{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "defi-lending-pools",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/defi-lending-pools/",
  "collection": "defi",
  "title": "DeFi lending pools: supply claims, debt and available liquidity",
  "description": "Follow a pooled loan from deposit to repayment, distinguish interest-bearing receipts from debt, and understand collateral and withdrawal limits.",
  "aliases": [
    "lending market"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
    "dataAsOf": null
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "A DeFi lending pool lets suppliers place assets in a reserve that eligible borrowers can use. In Aave V3, suppliers receive aToken claims and borrowing creates debt subject to collateral or authorized credit-delegation rules. Interest, available liquidity and market settings affect what each position can do.",
    "claimId": "defi-lending-pools-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "pool",
      "atoken"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Supply receipt",
      "value": "Aave aToken balances represent supplied assets and accrued yield.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "atoken"
      ],
      "id": "supply-receipt",
      "claimId": "defi-lending-pools-fact-supply-receipt"
    },
    {
      "label": "Debt",
      "value": "Variable debt balances include accrued interest.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "atoken"
      ],
      "id": "debt",
      "claimId": "defi-lending-pools-fact-debt"
    },
    {
      "label": "Withdrawal",
      "value": "Available liquidity and collateral health constrain withdrawals.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "pool"
      ],
      "id": "withdrawal",
      "claimId": "defi-lending-pools-fact-withdrawal"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "what-is-defi",
    "liquidity-pools"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "records",
      "heading": "Supplying and borrowing create different records",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Supplying 100 units to a standard Aave V3 reserve creates a supply claim denominated in that underlying asset. A separate borrower can take available units if the borrowing operation meets the applicable rules. The debt is an obligation, not another freely transferable receipt.",
        "The supplied token, aToken and debt token are distinct contracts or records. A wallet balance denominated in the same asset name can therefore represent an underlying token, a claim on a pool or an amount owed."
      ],
      "sourceIds": [
        "pool",
        "atoken"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "cash",
      "heading": "A supply balance is different from immediately available liquidity",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Suppose a simplified reserve holds claims for 1,000 supplied units while 900 are currently borrowed, leaving 100 idle units before other accounting effects. A supplier with a 300-unit claim cannot infer that all 300 can be withdrawn immediately from that snapshot.",
        "The protocol also checks whether a withdrawal would leave that supplier’s own debt insufficiently collateralized. Available liquidity and account health are separate requirements. A displayed aToken balance establishes the recorded position, not an unconditional instant-exit promise."
      ],
      "sourceIds": [
        "pool",
        "atoken"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "collateral",
      "heading": "Collateral rules connect the account’s positions",
      "paragraphs": [
        "When supplied assets secure borrowing, removing collateral can worsen the account’s health. The protocol can reject a withdrawal that would violate its constraints. A collateral price decline or an increase in debt can also make liquidation possible.",
        "These statements describe the cited Aave V3 mechanisms, not every lending product. Isolated markets, permissioned credit and other designs can have different eligibility, risk sharing and settlement rules. Always record the market and version with a comparison."
      ],
      "sourceIds": [
        "health",
        "pool"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Does a displayed supply balance guarantee instant withdrawal?",
      "answer": "No. Redemption needs available underlying liquidity and must satisfy the position’s collateral rules. An accounting claim and cash immediately available to withdraw are different quantities.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "pool"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "defi-lending-pools-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "defi-lending-pools",
      "statement": "A DeFi lending pool lets suppliers place assets in a reserve that eligible borrowers can use. In Aave V3, suppliers receive aToken claims and borrowing creates debt subject to collateral or authorized credit-delegation rules. Interest, available liquidity and market settings affect what each position can do.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-b35859a766315ce4",
        "source-8a1758eedafba9ec"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-b35859a766315ce4",
          "locator": "supply; withdraw; borrow; repay; liquidationCall"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-8a1758eedafba9ec",
          "locator": "AToken; VariableDebtToken"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Reopened Pool supply/withdraw/borrow documentation and tokenization balanceOf and variable-debt sections. Existing collateral-health restrictions are preserved.",
          "Recomputed 1000 claims minus 900 borrowed = 100 idle units in the simplified accounting; a 300-unit supplier claim exceeds that available inventory. The paragraph explicitly excludes other accounting effects and makes no universal instant-redemption promise."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "defi-lending-pools-fact-supply-receipt",
      "articleSlug": "defi-lending-pools",
      "statement": "Supply receipt: Aave aToken balances represent supplied assets and accrued yield.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-8a1758eedafba9ec"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-8a1758eedafba9ec",
          "locator": "AToken; VariableDebtToken"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Reopened Pool supply/withdraw/borrow documentation and tokenization balanceOf and variable-debt sections. Existing collateral-health restrictions are preserved.",
          "Recomputed 1000 claims minus 900 borrowed = 100 idle units in the simplified accounting; a 300-unit supplier claim exceeds that available inventory. The paragraph explicitly excludes other accounting effects and makes no universal instant-redemption promise."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "defi-lending-pools-fact-debt",
      "articleSlug": "defi-lending-pools",
      "statement": "Debt: Variable debt balances include accrued interest.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-8a1758eedafba9ec"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-8a1758eedafba9ec",
          "locator": "AToken; VariableDebtToken"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Reopened Pool supply/withdraw/borrow documentation and tokenization balanceOf and variable-debt sections. Existing collateral-health restrictions are preserved.",
          "Recomputed 1000 claims minus 900 borrowed = 100 idle units in the simplified accounting; a 300-unit supplier claim exceeds that available inventory. The paragraph explicitly excludes other accounting effects and makes no universal instant-redemption promise."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "defi-lending-pools-fact-withdrawal",
      "articleSlug": "defi-lending-pools",
      "statement": "Withdrawal: Available liquidity and collateral health constrain withdrawals.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-b35859a766315ce4"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-b35859a766315ce4",
          "locator": "supply; withdraw; borrow; repay; liquidationCall"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Reopened Pool supply/withdraw/borrow documentation and tokenization balanceOf and variable-debt sections. Existing collateral-health restrictions are preserved.",
          "Recomputed 1000 claims minus 900 borrowed = 100 idle units in the simplified accounting; a 300-unit supplier claim exceeds that available inventory. The paragraph explicitly excludes other accounting effects and makes no universal instant-redemption promise."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "pool",
      "label": "Aave V3 Pool",
      "publisher": "Aave",
      "url": "https://aave.com/docs/aave-v3/smart-contracts/pool",
      "locator": "supply; withdraw; borrow; repay; liquidationCall",
      "note": "Pool operations, collateral restrictions and liquidation settlement.",
      "version": "Aave V3",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02",
      "recordId": "source-b35859a766315ce4",
      "contentSha256": null
    },
    {
      "id": "atoken",
      "label": "Aave V3 tokenization",
      "publisher": "Aave",
      "url": "https://aave.com/docs/aave-v3/smart-contracts/tokenization",
      "locator": "AToken; VariableDebtToken",
      "note": "Supply receipts accrue interest and debt tokens record principal plus interest.",
      "version": "Aave V3",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02",
      "recordId": "source-8a1758eedafba9ec",
      "contentSha256": null
    },
    {
      "id": "health",
      "label": "Health Factor & Liquidations",
      "publisher": "Aave",
      "url": "https://aave.com/help/borrowing/liquidations",
      "locator": "Health Factor; Managing Health Factor; Liquidation Process",
      "note": "Weighted liquidation thresholds and eligibility below health factor one.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02",
      "recordId": "source-74f79d59daaab5f0",
      "contentSha256": null
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "utilization-and-borrowing-rates",
      "collateral-and-health-factors",
      "defi-liquidations",
      "withdraw-lending-supply",
      "repay-defi-loan",
      "defi-isolated-lending-markets"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "substantive-edit",
      "summary": "Expanded explanation: A supply balance is different from immediately available liquidity. Worked examples are illustrative; source checks and independent verification are recorded separately."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “DeFi lending pools: supply claims, debt and available liquidity.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/defi-lending-pools/"
}