> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.nara.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.nara.io/nara/quickstart.md). # Welcome to Nara Credit for the Digital Era. ### What is Nara? **Nara is a digital-dollar protocol that finances short-duration payment flows and passes the financing premium to on-chain holders as yield.** NaraUSD is a synthetic dollar backed by a portfolio of liquid reserves and short-duration payment-financing positions. NaraUSD+ is the staked version that receives the portfolio's yield. Neither token is a fiat-reserve stablecoin, a deposit or a guaranteed-return product: their value depends on borrowers repaying, on the liquidity of the portfolio, and on the controls around it. **The Nara team funded a $250,000 Insurance Fund from its own treasury before the protocol took a single fee.** It absorbs losses before any holder does, it grows by about 1% of assets a year (a 10% share of gross strategy yield at the target rate) that stays in the holders' own buffer rather than leaving as a fee, and its balance is a public wallet you can read on-chain and on the [transparency dashboard](https://app.nara.io/transparency). | Product | What it is | Where it sits in a loss | | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | NaraUSD | The base synthetic dollar. Minted 1:1 against eligible stablecoins by Authorized Users, redeemable for a dollar, freely transferable and composable. Earns nothing on its own. | Senior. Losses reach NaraUSD only after the Insurance Fund and the full value of NaraUSD+ are exhausted. | | NaraUSD+ | The staked, yield-bearing version. Its exchange rate against NaraUSD rises as the portfolio pays. | Junior to the Insurance Fund. Takes portfolio losses once the fund is exhausted, in exchange for the yield. | #### Where the yield comes from Stablecoins settle in seconds. The businesses that move them do not: fiat collection, on/off-ramp conversion and local payout still take one to five days. A remittance company or payment service provider that wants to pay out today, before its own fiat lands, needs working capital for that gap, and pays a premium for it. Nara funds the gap on-chain, 24/7, and the premium accrues to NaraUSD+. Read How Nara generates yield. #### What stands behind it * **A short-duration book, published position by position.** Backing is allocated between a liquid reserve and underwritten payment-financing positions under written allocation ranges and concentration limits. Every position, its weight and its terms are on the Portfolio page and the dashboard. * **A first-loss fund the team paid for.** $250,000 seeded from the team treasury, topped up continuously by about 1% of assets a year (10% of gross strategy yield at the target rate), held in a segregated wallet, drawn only through the 3-of-5 signing process. Insurance Fund. * **Underwriting before capital moves.** Every position is scored on an 8-pillar, 42-criteria scorecard, screened through 7 knock-out gates and approved unanimously by a three-member Investment Committee. Underwriting. * **Contract-enforced controls.** Every privileged action is signed 3-of-5 on hardware devices through a maker → reviewer → executor process. Reward issuance is capped on-chain; the cap moves only through a hard-coded 2-day, vetoable timelock. Roles, Multisig and Timelocks. * **Proof over promises.** Supply, the vault exchange rate, the redemption queue, the Insurance Fund balance and every admin action are public chain state. Transparency. #### How it works in five steps 1. **Mint or buy.** Authorized Users (KYC/KYB verified) mint NaraUSD 1:1 against eligible stablecoins. Anyone else can buy NaraUSD on supported secondary venues. 2. **Stake.** Convert NaraUSD to NaraUSD+ in one transaction. Yield accrues only to NaraUSD+. 3. **Earn.** The NaraUSD+ / NaraUSD exchange rate rises as the portfolio pays. There is nothing to claim. 4. **Unstake.** Request unstaking. After a 7-day cooldown, NaraUSD+ converts to NaraUSD at the prevailing exchange rate. 5. **Redeem or sell.** Authorized Users redeem NaraUSD for stablecoins: instantly if the request fits the liquid buffer, otherwise through an ordered on-chain queue targeted within 7 days. Anyone can sell NaraUSD or NaraUSD+ on secondary venues at market price. The primary route from NaraUSD+ to stablecoins therefore takes up to 14 days (7 + 7) in normal conditions. Under sustained redemption pressure, queued redemptions are served as positions roll off, and the longest position terms run to about 90 days. See Exit paths and timing. #### What you are holding NaraUSD and NaraUSD+ are claims on a managed portfolio of payment-financing assets. They are not deposits and are not insured by any government scheme. Returns are variable and depend on borrower demand, repayment, settlement timing, credit losses and the reserve mix. The Insurance Fund is finite and protocol-managed; it is not third-party insurance. NaraUSD can trade away from a dollar on secondary venues. Read Risks before depositing. #### Live figures Total supply, the staked ratio, the protocol backing ratio, the NaraUSD+ exchange rate, the live and trailing APR, the asset allocation with every position, and the Insurance Fund balance are on the [transparency dashboard](https://app.nara.io/transparency). The dashboard is the single source for every live figure; this documentation does not repeat them. #### Start here | If you want to... | Read | | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Understand the asset class | [How Nara generates yield](/nara/quickstart.md#where-the-yield-comes-from) | | See how the two tokens differ | [NaraUSD](/nara-protocol/narausd.md), [NaraUSD](/nara-protocol/narausd+.md)+ | | Check what backs the tokens today | [Dashboard](https://app.nara.io/transparency) | | Understand the first-loss layer | [Insurance Fund](/nara-protocol/insurance-fund.md) | | Evaluate what can go wrong | [Risks](/nara-protocol/risks.md) | | See who holds which key | [Roles, Multisig and Timelocks](/nara-protocol/roles-multisig-and-timelocks.md) | | Verify a contract | [Code Audit](/resources/code-audits.md) | --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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