How to use
the Balanced app
Learn how to borrow bnUSD, swap and supply crypto, transfer between blockchains, lock up BALN, participate in governance, and more.
Sign in to the Balanced app with a compatible browser wallet, or access it through the Hana wallet on iOS and Android.
Borrow Balanced Dollars.
The Balanced Dollar (bnUSD) is a decentralised stablecoin that tracks the price of 1 US dollar. You can borrow bnUSD against any supported collateral type, and use it wrapper-free on every blockchain Balanced connects to. There’s a ... fee, and your loan will increase by ... a year.
Learn more about the Balanced stablecoin.
1. Deposit collateral
You can deposit a variety of assets as collateral. Each collateral type represents a separate position with its own risk profile.
From the Collateral section on the Home page:
- Choose a collateral type and blockchain to use.
- Click Deposit and enter the amount.
- Check the Loan section to see how many bnUSD you can borrow.
- Click Confirm and complete the transaction.
The same asset on multiple blockchains = multiple positions. If you deposit ETH on Arbitrum and Base, you have two positions, so you can borrow against your Arbitrum ETH without putting your Base ETH at risk.
2. Take out a loan
Borrow bnUSD against your collateral, which you can receive and repay from any supported blockchain.
Make sure the correct collateral type is active, then, from the Loan section:
- Choose which blockchain to use.
- Click Borrow and enter the amount.
- Use the Position Details section to assess your risk.
- Click Confirm and complete the transaction.
A loan puts your collateral at risk.
Your risk increases when the USD value of your collateral falls. If it’s ever worth less than ... of your loan (... loan-to-value ratio), it will be partially liquidated to reduce your risk.
Keep an eye on your risk from the Position Details section.
3. Monitor your position
Use the Position Details section to monitor your risk and adjust each loan position. It includes the price your collateral type needs to reach to trigger liquidation, so you can assess your risk against the market.
To lower your risk ratio, reduce your loan or deposit more collateral.
Use the decentralised exchange.
Balanced includes a decentralised exchange so you can swap between assets, supply liquidity, and transfer assets cross-chain.
Swap assets
You can exchange your crypto for a variety of assets, and even move between blockchains in a single trade.
From the Swap tab on the Trade page:
- Choose an asset to swap, and another to receive.
- Choose which blockchains you’d like to send and receive on, if applicable.
- Enter the amount to swap, then adjust the slippage tolerance and recipient address if necessary.
- Click Swap and complete the transaction.
You can view pending cross-chain transactions from the Bridge tab. If you need to confirm or revert them, you’ll see an option to do so.
Use the Stability Fund
If you swap bnUSD with another stablecoin, you’ll get the option to trade with the Stability Fund. The Stability Fund offers 1:1 trades between bnUSD and approved stablecoins, minus a ... fee.
Stake and unstake ICX
You can convert ICX to Staked ICX (sICX) for free, so you can earn staking rewards without locking up your tokens. To skip the unstaking period, pay a ... fee to swap sICX for ICX.
Supply liquidity.
You can supply liquidity to facilitate trading on the exchange. Liquidity pools receive ... of the trading fees, and many pools offer BALN as an incentive. To evaluate a specific pool, use the impermanent loss calculator.
From the Supply tab on the Trade page:
- Sign in with an ICON wallet.
- Choose two assets to supply, then enter the amount.
Aside from the ICX-only queue, existing pools require two assets of equal value. Create a new pool to set your own price ratio. - Click Supply or ‘Create pool’, then follow the prompts to complete the transaction.
To earn BALN from incentivised pools, stake your LP Tokens:
- Click to expand the pool in the Liquidity Pools section.
- Click ‘Adjust stake’ and choose the amount.
- Confirm the transaction.
You’ll earn BALN as long as your LP Tokens are staked, and you’ll need to unstake them before you can withdraw your liquidity. To earn maximum rewards for your liquidity, lock up Balance Tokens.
Transfer between blockchains
Balanced includes support for GMP, ICON’s cross-chain messaging service, so you can transfer assets to a wallet on another blockchain.
From the Bridge tab on the Trade page:
- Choose which blockchains to transfer between.
- Choose an asset, then enter the amount.
- Enter a compatible blockchain address.
- Click Transfer, then follow the prompts to complete the transaction.
The Bridge tab includes a list of pending cross-chain transactions. If you need to approve or revoke them, you’ll see an option to do so.
Manage your crypto.
Get the most out of Balanced on the ICON blockchain with the ability to earn and claim rewards, view and send assets, and manage staked ICX.
Earn and claim rewards
Balanced includes the ability to earn a return via the Savings Rate, Balanced incentives, and network fees. Rewards accrue in real time, so you can claim them from the Home page whenever there’s a balance available.
- To earn yield for bnUSD, deposit it into the Savings Rate.
- To earn BALN, supply liquidity.
- To earn fees and boost your earning potential, lock up BALN.
View and send assets
You can access the wallet from the top-right corner of every page. Open it to manage your connected wallets and view the assets you hold on each connected chain.
To change or disconnect a wallet, click ‘Manage wallets’.
To manage an asset held on ICON, click it. You’ll see the option to send it: just enter the amount and an address.
Manage staked assets
To avoid a ... swap fee, unstake your sICX from the wallet. The standard ICX unstaking time is ~7 days, but if there’s enough demand for sICX while yours unstakes, it may only take a few days or hours.
- Go to sICX > Unstake and set the amount to unstake.
- Click Confirm, then complete the transaction.
To view your unstaking requests, go to ICX > Unstaking. When your unstaked ICX is ready to claim, you’ll see an alert badge next to the wallet icon.
Participate in the Balanced DAO.
Balanced is decentralised, owned by the community that uses it. Ownership is distributed through Balance Tokens (BALN). Lock up BALN to hold voting rights, so you can shape Balanced’s future and benefit from its success.
Lock up Balance Tokens
To participate in governance and increase your earning potential, lock BALN for up to 4 years. You’ll receive bBALN, a non-transferable token that holds voting power, earns network fees, and can boost your loan and liquidity rewards by up to 2.5x.
To lock up BALN from the Vote page:
- Click ‘Lock up BALN’ in the Voting Power section.
- Choose the amount of BALN to lock up and for how long.
Choose wisely: you can unlock early, but you’ll lose up to 50% as a penalty. - Click Confirm and complete the transaction.
Your bBALN holdings will decline over time, and the amount required for maximum earning potential will fluctuate. Lock up more BALN or extend the unlock date at any time.
Incentivise liquidity pools
bBALN holders control the BALN reward ratio for liquidity pools. Whether you want to earn yield through bribes, boost incentives for pools you participate in, or attract more liquidity for specific pairs, your voting power will influence the assets available to trade.
To incentivise a liquidity pool:
- Go to Vote > Liquidity Incentives, then click Add for the pool you want to incentivise.
- Enter a percentage of your voting power to allocate.
Choose wisely: you won’t be able to change it for 10 days. - Click Confirm and complete the transaction.
If you vote for pools that offer bribes, make sure to claim them from the Liquidity Bribes section every week.
Vote on governance proposals
Shape Balanced’s future using its extensive governance functionality. You can view and discuss proposal ideas on the Balanced forum, and vote to approve or reject proposals on-chain from the Vote page.
The voting window ranges from 1 to 14 days, and your voting weight reflects the bBALN you held when the vote began. In order to pass, a proposal requires at least 30% participation and 67% approval.
