Market Curators

The Market Curator is the operator of a specific lending market instance. Unlike traditional asset managers who actively allocate capital, Gearbox Curators act as Risk Parameter Managers. They define the boundary conditions—such as Loan-to-Value ratios, interest rate curves, and allowed collateral—under which the market operates.

This role is permissionless: any entity can deploy a Market Configurator and launch a lending business on top of the Gearbox Protocol.

Operational Model: Parameters, Not Funds

The Curator does not have custody of user funds. Instead, the Curator manages a set of smart contracts that enforce rules on how funds can be utilized.

• No Custody: Curators cannot withdraw Liquidity Provider (LP) funds or seize Borrower collateral (except via standard liquidation mechanics).

• No Active Allocation: Curators do not manually move funds between strategies. They set the eligibility rules (e.g., "Strategy A is allowed up to $10M debt"), and the protocol automatically manages the flow based on user demand.

Role Architecture

To balance operational agility with security, Curator powers are segregated into distinct roles. These are typically assigned to different multisigs or governance controllers depending on the Curator's internal structure.

1. The Administrator (Governance)

The ultimate authority for the market. This address controls the Market Configurator contract.

• Capabilities: Can modify all risk parameters (LTVs, Supply Caps, Interest Models, Fee Splits).

• Constraint: All actions are subject to a mandatory Timelock (see below).

2. The Emergency Admin (Security)

A specialized role designed for crisis response. It has a limited subset of powers that bypass the timelock to prevent bad debt or exploits.

• Capabilities:

  • Pause contracts (freeze borrowing/withdrawals).

  • Set debt limits to zero (stop new borrowing).

  • Forbid specific adapters or tokens (stop exposure to risky assets).

• Constraint: Cannot increase risk (e.g., cannot raise LTVs or debt limits). Can only restrict operations.

3. Operational Roles

Granular roles for day-to-day maintenance without full administrative access.

• Pausable/Unpausable Admin: Can freeze or unfreeze specific market contracts.

• Fee Multisig: Designated recipient for accrued protocol fees.

• Emergency Liquidator: Whitelisted address permitted to liquidate positions when the market is paused.

Safety Constraints: The Timelock

To protect users from malicious or erroneous parameter changes, the protocol enforces a Time-Delayed Execution model for the Administrator role.

• The Rule: Any transaction that alters a risk parameter (e.g., changing LTV from 80% to 90%) must be queued in the Timelock contract for a minimum of 24 hours before execution.

• The Purpose: This delay guarantees that Lenders and Borrowers have sufficient time to audit pending changes and exit the market if they disagree with the new risk profile.

Economic Model

Curators monetize their markets by configuring specific fee parameters. These fees are programmatic and deducted automatically by the smart contracts.

Revenue Sources

1. Interest Fee: A percentage of the interest paid by borrowers. This is added on top of the base rate paid to Lenders.

2. Liquidation Fee: A percentage of the collateral value seized during a liquidation event.

Fee Sharing

The Gearbox Protocol infrastructure takes a share of the revenue generated by Curators to sustain the DAO and core development.

• Default Split: 50% to the Curator / 50% to the Protocol DAO.

• Configuration: This split is enforced at the TreasurySplitter contract level.

Learn More

• Parameter reference: Where can I find a comprehensive dictionary of all configurable risk parameters and their constraints?

  • Risk Configuration Dictionary