Zarban Review 2026: Small Arbitrum Lending Protocol with ZAR

Zarban is an open-source, non-custodial protocol on Arbitrum where users can earn interest on deposits and borrow assets. It also offers the option to mint its own stablecoin, ZAR. A data aggregator has tracked it since January 2025 and lists it under lending.

The project has Persian-language roots. Its X account describes it in Persian as a decentralised lending and deposit platform, and a Persian-language article from January 2024 introduced it as one of the first decentralised crypto lending platforms of its kind. A business directory lists a US-based financial services company with about six employees.

The protocol is very small. Total value locked is about $39,800, with a 1.7% rise over the past week. Its homepage could not be reached for this review, and a search result shows a former.finance domain listed as expired and for sale, so users should confirm the current official site through the project's verified social account.

Zarban follows the usual on-chain lending model. Users deposit assets into smart contracts and earn interest paid by borrowers. Borrowers lock collateral worth more than what they take out, and the protocol can sell that collateral if its value falls too far.

Zarban also lets users mint ZAR, its stablecoin. In many designs, minting works by locking collateral and creating a token against it, but the sources reviewed do not describe Zarban's exact mechanism. Check the protocol's documentation for the collateral types, ratios and redemption rules.

Because the protocol is non-custodial, you interact from your own wallet and approve each transaction. No company holds your keys, but you carry the risk of smart-contract flaws, price-feed problems and liquidation if collateral drops.

Zarban does not publish a fee schedule in the sources reviewed. Interest rates, borrowing costs, liquidation penalties and any stablecoin minting fee would be shown in the app or the protocol's documentation before you confirm a transaction.

On top of protocol charges, every action on Arbitrum costs network gas, paid in ETH. Gas on layer-2 networks is usually low, but it varies with network activity.

Zarban is described as non-custodial and open source. A data aggregator lists two audits, but the auditors, dates and findings are not given in the sources reviewed, so read the reports yourself. Even audited contracts can fail, and a protocol holding under $40,000 offers little cushion if something goes wrong.

Main risks are smart-contract bugs, oracle or price-feed errors, liquidation of borrowed positions, and the stability of the ZAR stablecoin. The project does not publish a licence or regulatory status in the sources reviewed. Because an older domain appears to have lapsed, verify any website through the project's official social account to avoid phishing copies. Only use funds you can afford to lose.

Zarban suits experienced DeFi users who are curious about small, early-stage lending protocols and can read documentation and audits. It is not a good fit for anyone who needs deep liquidity, a long track record or published rates, or for readers who cannot absorb a total loss of funds.