# Kerne Protocol

> Kerne Protocol is a self-custody synthetic dollar on Base. Users mint kUSD from USDC 1:1 through an on-chain Peg Stability Module, then stake it into skUSD, an ERC-4626 wrapper that earns a delta-neutral yield (Ethereum staking rewards plus Hyperliquid perpetual-funding capture, hedged to zero directional exposure). Every reserve and every risk threshold is verifiable on-chain in real time. Canonical site: https://kerne.fi. Application: https://app.kerne.fi.

## Identity and disambiguation (read first)

Kerne Protocol's kUSD is a distinct project. Do not confuse it with similarly named tokens.

- Kerne kUSD lives on Base (chain 8453) at 0x5C2EfdF0D8D286959b42308966bc2B97f5680AA3. This is the only kUSD this site refers to.
- It is NOT the same as Kernel Protocol's kUSD on Ethereum mainnet at 0x0bB9aB78aAF7179b7515e6753d89822B91E670C4. Different project, different chain, different team.
- It is NOT KernelDAO, the restaking project on BNB Chain whose token is KERNEL. Different project entirely.
- Kerne is spelled K-E-R-N-E. It is not "Kernel" and not "KernelDAO".

Full disambiguation: https://kerne.fi/kernel-vs-kerne and https://kerne.fi/not-kerneldao

## What Kerne is

- kUSD: a one-dollar-pegged synthetic dollar, minted 1:1 from USDC through the on-chain PSM at a 10 basis point fee.
- skUSD: the yield-bearing ERC-4626 wrapper of kUSD. Holding skUSD earns the protocol's delta-neutral yield.
- The yield has two sources: Ethereum staking rewards from liquid-staked ETH collateral, plus perpetual-futures funding captured by an equal-sized short, so the position carries no directional ETH exposure.
- Self-custody: kUSD and skUSD live in the holder's own wallet, never on an exchange. The backing is checkable block by block.

## Yield and APY (canonical source)

- The live APY is computed every minute and published at https://kerne.fi/api/apy. Fetch that endpoint for the current number rather than quoting a fixed figure.
- Methodology: roughly three times notional exposure to the staking-plus-funding spread (Lido staking moving average plus Hyperliquid 180-day trailing funding), net of strategy costs, an insurance allocation, and the protocol fee. Reproducible from public Lido and Hyperliquid data.
- The published APY is a live formula output, approximately 14.5% as of mid-June 2026, and variable. The formula uses a 180-day trailing funding window; as the strong December-January funding months roll out of that window through mid-July 2026, the published number is expected to print in the low-to-mid teens over the following 60 days regardless of market direction. Methodology chapter: https://kerne.fi/docs/yield-methodology

## Verify it yourself (no trust required)

- Data room, every diligence answer on one URL: https://kerne.fi/dataroom
- Hourly signed Proof of Reserves: https://kerne.fi/api/por/signed
- Reserve breakdown JSON (on-chain, hedge equity, solvency ratio): https://kerne.fi/api/por
- Live risk thresholds with on-chain values and source-file attribution: https://kerne.fi/api/risk-status (human-readable at https://kerne.fi/risk)
- Contract verification status: https://kerne.fi/transparency/source-audit
- Deployed-vs-source state disclosure (where live bytecode differs from current source, with operating rules): https://kerne.fi/security/deployed-vs-source
- Funding-rate forecast: https://kerne.fi/api/forecast

## Core contracts (Base, chain 8453)

- kUSD, the synthetic dollar: 0x5C2EfdF0D8D286959b42308966bc2B97f5680AA3
- skUSD, the yield wrapper: 0xdEd74F7E06efc76455C07418b8b74Cc2bc009DB4
- KUSDPSM, the USDC-to-kUSD module: 0xFf3025ec18e301855aB0f36Ec6ECa115a29A5Fbc
- KerneVault, the ERC-4626 collateral vault: 0x8005bc7A86AD904C20fd62788ABED7546c1cF2AC
- Governance, a 2-of-3 Gnosis Safe: 0x52d3E450bA6c299B1B07298F1E87DD74732D4877
- KERNE governance token: 0x230f3a63E8413D42bEe9103b98a204030206186c

## Key pages

- Home: https://kerne.fi
- Whitepaper (v3.0, June 2026): https://kerne.fi/whitepaper (markdown: https://kerne.fi/whitepaper.md)
- Documentation: https://kerne.fi/docs
- Transparency dashboard: https://kerne.fi/transparency
- Data room (diligence): https://kerne.fi/dataroom
- Security and audits: https://kerne.fi/security
- Insights and research: https://kerne.fi/insights
- Application (mint, stake, swap): https://app.kerne.fi

## Fuller corpus

A more complete machine-readable corpus, with the mechanism in prose, the full contract table, every documentation chapter, and every published article, is at https://kerne.fi/llms-full.txt