📖 Core Concepts
A glossary of the technical terms associated with Chiss Protocol
Fiat backed Stablecoin
These Stablecoins are pegged to an underlying fiat currency and backed 1:1 with a fiat reserve. e.g. USD stablecoins track the value of 1 US Dollar and the issuer holds a cash or cash-equivalent reserve to guarantee this value. Chiss local stablecoins are also fiat-backed.
Loans
A financial arrangement where a borrower receives assets (e.g., currency) with the obligation to repay them, often with interest. On Chiss Protocol, loans may be issued in different currencies and backed by stablecoins or other assets.
Collateral
Assets pledged by a borrower to secure a loan or position. If the borrower defaults, the collateral can be reclaimed to cover losses. Collateral is often stablecoins used to back cross-currency lending or swaps on Chiss. The external spot market price of the collateral deposited in the Protocol defines its value.
Loan-To-Value (LTV)
The percentage of a collateral asset's value utilized in securing a loan on Chiss. It differs for each currency and presented collateral.
Collateralization Ratio
It’s a dynamic real time measure of how much collateral is backing a loan or debt.
Liquidation
The process of selling off a portion of collateral to repay a debt when a loan position drops below a set collateralization threshold. This protects liquidity providers and keeps the protocol solvent. On Chiss, The process is designed to be fully automated and transparent, primarily managed by Keepers.
Liquidation Ratio
The fixed minimum collateralization ratio required to prevent liquidation i.e. collateral selloff. If the collateralization ratio falls below the liquidation ratio, liquidation occurs.
Health Factor
A risk indicator representing how close a loan position is to liquidation.
Onchain FX
Foreign exchange transactions executed and settled directly on a blockchain using tokenized currencies. Chiss onchain FX enables instant, transparent, and efficient currency swaps without relying on traditional banking intermediaries.
Oracle
A service used by Chiss to fetch external, real-world or offchain data, such as the prices of assets, which is critical for determining the value of collateral, debt and exchange rates.
Abstraction
The process of hiding blockchain complexity from the end user while retaining its benefits. Chiss’s Onchain FX Abstraction allows users to transact in fiat currencies while the blockchain handles the settlement behind the scenes.
RWAs
Real-World Assets (RWAs) are tangible or traditional financial assets like currencies, bonds, or commodities represented digitally on-chain.
Tokenization
Tokenization is the process of creating blockchain-based tokens that represent ownership or rights to assets or currencies, enabling faster settlement, fractional ownership, and easier transfer.
Rebalancing
On AMM pools, adjusting the asset ratios in liquidity pools to reflect real-world market prices & maintain asset pegs stability. Chiss uses oracle-fed pricing to concentrate pool liquidity and reduce risks like slippage or impermanent loss.
Facilitators
Licensed fintechs, FX providers, or payment processors integrated with Chiss Protocol. They serve as fiat on/off-ramps, enabling businesses to access on-chain FX services through familiar, compliant interfaces.
APY
Acronym for Annual Percentage Yield. It’s the annualized rate of return on a supply or cost of loan, expressed as a percentage. It accounts for compound interest over a year, showing how much you can earn by supplying liquidity on Chiss or how much you pay for taking a loan.
Automated Market Maker (AMM)
A smart contract-based system that enables users to trade currencies directly against a liquidity pool instead of through an order book. In Chiss, AMMs are specialized for FX swaps, dynamically pricing trades using a hybrid oracle + curve model to keep exchange rates aligned with real-world markets while reducing slippage.
Keepers
Independent network participants (often bots or services) that perform essential protocol functions automatically. In Chiss, keepers help maintain system health — such as rebalancing liquidity pools, updating oracle-based prices, liquidating risky positions in lending, or triggering stability pool actions.
Slippage
The difference between the expected exchange rate of a trade and the rate actually received after execution. In Chiss, slippage is minimized by the AMM-oracle hybrid design & keepers, which stabilizes prices against external feeds.