Risks

Foundation is committed to transparency. This section outlines the risks associated with participating in the Foundation protocol.

Note: USD' is the base layer asset backed by fiat stablecoins (USDC, USDT) and RWAs. Strategy dollars (PrimeUSD, ApolloUSD, OrdUSD) are built on top of this shared liquidity layer. Each layer carries distinct risks.


Base Layer Risks (USD')

Risk
Description
Mitigation

Stablecoin Depeg

USDC or USDT could temporarily lose their peg

Diversified stablecoin backing

RWA Counterparty

RWA token issuers could default

Curated RWA partners, diversification

Smart Contract

Vault contracts could have vulnerabilities

Multiple audits, formal verification


Strategy Layer Risks

PrimeUSD (Lending)

Risk
Description

Lending Protocol Risk

Underlying protocols (Aave, Morpho) could experience exploits

Interest Rate Risk

Lending rates are variable and may decrease

Liquidation Risk

Borrowers defaulting could impact yields

ApolloUSD (RWAs)

Risk
Description

Counterparty Risk

RWA providers (Acred) could default on obligations

Redemption Risk

RWA redemptions may take 2-7 business days

Regulatory Risk

Changes in regulations could affect RWA accessibility

OrdUSD (Delta-Neutral)

Risk
Description

Negative Funding

Funding rates can turn negative, resulting in losses

Exchange Risk

Orderly Network could experience downtime or counterparty issues

Hedging Imperfection

Large price moves may cause temporary deviation from delta-neutral


Smart Contract Risk

Risk
Description
Mitigation

Code Vulnerabilities

Bugs in smart contracts could lead to loss of funds

Multiple independent audits, formal verification, bug bounty program

Upgrade Risk

Contract upgrades could introduce vulnerabilities

Timelock on all upgrades, multi-sig governance

Composability Risk

Interactions with external protocols could introduce vulnerabilities

Whitelisted integrations only, continuous monitoring


Liquidity Risk

Risk
Description
Mitigation

Buffer Depletion

High redemption volume could temporarily exhaust liquidity buffers

Dynamic buffer sizing, redemption queuing

Market Illiquidity

Underlying assets may be difficult to sell in stressed markets

Diversified collateral, conservative position sizing


Peg Stability

Risk
Description
Mitigation

USD' Deviation

USD' may temporarily trade above or below $1.00

Arbitrage incentives, mint/redeem mechanisms

Strategy Loss Impact

Strategy losses reduce share value, not USD' peg

Asset isolation, per-strategy loss absorption


Operational Risk

Risk
Description
Mitigation

Oracle Failure

Price feed failures could affect NAV calculations

Multiple oracle sources, circuit breakers

Key Management

Compromised keys could lead to unauthorized actions

Multi-sig wallets, hardware security modules

Third-Party Dependency

External protocol changes could affect operations

Continuous monitoring, contingency planning


Regulatory Risk

Risk
Description

Jurisdiction Restrictions

Certain jurisdictions may restrict access to Foundation

Regulatory Changes

Future regulations could impact protocol operations

Compliance Requirements

Institutional users may face additional compliance obligations


Risk Acknowledgment

By participating in Foundation, you acknowledge that:

  1. You have read and understood the risks outlined above

  2. You are only investing capital you can afford to lose

  3. Past performance does not guarantee future returns

  4. Yields are variable and can decrease or become negative

  5. Smart contract interactions carry inherent risks


For questions about risks, please reach out to the Foundation team.

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