger daily.
A user-defined list of withdrawal addresses pre-approved for instant or expedited processing. First-time addresses are subject to security review.
Annual percentage rate. The non-compounding annualised rate. Borrower rates and lending rates are typically quoted in APR.
Annual percentage yield. The compounded annualised rate. Depositor-facing yield on Northvault is typically quoted in APY.
A third-party report confirming a point-in-time fact — typically the existence and composition of reserves. Narrower in scope than a financial audit.
A market-neutral position that captures the spread between spot and derivatives pricing, or between two related instruments. Used in the opportunistic sleeve.
A contractual obligation by an originator to repurchase a delinquent loan. Not used in Northvault's current public strategy book.
The value of collateral securing a loan, expressed as a percentage of the loan amount. Over-collateralisation means the ratio exceeds 100%.
The maximum share of the book that a single counterparty, venue, or position may represent. Designed to contain idiosyncratic loss.
The party responsible for holding assets on behalf of users. Northvault uses a multi-signature treasury structure rather than a single third-party custodian.
When a stablecoin trades materially away from its peg, typically the US dollar. Brief depegs of basis points are common; large or sustained depegs are rare events.
Decentralised exchange. A protocol that enables on-chain swaps without a centralised order book operator.
The peak-to-trough decline in the value of a position or strategy. Drawdown thresholds trigger position review or unwind.
The periodic payment between long and short positions in a perpetual futures market. Funding-rate strategies harvest the spread between funding and spot.
The opportunity cost incurred by a liquidity provider when the relative price of pool assets changes. Minimised — but not eliminated — for stablecoin-only pools.
Know-your-customer. Identity verification performed at account opening. Northvault enforces KYC on every account before deposits are accepted.
Supplying assets to a pool so others can trade. The provider earns trading fees and, in some pools, protocol incentives.
Market-maker lending. Over-collateralised loans extended to trading firms that use the capital for inventory and arbitrage. A key Northvault strategy bucket.
Multi-signature wallet. Requires more than one approver to authorise an outflow. Northvault uses a hot/warm/cold multi-sig structure on Solana.
An on-chain data feed that supplies external information — most commonly prices — to smart contracts. Oracle failures are a documented risk on DeFi positions.
The portion of the book held in short-duration cash equivalents and tokenised treasury exposure. The liquidity floor for redemptions.
Real-world asset. Tokenised exposure to off-chain instruments such as treasury bills and money-market positions.
The difference between the expected and executed price of a trade. A material risk on large orders or in thin markets.
A digital token designed to hold a stable value against a reference asset, typically the US dollar.
A loyalty band on Northvault that determines APY uplift, based on average balance over a defined window.
An on-chain wrapper that provides exposure to short-duration US treasury bills or money-market instruments.
A token whose value or balance increases over time as it accrues underlying yield. Northvault's user balance is yield-bearing by design.