How the Lava Yield Account works

The Lava Yield Account lets you earn a variable APY, currently 6.5%, on your dollars by funding over-collateralized bitcoin-backed loans, with no lockup. Yield is paid daily and compounds monthly. You can move money back to your available balance at any time, and you don't need to own bitcoin to use it.

How it works

1. Add dollars to Lava. Use a supported bank transfer, direct deposit or a stablecoin deposit.

2. Move them into the Lava Yield Account. Transfer any amount from your available USD balance, and add more whenever you like.

3. Your dollars fund bitcoin-backed loans. They're lent to Lava borrowers who post more bitcoin as collateral than the dollars they borrow. Their interest payments fund your yield. Yield is paid daily, added to your balance and compounds monthly.

4. Withdraw at any time. Funds return to your available USD balance. From there you can spend them with Lava Card, send them to a bank account or withdraw them as stablecoins.

The loans are backed only by bitcoin. Your dollars don't fund loans secured by other crypto assets or loans to unsecured borrowers. If a loan's collateral falls far enough in value, or a borrower doesn't repay, the collateral is sold. The proceeds repay the lender's principal plus interest.

What you earn and what it costs

The current APY is 6.5%, and the live rate is always shown in the Lava app. APY (annual percentage yield) is what a balance earns over a year once compounding is included. At 6.5%, $10,000 left in the account for a full year would earn $650 if the rate stayed the same.

There's no lockup, so you can move money in and out without waiting for a term to end. Getting dollars onto or off Lava depends on how you move them. Supported bank routes, currencies, fees and transfer times vary by location, and the app shows the options available to you.

Risks and limits

The Lava Yield Account isn't a bank account, and it isn't risk-free. The APY is variable, so what you earn can go up or down.

Yield Account dollars are held differently from the rest of your balance. Your available USD balance is backed 1:1 by reserves: US Treasury securities, cash and audited stablecoins, held in segregated, bankruptcy-remote accounts. Dollars you move into the Lava Yield Account leave that reserve. They're lent to borrowers, and what protects them is the bitcoin collateral behind each loan.

That protection depends on over-collateralization and on liquidations completing at a price that covers the loan. Lava's liquidation engine connects to major market makers to execute those sales. Withdrawals are available at any time, and Lava manages liquidity across several capital sources, including institutional ones, to meet them.

Who it's for

The Lava Yield Account is built for people who hold dollars and want to earn more without committing to a fixed term. If you're wary of unsecured lending and yield products that don't say where returns come from, the source here is specific: interest on over-collateralized, bitcoin-backed loans.

You don't need to own bitcoin. Retail savers, international dollar holders and people paid in stablecoins can all use it. If you already use Lava, you can park dollars you don't need yet. Move them back when you want to spend with Lava Card or repay a bitcoin line of credit (BLOC). Businesses can do the same with idle cash through Lava for Business.

Get started

See the current APY and open a Lava Yield Account at lava.xyz/yield.