Every operation on 8lends – investments, interest payments, principal repayments, claims, and position sales – is handled by smart contracts on the Base blockchain (→ Article 1). The terms of each loan are written into the contract and can't be changed once it's deployed: neither the platform nor the borrower can alter them. Withdrawals don't require anyone's approval – you initiate them yourself, without 8lends' say-so. The contracts have been independently audited by CertiK and Cyberscope. All transactions can be verified publicly on basescan.org.
What is a smart contract?
A smart contract is a self-executing program that lives on the blockchain. Its terms are coded in and trigger automatically when certain things happen. No one – not the platform operator, the borrower, or any investor – can change or cancel those terms after the contract is deployed.
On 8lends, smart contracts do the jobs that a bank, depository, payment agent, and registrar would handle in traditional finance:
— Accept investments from investors into a shared pool
— Send the collected funds to the borrower once the target is reached
— Calculate and pay out interest automatically, in proportion to each investor's share
— Repay the principal at the end of the term
— Return funds to investors if the pool doesn't close
8lends key contract addresses
Fundraiser (main investment and payment contract) — 0xf435A133D6cDCb81061F18a4763560f9931DB57D
8LNDS Token (→ Article 1) — 0x55f9c8992fc4abce5aca585bf8f18284a2379d4c
Proof of Loan (→ Article 1) Distribution — 0xD48f1d3EEC18d8B71ddF1575bAE160030878d705
Uniswap Liquidity Pool 8LNDS/USDC — 0x241De8C5B58830B8046830b05031786795d5Cba8
All contracts are verified – the source code is published on basescan.org for anyone to review independently.
How an investment moves through the smart contracts
Step 1. Opening a position
You connect a non-custodial wallet (→ Article 1) to the platform and choose a project with "Open" status. After you confirm the transaction, 100 USDC (minimum) or more is sent to the fundraiser contract. From that moment, your position is locked on-chain.
Step 2. Pool closes
When the total amount raised hits the target, the contract sends the funds to the borrower. The project automatically moves to "Funded" status. The loan terms (rate, term, repayment schedule) are all specified in the contract.
If the pool gets close to the target but not quite all the way there, the loan can still go ahead. For example, a target of 25,000 USDC that raises 24,500 USDC (98%) will be marked Funded, and the loan is issued for the amount actually raised. "Not Funded" is rare – it's used when the amount raised is significantly below what's needed, in which case the funds are automatically returned to investors.
Step 3. Monthly interest payments
The borrower pays interest into the contract each month. The contract automatically splits that interest among investors according to their share of the pool. You can withdraw your accrued interest at any time via Claim USDC (→ Article 1) – the funds move straight from the contract to your wallet. No permission needed: you trigger the withdrawal yourself, no 8lends approval required.
Step 4. Principal repayment
The full principal is repaid in one lump sum at the end of the term (a bullet repayment). The contract distributes it to investors and moves the project to "Repaid" status.
What smart contracts do automatically
— Accept your deposit and record your share in the pool
— Send the collected total to the borrower when the pool closes
— Return deposits automatically if the pool didn't close
— Pay out monthly interest
— Process claims (withdrawing accrued interest or your principal to your wallet)
— Handle Secondary Market trades (transferring positions from seller to buyer)
— Distribute 8LNDS tokens (→ Article 1) through the Reward System (→ Article 1) for Proof of Loan
What the platform CANNOT do after deployment
Technically, the platform cannot:
— Change any terms of an active loan (rate, term, schedule)
— Freeze your funds
— Move funds from one wallet to another without your signature
— Cancel interest payments you're owed
— Block you from withdrawing from the contract
That's the whole point of permissionless DeFi: once the contract is live, not even the 8lends team can touch your funds.
Smart contract audits
8lends contracts have been independently audited by two specialist firms:
CertiK — Code security, exploit protection, correctness of the payment logic
Cyberscope — Smart contract security, checking for common vulnerabilities
Full audit reports are publicly available on the auditors' websites. Audits are security checks, not financial regulatory approvals.
What to do if the 8lends interface is unavailable
Smart contracts on Base run on their own, independently of the platform's front-end. If the 8lends website is down or stops working, you can still interact with Base:
— Go to basescan.org and enter the fundraiser contract address or your own wallet address
— View all your positions, balances, and on-chain transaction history
— Call the claim function through basescan.org (requires some technical know-how) or use any interface that supports interaction with Base smart contracts
All active loan terms will keep executing according to the code written into the contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who controls my funds after I invest?
The smart contract on Base. Not the 8lends platform, not a bank, not Maclear AG. The funds sit at the contract address until the coded conditions are met (interest payment, principal repayment, your claim).
Can 8lends developers steal funds from the contract?
No – once deployed, the contracts can't be altered, and the code contains no way to arbitrarily withdraw funds to the team. The CertiK and Cyberscope audits confirmed there are no such weaknesses. Every possible path funds can take is laid out in the public code.
What if a vulnerability is found in a smart contract?
Any vulnerabilities found and their fixes are published openly. Active loans continue running under the existing contracts. New projects can be launched with an updated contract version that has been re-audited.
Can I cancel an investment if I change my mind?
Not while the pool is still open – your funds are already in the smart contract. However, if the pool doesn't close (gets "Not Funded" status), your deposit will automatically be returned to your wallet. After the pool closes, you can sell your position through the Secondary Market (→ Article 1).
What version of Solidity are the contracts written in?
The version and compiler details are in the verified code on basescan.org at each contract's address.
What is a gas fee and who pays it?
Gas fee (→ Article 1) is a small charge for processing a transaction on the Base network. It's paid in ETH to the Base network (not in USDC, not to 8lends). Gas fees on Base are usually just a few cents. 8lends doesn't make any money from gas fees.
See also: How the 8lends platform works → Article 4. What protects my investments in emergency situations → Article 7. How 8lends selects companies for funding → Article 8. Glossary → Article 1.
Risk Disclosure: Investing on 8lends involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The absence of platform fees does not reduce the credit risk of the borrower. Returns are not guaranteed. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 8lends is a platform operated by Alpha Systems LLC, a registered VASP supervised by the FSA of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Maclear AG (Switzerland), a member of PolyReg SRO supervised by FINMA, acts as Collateral Agent. Regulatory framework as of May 2026.