> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.libre.org/libre-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.libre.org/libre-docs/readme.md).

# Libre: Transparent Bitcoin Lending

Libre is a lending market with two sides.

**Borrowers** lock Bitcoin and take out a USDT loan against it. **Lenders** deposit USDT and earn interest on it. The Bitcoin securing every loan sits in its own address on the Bitcoin blockchain, which anyone can look up.

[Borrow USDT](https://defi.libre.org/borrow) · [Lend USDT](https://defi.libre.org/lend) · [Live protocol stats](https://defi.libre.org/protocol)

***

## Borrowing

You keep your Bitcoin's upside; you just can't move it until you repay.

1. **Open a vault.** You get your own Bitcoin address — not a shared wallet.
2. **Send BTC to it.** Once confirmed, it counts as your collateral.
3. **Borrow USDT**, up to **60% of your collateral's value**. You set the highest interest rate you're willing to accept; if the pool's rate is above it, the loan doesn't open.
4. **Repay whenever you want**, in part or in full, and withdraw your Bitcoin.

Interest accrues while the loan is open. There is no fixed term and no repayment schedule — the only thing you must watch is the value of your collateral.

→ [Borrowing guide](/libre-docs/core-features/overview.md)

## Lending

1. **Deposit USDT** into the lending pool.
2. **Receive TPF tokens** — your share of the pool. They don't pay out; they get worth more as interest accrues.
3. **Earn** whatever borrowers are paying. The rate moves with demand: roughly **3% when the pool is idle, 9% when it's 80% lent out, up to 20% when fully lent out**. Your yield is that rate times the share of the pool actually on loan.
4. **Redeem** your TPF for USDT plus interest. If most of the pool is out on loan, your redemption queues and fills as borrowers repay.

→ [Lending guide](/libre-docs/core-features/overview-1.md)

## Trading

Libre also runs an on-chain orderbook for **BTC/USDT** and **LIBRE/BTC**, with **no protocol trading fee** — none, not a low one — and no listing process or KYC.

Because your collateral and your trading live on the same chain, the two compose: borrow USDT against Bitcoin and trade it without a bridge, an exchange deposit, or a custodian in between.

→ [Trading guide](/libre-docs/core-features/overview-2.md)

## Built for agents as much as people

There is no API key on Libre, because there is no gatekeeper to issue one. Anything a person can do here, a program with a key can do — place and cancel orders, open a vault, borrow, repay, watch its own collateral.

The [MCP server](/libre-docs/for-developers/overview/mcp-server.md) exposes all of it as typed tools for AI agents, and never holds a key: it hands back unsigned transactions for you to sign.

→ [Building on Libre](/libre-docs/for-developers/overview.md)

***

## What keeps a lender safe

**Every loan is over-collateralized.** A borrower can only take 60% of their collateral's value, so there is far more Bitcoin behind the loan than there is USDT in it.

**If collateral value falls, the loan is closed out.** Loan health is measured as loan-to-value — what you owe, divided by what your Bitcoin is worth:

| LTV       | What it means                                                                                                     |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Up to 60% | Where a loan starts. Nothing to do.                                                                               |
| 60–70%    | Fine, but drifting. Worth watching.                                                                               |
| 70–80%    | Warning. Add collateral or repay some.                                                                            |
| Above 80% | **72-hour timer starts.** Get back below **70%** before it runs out, or the collateral is sold to repay the loan. |

Getting back under 80% is not enough to stop the timer — it has to come below 70%.

**The Bitcoin price comes from the chain, not an exchange.** An on-chain oracle takes the median of several independent price feeders, and the loan contract refuses any price older than five minutes.

→ [How liquidation works](/libre-docs/understanding-the-platform/mechanics/liquidation.md) · [The price oracle](/libre-docs/understanding-the-platform/mechanics/price-oracle.md)

***

## Why the vaults matter

Most lending platforms put every borrower's Bitcoin in one pool. If the platform gets into trouble, you're a creditor standing in line for a share of it.

On Libre, your Bitcoin has its own address for the life of your loan. It is not pooled, not lent out to anyone else, and not rehypothecated. You can look it up on the Bitcoin blockchain and see your exact coins.

→ [Custody & security](/libre-docs/core-features/overview-3.md)

***

## Next

* [How to get USDT onto Libre](/libre-docs/guides/how-to-peg-in.md)
* [Building on Libre](/libre-docs/for-developers/overview.md) — chain APIs, contracts, and the [MCP server](/libre-docs/for-developers/overview/mcp-server.md) for agents
* [TPF share value and tokenomics](/libre-docs/understanding-the-platform/mechanics/tokenomics.md)
* [Staking](/libre-docs/legacy-documentation/legacy-docs/earn/staking.md) and [mining](/libre-docs/legacy-documentation/legacy-docs/earn/mining.md) LIBRE