marginfi launched in 2022 as a permissioned institutional lending protocol on Solana before pivoting to a public DeFi lending product. In 2023, it ran one of Solana DeFi’s most successful pre-token campaigns — a “mrgn points” system rewarding users for supplying and borrowing assets, generating enormous growth as users speculated on an eventual token airdrop. The protocol grew from near-zero to hundreds of millions in TVL during 2023’s Solana DeFi renaissance, becoming one of the top 3 Solana lending protocols alongside Kamino Lend and Solend. Its design prioritizes composability: marginfi accounts can be used as margin for leveraged trading, looping strategies, and as collateral for other Solana protocols.
Core Product: Lending and Borrowing
Supply side:
- Deposit SOL, USDC, USDT, ETH (wormhole), BTC (wormhole), stablecoins, and liquid staking tokens (jitoSOL, mSOL, bSOL)
- Earn variable yield based on protocol utilization
- Yields range from near-zero (for overcollateralized assets) to double digits (for stablecoins during high borrowing demand)
Borrow side:
- Borrow assets against supplied collateral
- Variable interest rates set by utilization curve (similar to Aave/Compound model)
- LTV ratios (loan-to-value) set per asset based on liquidity and volatility
Liquidation:
- Position liquidated if account health falls below 1.0
- Liquidators receive a liquidation bonus (typically 5%)
- Partial liquidations to restore health
mrgnlend (the Lending App)
Accessed at app.marginfi.com — the primary user interface for:
- Depositing assets to earn yield
- Borrowing against collateral
- Monitoring account health
- Participating in leverage looping strategies (deposit LST, borrow SOL, swap to LST, repeat)
mrgn Points Campaign (2023–2024)
marginfi’s points system became one of Solana’s most discussed pre-launch token mechanics:
How it worked:
- Users earned points by supplying assets (deposit points)
- Bonus points for borrowing (borrow points, typically weighted higher)
- Points accumulated daily based on position size
- 100% on-chain — transparent and verifiable
- Additional points for referrals
Effect:
- Attracted hundreds of millions in TVL as users speculated on MRGN airdrop
- Made marginfi briefly the largest lending protocol on Solana by TVL
- Created a “points meta” across Solana DeFi — many protocols adopted similar points campaigns after marginfi’s success
Airdrop:
MRGN token was eventually distributed to points participants, with token launch details and final allocation percentages released later in 2024.
MRGN Token
- Network: Solana
- Utility: Protocol governance; potential future protocol revenue distribution
- Distribution: Points-based airdrop to historical protocol users
marginfi vs. Kamino Lend vs. Solend
| Feature | marginfi | Kamino Lend | Solend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | 2022 | 2023 | 2021 |
| Token | MRGN | KMNO | SLND |
| Unique feature | Points campaign history; clean UX | Multiply (leverage looping) | OG Solana lending; isolated pools |
| Chain | Solana | Solana | Solana |
All three compete for the same Solana lending market, with Kamino and marginfi both benefiting from the 2023-2024 Solana revival.
Risk Model
marginfi uses a risk-tiered approach to collateral:
Asset tiers:
- Tier A (highly liquid, low risk): USDC, SOL — high LTV (~80%+)
- Tier B (moderate risk): ETH, BTC — moderate LTV (~70-75%)
- Tier C (illiquid/higher risk): Smaller tokens — lower LTV or borrow-only
Oracle: Pyth Network (primary), Switchboard (secondary), with price guards to prevent manipulation
Insurance fund: Protocol fee allocation to backstop bad debt in the event of under-collateralized liquidations
How to Use marginfi
- Get SOL and supported assets from
- Connect Phantom or Backpack wallet to app.marginfi.com
- Supply assets — deposit USDC or SOL to earn yield
- Optionally borrow — borrow against your collateral
- Monitor health factor — keep above 1 to avoid liquidation
Self-custody tip:
Social Media Sentiment
marginfi built significant community goodwill through its transparent points campaign and clean product. Developers and degens alike respected that the points system was fully on-chain and auditable — no opaque “may or may not result in a token” messaging. The protocol team (Edgar Pavlovsky is the most visible founder) maintained consistent communication. Criticism arose around the transition from points to the actual MRGN token, where some users felt allocation was less generous than the level of TVL contributed warranted. Compared to Kamino’s more feature-rich product suite (leveraged looping, liquidity), marginfi is seen as cleaner and simpler. It remains a top-tier Solana DeFi protocol but faces strong competition in the lending space.
Last updated: 2026-04
Related Terms
Sources
Leshner, R., & Hayes, G. (2019). Compound: The Money Market Protocol. Compound Finance.
Aave Protocol. (2020). Aave Protocol Whitepaper V1. Aave.
Gudgeon, L., Werner, S., Perez, D., & Knottenbelt, W. (2020). DeFi Protocols for Loanable Funds: Interest Rates, Liquidity, and Market Efficiency. arXiv:2006.13922.
Perez, D., Werner, S., Xu, J., & Knottenbelt, W. (2021). Liquidations: DeFi on a Knife’s Edge. Financial Cryptography and Data Security.
Klages-Mundt, A., Harz, D., Gudgeon, L., Liu, J.Y., & Minca, A. (2020). Stablecoins 2.0: Economic Foundations and Risk-based Models. ACM CCS.