Lending · Review
ActiveStarlay Finance Review 2026: Small Astar Lending Protocol
Starlay Finance is a decentralized lending protocol on Astar, an EVM-compatible network in the Polkadot ecosystem. It has a clear purpose and a bug bounty, but its TVL is now very small.
By the DappsAtlas editorial team · Updated
DappsAtlas score
5.5/10
Mixed
Our verdict on Starlay Finance
5.5/10Starlay Finance suits users already on Astar who want a simple pooled lending market and are comfortable with a small protocol. Its strengths are a clear mission, listed audits, a bug bounty and open-source contracts. The main caveat is size: TVL near $130K means thin liquidity, concentrated single-chain risk and limited track record of recent growth. Treat any deposit as high risk and read the docs first.
Score breakdown
How Starlay Finance scores
- Security
- 5.5/10
- Ease of use
- 6.5/10
- Fees
- n/a
- Features
- n/a
Scores run from 0 to 10 and are based only on facts we could verify. Where information was missing we mark the score n/a rather than guess.
What is Starlay Finance?
Starlay Finance is a decentralized lending protocol on Astar Network, the EVM-compatible smart contract layer in the Polkadot ecosystem. It has been listed since March 2022 and describes itself as the first lending protocol backed by Astar.
The homepage names backers including Astar Network, ArthSwap, Astar Degens, DIA, Next Web Capital, TRGC, DFG and AU21 Capital. One company-profile site lists it as a Singapore-based company founded in 2022.
Today the protocol is small. TVL is around $130K, down slightly over the past week. It has its own token, LAY, a governance forum and a bug bounty program. A spin-off protocol, Neemo Finance, is mentioned on the project's X account.
How Starlay Finance works
Starlay is a pooled lending market. Depositors add tokens to a shared pool and receive interest. Borrowers take tokens from the pool after posting other tokens as collateral.
Interest rates are set by an algorithm based on how much of a pool is borrowed. As the homepage puts it, the more funds are borrowed, the higher the rate. This encourages repayment and new deposits when liquidity is tight.
If a borrower's collateral falls too far in value relative to the loan, it can be liquidated by others to repay the debt. This design follows the common Aave and Compound-style model, and the protocol's contracts are available as an open-source NPM package.
6 features
Key features
01
Pooled lending markets
Users supply assets to markets and earn interest paid by borrowers. Supplied assets can serve as collateral.
02
Utilization-based rates
Borrowers draw from shared pools against their collateral, with rates that rise as more of a pool is borrowed.
03
Astar EVM deployment
The protocol is built for Astar, an EVM-compatible layer in the Polkadot ecosystem, so standard Ethereum-style wallets work.
04
LAY token governance
The LAY token ties into a governance forum and voting page linked from the homepage.
05
Bug bounty
The homepage links to a bug bounty program, giving researchers an incentive to report vulnerabilities.
06
Developer documentation
Developer docs and an NPM package for the protocol contracts are available for those building on top of it.
Pros and cons
What we like
- Clear purpose: pooled lending and borrowing on Astar
- Two audits are listed in the protocol's data
- Bug bounty program linked from the homepage
- Open-source contracts and developer docs available
- Governance forum and voting for the LAY token
- Named ecosystem backers including Astar Network
Watch out for
- TVL is only about $130K, which suggests very thin liquidity and limited usage
- Runs on a single chain, Astar, so risk is concentrated in one ecosystem
- Interest rates rise as borrowing grows, so borrowing costs are unpredictable at high utilization
- Fee and reserve-factor details are not published on the homepage
- Team members and the contents of the two listed audits are not described
- Small markets can mean liquidation and oracle risks are harder to absorb
Starlay Finance fees
Starlay does not publish a fee schedule on its homepage. Costs for users come mainly from the borrow interest rate, which rises as more of a market is borrowed, and from network gas fees on Astar.
Any protocol reserve share or liquidation penalty would be listed in the docs or visible in the app's market view. Check them before depositing.
Is Starlay Finance safe?
Two audits are listed for Starlay, though the auditors and findings are not described. A bug bounty program is linked from the homepage. Neither removes smart-contract risk, and small lending markets are exposed to oracle and liquidity problems.
Users keep custody through their own wallets and interact with smart contracts directly. The project does not publish a regulatory status. With TVL of about $130K, depth is limited, so large positions can move rates and liquidations could be harder to absorb.
6 steps
How to get started with Starlay Finance
- 1
Set up an EVM-compatible wallet and add the Astar network.
- 2
Fund the wallet with ASTR for gas and with the asset you want to supply.
- 3
Open the app from the official website and connect the wallet.
- 4
Review each market's supply rate, borrow rate and collateral settings.
- 5
Supply an asset to start earning interest, or borrow against deposited collateral.
- 6
Monitor your collateral ratio to avoid liquidation, and read the docs and bug bounty page first.
Who Starlay Finance is for
Starlay Finance suits DeFi users on Astar who want to lend or borrow in an Aave-style market and understand smart-contract risk. It is less suited to anyone needing deep liquidity, large borrowing capacity or multi-chain access.
Starlay Finance FAQs
What is Starlay Finance?
Starlay Finance is a decentralized lending protocol on Astar Network, the EVM-compatible smart contract layer in the Polkadot ecosystem. Users deposit crypto to earn interest or borrow against their deposits.
Which blockchain does Starlay Finance use?
The protocol runs on Astar. The homepage speaks of expanding to multiple networks, but the only chain listed in public sources are Astar.
Does Starlay Finance have a token?
Yes, it has its own token, LAY. The homepage links to governance, a forum and voting, which are the places where token-related decisions are discussed.
How are interest rates set?
The homepage states that the more funds are borrowed, the higher the interest rate will be. Exact current rates are shown in the app and are not fixed.
Is Starlay Finance safe?
No lending protocol is risk-free. Two audits are listed and a bug bounty exists, but TVL is only around $130K and the protocol is small, so smart-contract, oracle and liquidity risks remain. Only use funds you can afford to lose.
How does Starlay compare with larger lenders like Aave?
Starlay is a much smaller protocol. Its TVL is around $131K, while Aave V3 holds billions. Starlay focuses on Astar, whereas larger lenders run on many networks.
Compare
Starlay Finance alternatives
Morpho Blue is a permissionless lending primitive with about $11.4 billion in TVL on DefiLlama, accessed mainly through curated vaults.
Aave V3 is a non-custodial DeFi lending protocol on 21 chains where users earn interest on deposits or borrow against collateral.
Dolomite is a multi-chain DeFi money market for lending, borrowing and leveraged strategies across 1,000+ assets, with its own DOLO token.
Compound V3 is a lending protocol on Ethereum and nine other chains where users supply a base asset for yield or borrow it against collateral.
SparkLend is a stablecoin lending market on Ethereum and Gnosis with governance-set rates, backed by Sky's Liquidity Layer, for borrowers and savers.
Save, formerly Solend, is a Solana lending and borrowing protocol where users earn interest on deposits or borrow against collateral.
Same category
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Euler V2 is a modular DeFi lending protocol for lenders, borrowers and market curators, with about $268M TVL across 16 chains.
Morpho is a decentralized lending protocol with isolated markets, curated vaults and fixed-rate loans for crypto lenders, borrowers and developers.
Kamino Finance is a Solana DeFi protocol offering lending, automated liquidity vaults and leverage tools for users seeking on-chain yield.
Aave V4 is a modular, non-custodial lending protocol using a hub-and-spoke design, for users who want to earn on or borrow against crypto.
Venus Core Pool is a multi-chain DeFi money market where users supply crypto to earn interest or borrow against collateral, with about $1.18B in TVL.
Kamino is a Solana DeFi protocol with a lending market, automated concentrated liquidity vaults and an intents-based swap, for yield-seeking on-chain users.
Same chain
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LayerZero V2 is a cross-chain messaging protocol and bridge infrastructure for developers and asset issuers, connecting dozens of blockchains.
Gate is a centralized crypto exchange founded in 2013 offering spot, futures, stocks and earn products for traders who want one multi-asset account.
Bitget is a centralized exchange for crypto spot and futures that also offers tokenized stocks, commodities and forex in one account, for active traders.
Chainlink CCIP is a cross-chain messaging and token-transfer protocol for developers, token issuers and institutions, with about $1.89B TVL on 21 chains.
cBridge is Celer Network's multi-chain bridge for moving tokens across Ethereum, layer-2s and sidechains, for DeFi users who bridge between many networks.
Astar dApp Staking lets ASTR holders stake on curated Astar Network projects to earn rewards and give developers a daily income.
How we checked
Sources
Last updated . Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.