Getting Started: Using Kerne

Getting started takes under five minutes. Here is the step by step process.

Which route you are on decides what you pay, so start here. The live route is to mint kUSD from USDC through the Peg Stability Module on Mint kUSD, then stake that kUSD into skUSD to earn. It charges the tiered PSM swap fee on the way in, nothing to stake, and it has no cooldown. The steps below cover the collateral route into the KerneVault WETH vault, which is whitelist gated and closed to new deposits today. Its 0.05% deposit fee and 7 day cooldown are terms of that vault and are not charged on the live route.

Step 1: Connect Your Wallet

Visit the Kerne Terminal and connect a compatible wallet. Popular options include MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Rabby, and WalletConnect.

Step 2: Switch to the Correct Network

Make sure your wallet is connected to Base (Chain ID 8453). If the app detects a network mismatch, a prompt to switch will appear automatically.

Step 3: Choose Your Deposit Asset

The deployed collateral vault accepts WETH and is closed to new deposits. If deposits reopen, a 0.05% KerneVault deposit fee applies. The live route uses USDC to mint kUSD at the tiered PSM swap fee, followed by optional staking into skUSD.

Step 4: Approve and Deposit

Approve the token spend (required for ERC 20 tokens on first interaction, costs approximately $0.01 on Base), then confirm the deposit transaction. Gas fees are paid in ETH on Base and are typically around $0.03.

Step 5: Your vault shares

Your vault shares appear in your wallet once a deposit confirms. The vault is closed to new deposits today, so these steps apply only when it reopens.

Withdrawing from the KerneVault

You can request a withdrawal at any time by calling requestWithdrawal. There is a 7 day cooldown period to allow the hedging engine to close the corresponding hedge position in an orderly manner. After the cooldown, you call claimWithdrawal to receive your deposited collateral plus accrued yield. Your vault shares are burned upon claim. There is no withdrawal fee.

That cooldown is a KerneVault term and does not apply to the live route. Unstaking skUSD back to kUSD is immediate, and the deployed skUSD contract has no cooldown function at all. Redeeming kUSD for USDC through the PSM on Mint kUSD is also immediate. It is bounded by the reserve on the module you redeem against rather than by time, and that reserve is published live at app.kerne.fi/api/por.

Monitoring Your Position

The Terminal shows your kUSD, USDC and skUSD balances beside the live reserve status. The Transparency page provides real time verification of the vault's collateralization ratio and asset breakdown.

Institutional Onboarding

Institutions use the same route and read the same numbers as everyone else: the solvency endpoints are public and unauthenticated, and there is no separate institutional tier. The vault whitelist is closed to all, and no custody integration has been built yet. What an engagement looks like, including who you would be contracting with, is set out at kerne.fi/institutional.