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 backed by crypto. Balanced pays borrowers to mint bnUSD, but first you’ll need to deposit cryptocurrency as collateral.

Learn more about the Balanced stablecoin.

1. Deposit collateral

You can use multiple cryptocurrencies as collateral for Balanced Dollars. Each collateral type is a separate position with its own risk profile.

From the Collateral section on the Home page:

  1. Choose the asset you want to use, then click Deposit and enter the amount.
  2. Check the Loan section to see how many bnUSD will be available for you to borrow.
  3. Click Confirm and complete the transaction.

If you deposit ICX, it will be converted to Staked ICX (sICX) so that you earn staking rewards.

2. Take out a loan

You can borrow bnUSD against your collateral for a ... fee. It’s interest-free, and you’ll earn Balance Tokens (BALN) until you close your loan.

  1. Click Borrow in the Loan section and enter the amount.
  2. Use the Position Details section to assess your risk.
  3. Click Confirm and complete the transaction.

Some or all of your collateral will be locked until you reduce the size of your loan.

A loan puts your collateral at risk.

When the USD value of your collateral falls, your risk increases. If it’s ever worth less than ... of your loan (a loan-to-value ratio of ...), it will be liquidated to repay your debt.

Keep a close eye on your risk ratio 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. To boost your loan rewards, lock up Balance Tokens.

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:

  1. Choose an asset to swap, and another to receive.
  2. Choose which blockchains you’d like to send and receive on, if applicable. (All assets are on ICON unless stated.)
  3. Enter the amount to swap and adjust the slippage tolerance if necessary.
  4. 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:

  1. 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.
  2. Click Supply or ‘Create pool’, then follow the prompts to complete the transaction.

To earn BALN from incentivised pools, stake your LP Tokens:

  1. Click to expand the pool in the Liquidity Pools section.
  2. Click ‘Adjust stake’ and use the slider to stake your LP Tokens.
  3. 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 xCall, 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:

  1. Choose which blockchains to transfer between.
  2. Choose an asset and enter the amount.
  3. 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 with the ability to claim rewards, view and send assets, and manage staked ICX.

Claim rewards

Balanced distributes rewards in the form of Balance Tokens (BALN) and network fees. They accrue in real time, so you can claim them from the Rewards section on the Home page whenever there’s a balance available.

View and send assets

You can access the wallet from the top-right corner of every page. Open it to view a list of assets for each wallet you've connected.

To manage an asset in your wallet, click it. You’ll see the option to send it: just enter the amount and a compatible blockchain 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.

  1. Go to sICX > Unstake and set the amount to unstake.
  2. 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 up BALN for 1 week – 4 years. You’ll receive bBALN (Boosted BALN), 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 Home page:

  1. Click ‘Lock up BALN’ in the Rewards section.
  2. 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.

  3. Click Confirm and complete the transaction.

bBALN decays over time, and the amount required for maximum rewards will fluctuate, so you can lock up more BALN and/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:

  1. Go to Vote > Liquidity Incentives, then click Add for the pool you want to incentivise.
  2. Enter a percentage of your voting power to allocate.

    Choose wisely: you won’t be able to change it for 10 days.

  3. 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 20% participation and 67% approval.

Learn how to submit a proposal.

Take the next step.