Borrow against ENS
Teller pools accept the ENS governance token as collateral on Ethereum at up to 25% LTV, lending USDC at 25% APR. Every loan is fixed-term with no margin-call, so a price fall during the loan cannot liquidate your collateral.
| Collateral | Network | LTV | APR |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENS | Ethereum | 25% | 25% |
Pool data read . Rates and LTVs are set per pool and change when operators change them.
The token, not the name
This is the confusion worth clearing first. A .eth name is an NFT you registered and renew. ENS is a separate fungible token that governs the naming protocol, and it is the only one of the two a Teller pool holds. Your name is not collateral here, and depositing ENS does not touch it.
The token sits at 0xc18360217d8f7ab5e7c516566761ea12ce7f9d72 on Ethereum with 18 decimals. Teller pools take it at 25% LTV and 25% APR, lending USDC against it.
Airdropped, then held
Most ENS in circulation reached its holders through the 2021 airdrop to people who already owned names, which produced an unusual population: holders with a long attachment to the protocol and no purchase price to anchor a sell decision. Those are exactly the balances that tend to sit untouched for years.
A loan turns one into working dollars without ending it. In the US, borrowing is generally not the taxable disposal a sale would be, which matters more than usual when the cost basis is zero.
Voting weight moves for the term
ENS governance runs on delegation, and the protocol holds your tokens while the loan is open. Delegate before you deposit rather than during, and if a vote you care about falls inside the term, size the loan to end before it.
The loan
Deposit ENS, receive USDC, repay or roll on the due date. Rate, LTV and the roll window lock when the loan opens. Every loan is fixed-term with no margin-call, so a price fall during the loan cannot liquidate your collateral. Miss the due date and the collateral is forfeit. Mainnet gas applies across the approval and the borrow.
More governance tokens on the DeFi collateral page.
Frequently asked questions
No. A .eth name is an NFT, and this pool holds the ENS fungible token that governs the protocol. Posting ENS does not touch your name.
Yes, it is the same token. Borrowing is also generally not the taxable disposal a sale would be in the US, which matters more than usual when the cost basis is zero.
The protocol holds the tokens for the term, so delegate before depositing rather than during, and size the loan to end before any vote you want to influence.
Nothing happens to the loan. There is no liquidation threshold during the term, so the obligation on the due date is unchanged.
USDC on Ethereum, delivered to the wallet that signed the borrow.
Open a loan
Connect a wallet, deposit your collateral, and borrow a stablecoin. No credit check, no application.
Go to the borrow tab →No collateral to pledge? Check whether you pre-qualify for a no-collateral personal loan. Soft check, no hard pull.