Earn Vaults: Core Vaults and Amplified Vaults
Earn Vaults combine Core Vaults for passive AI-managed yield with Amplified Vaults for Ripe-powered yield amplification
Underscore Earn Vaults share one architecture and two return profiles:
Core Vaults: AI-managed passive yield wrapped into standard ERC-4626 shares
Amplified Vaults: built on top of Core Vault shares, using Ripe Protocol to add a second yield layer while keeping the borrowed leg in USD-denominated strategies
Earn Vaults are non-custodial. Your assets stay yours. Withdraw anytime, no permissions required.
The key difference from a Programmable Wallet: your position isn't locked. Vault shares are composable tokens you can use anywhere in DeFi — trade them, use them as collateral, bridge them cross-chain. The underlying strategy keeps running no matter where your tokens go.
Why Earn Vaults Exist
The Origin Story
Vaults weren't designed in a vacuum — they emerged from real problems we hit while building.
We started with Hightop, which uses Underscore to deliver digital banking for AI agents, made simple for humans. One of the first workflows there was Earn Autopilot: keep idle cash productive, monitor markets, and rebalance individual Programmable Wallets toward better yield opportunities. It worked, but we quickly ran into a wall: every optimization meant touching every wallet. If we wanted to roll out the same improved strategy to 10,000 users, that was 10,000 separate transactions. Expensive. Slow. The agents were doing the same work over and over for users who wanted the same outcome.
Then came Ripe Protocol. Users would borrow against their yield-bearing positions — Aave deposits, Morpho positions, and the like. But once those positions became collateral, they were locked. Even if a better yield opportunity appeared, users couldn't rebalance that collateral without first repaying their loan. Their yield-earning assets were stuck.
Both problems came from the same place: real users, real usage, real feedback. We felt the inefficiency firsthand running Hightop's yield automation at scale across individual wallets.
So we built Earn Vaults. The core insight: keep everything we built with Programmable Wallets — the AI capabilities, the clear boundaries, the onchain rules and policies — but give the AI just one "wallet" to manage. Users deposit into a shared vault and receive tokens representing their share. The AI optimizes once, everyone benefits. And because Core Vault shares are standard tokens, they can be used as collateral on Ripe while the AI keeps optimizing the underlying positions.
This architecture also opened the door to new vault types: Amplified Vaults, index vaults, and more — all built on the same foundation.
Today, Earn Vaults are live, and both Core Vaults and Amplified Vaults already power Hightop's live Earn Autopilot experience.
Scale
One vault, one rebalance, everyone benefits.
That's how we scale to millions of users.
Composability
Core Vault shares are standard ERC-20 tokens. This unlocks:
Collateral: Use Core Vault shares on Ripe Protocol to get a loan — the AI keeps optimizing your collateral even while it's locked
Liquidity: Sell shares in liquidity pools for instant exit
Portability: Bridge cross-chain, use in other protocols
Integration: Any app can plug into Earn Vaults with a standard interface
Your position becomes a building block, not a locked asset.
Simplicity
Chasing yields is exhausting. Checking Morpho rates, comparing Aave markets, tracking Euler promotions, claiming rewards before they expire — it's a full-time job.
Core Vaults handle all of it. Users deposit, get a token, and earn yield. All the complexity — multi-protocol strategies, AI rebalancing, risk management, claiming and compounding rewards — happens behind the scenes.
How Core Vaults Work
Simple yield optimization for your assets.
How It Works
Deposit: Deposit USDC, ETH, or other supported assets into the vault
Receive Shares: Get vault tokens (e.g., _USDC) representing your share of the pool
AI Optimizes: The agent rebalances across approved protocols, vaults, and yield strategies
Withdraw Anytime: Redeem shares for underlying assets whenever you want
What the AI Does
The AI agent continuously optimizes the vault's positions:
Continuous Monitoring: Watches rates, liquidity, incentives, and withdrawal conditions across Morpho, Euler, Moonwell, Aave, Fluid, Compound, and other approved protocols
Risk-Adjusted Routing: Evaluates strategies beyond raw APY — analyzing depositor count, total deposits, utilization ratios, and available liquidity before moving capital
Automatic Rebalancing: Moves funds to capture better risk-adjusted yields as conditions change
Reward Harvesting: Claims and compounds protocol incentives automatically
Example: USDC Core Vault
You deposit 10,000 USDC:
Vault has 1,000,000 USDC total at $1.00/share
You receive 10,000 _USDC tokens
After 3 months:
AI executed dozens of rebalances — capturing rate opportunities, evaluating risk before moving, rotating through promotions, claiming rewards as they unlock
Vault now holds 1,025,000 USDC (2.5% growth)
Your 10,000 _USDC now redeemable for 10,250 USDC
No action required from you
Capital Efficiency with Ripe Protocol
Core Vault shares become premium collateral on Ripe Protocol. This unlocks powerful capital efficiency:
Deposit into a Core Vault, receive _USDC
Use _USDC as collateral on Ripe to borrow stablecoins
Your collateral keeps earning — the AI optimizes yield in the background
Borrow and deploy those stablecoins elsewhere
Your collateral works 24/7. This isn't static collateral sitting idle — it's actively earning while you leverage it.
Amplified Vaults
Higher yields through managed leverage built on Core Vault shares and Ripe Protocol — with built-in debt safety.
How It Works
Amplified Vaults amplify your yield by borrowing against your collateral, but with a key safety feature: borrowed funds always maintain USD-based exposure to ensure the vault can always repay its debt. The borrowed amount is also deposited back into Ripe as additional collateral, giving you two layers of collateral backing your debt — your original asset plus the borrowed USD.
Here's the full flow:
You deposit a supported base asset into the Underscore Amplified Vault (currently cbBTC or USDC)
Vault deposits your asset into the corresponding Core Vault (AI optimizes yield)
Vault uses those yield-bearing shares as collateral on Ripe Protocol
Vault borrows GREEN (stablecoin) against that collateral
Vault swaps GREEN to USDC
Vault deposits USDC into the USDC Core Vault (more yield)
Vault adds those USDC Core Vault shares as additional collateral on Ripe
The result: your original asset earns yield, AND the borrowed amount earns yield — but the borrowed portion stays in USD-denominated assets.
Yield Math: Amplified cbBTC
Let's walk through the math with a $100,000 cbBTC deposit:
cbBTC in Core Vault
$100,000
0.5%
+$500
Borrow from Ripe (70% LTV)
$70,000
3%*
-$2,100
USDC in Core Vault
$70,000
8%
+$5,600
Net Yield
+$4,000
*In this example, the 3% borrow rate reflects Ripe's protocol-level Underscore vault discount: a 50% discount applied to a standard 6% borrow rate. This discount is configurable and may change.
Combined APY: 4.0% on your original $100k cbBTC — an 8x improvement over the base 0.5% yield, while maintaining full BTC exposure.
Why USD-Based Debt Matters
This design protects the vault from liquidation:
Borrowed funds stay in USDC or Savings GREEN — The vault cannot swap borrowed capital into BTC or other volatile assets
Debt is always covered — Even if your BTC collateral (cbBTC) drops 50%, the borrowed USD portion maintains its value
No death spiral — The borrowed amount doesn't amplify losses from price drops
Example: Using the same $100k cbBTC deposit from above:
Vault borrows $70,000 in GREEN (70% LTV), swaps to USDC
cbBTC drops 40% → Your original collateral is now worth $60,000
But the $70,000 borrowed is still earning yield as USDC
That USDC is also deposited as collateral on Ripe — so you have $60k + $70k = $130k total collateral against $70k debt
Position remains healthy because borrowed funds didn't lose value AND they add to your collateral
Compare this to traditional leveraged positions where borrowed funds buy more of the volatile asset — those can cascade into liquidation.
What the AI Does
The AI manages both yield and risk:
Collateral Management: Deposits assets into Core Vaults, then into Ripe Protocol
Strategic Borrowing: Borrows GREEN against collateral, then either swaps to USDC (if DEX liquidity is favorable) or stakes as Savings GREEN — either way, the borrowed amount earns yield
USD Exposure Only: Borrowed funds stay in USD-denominated assets (USDC or GREEN) — never swapped to volatile assets
Debt Ratio Monitoring: Maintains configurable maximum leverage
Automatic Deleveraging: Reduces positions when debt ratios approach limits
Risk Management
Amplified vaults include built-in safety mechanisms:
USD-Only Borrowing
Borrowed funds maintain stablecoin exposure
Max Debt Ratio
Hard limit on leverage (e.g., 200% max)
Auto-Deleverage
Reduces positions as ratios approach limits
Withdrawal Safety
Automatically unwinds leverage for redemptions
Continuous Monitoring
AI watches health factor around the clock
Example: Amplified cbBTC Vault
You deposit 1 cbBTC ($100,000):
Yield amplification:
Your cbBTC earns 0.5% in the cbBTC Core Vault → +$500/year
Borrow cost at 3% (discounted rate) → -$2,100/year
Your borrowed $70k earns 8% in the USDC Core Vault → +$5,600/year
Net yield: 4.0% — an 8x improvement over base yield
If cbBTC drops 40%:
Your cbBTC collateral: now worth $60,000
Your USDC collateral: still worth $70,000
Total collateral: $130,000 against $70,000 debt
Position remains healthy — no liquidation risk
Your risk exposure: Only the price movement of your original deposit (cbBTC). The leverage doesn't amplify your losses — it only amplifies your yield. If cbBTC drops 40%, you lose 40% of your initial value, same as holding cbBTC directly. The borrowed USD portion maintains its value and doesn't add downside risk.
Core Vaults vs Amplified Vaults
Feature
Core Vaults
Amplified Vaults
Return profile
Passive AI-managed yield
Core yield plus a second USD-based borrowed yield layer
Borrowing inside the strategy
No
Yes, via Ripe Protocol
Debt exposure
None
Managed debt with auto-deleverage
Collateral usage
Optional: use shares on Ripe yourself
Built into the vault strategy
Best For
Passive earners who want composable ERC-4626 shares
Users who want BTC or USDC exposure with additional yield amplification
Deposits & Shares
Making a Deposit
Approve the vault contract to spend your tokens
Call
deposit()with your desired amountReceive vault shares to your wallet
Share Price Calculation:
For the first deposit, 1 share = 1 asset. As the vault earns yield, share price increases.
Understanding Your Shares
Vault shares represent proportional ownership of everything in the vault:
100 shares at $1.00 = $100 claim on vault assets
Vault earns 10% yield = Share price rises to $1.10
Your 100 shares now worth $110 = You captured the yield
You don't need to claim rewards or rebalance. Your shares automatically reflect the vault's performance.
Withdrawing
Redeem shares for underlying assets anytime:
Call
redeem()orwithdraw()with your share amountAI automatically unwinds positions as needed
Receive underlying assets to your wallet
A small buffer (2%) ensures you receive your expected amount even during position unwinding.
Vault Safety & Controls
Approved Protocols Only
Each vault operates within strict boundaries — enforced by smart contracts, not company policies:
Whitelisted Destinations: AI can only deposit to pre-approved yield protocols
Registry Controlled: Underscore governance manages the approved protocol list
No Rogue Deposits: The AI literally cannot move funds to unapproved destinations — it's not a matter of trust, it's code
These rules are onchain. No rogue trades. No experimental farms. No hallucinations.
Deposit Controls
Earn Vaults can implement additional safeguards:
Deposit Caps
Maximum total assets to prevent concentration
Allowlist Mode
Restrict deposits to approved addresses only
Pause Deposits
Temporarily stop new deposits if needed
Emergency Controls
For extreme market conditions:
Freeze Operations: Governance can halt all vault activity
Pause Withdrawals: Temporary hold during market stress (governance only)
Protected Funds: Even frozen, your share claim remains valid
Performance Fees
Earn Vaults charge fees only on profits — never on your principal:
Rate: 20% of yield generated
Applied To: Profits only, not deposits
Transparent Tracking: Fees tracked separately from share mechanics
No Surprise Deductions: Your withdrawal reflects actual asset value
Example:
Vault earns $1,000 in yield
20% fee = $200 to protocol
$800 distributed to depositors via increased share price
Most Underscore revenue comes from this 20% performance fee on vault profits. The protocol earns when vault users earn. 100% of fee revenue buys back $RIPE in the open market.
See Protocol Economics for how fees are used.
Core Vaults vs Programmable Wallets
Feature
Core Vaults
Programmable Wallets
Ownership
Proportional shares (tokens)
Full control of assets
Management
AI-managed, hands-off
You + your managers decide
Customization
Fixed strategy per vault
Fully customizable
Composability
High (standard ERC-20)
Lower (assets in wallet)
Access
Anyone can deposit
Requires wallet deployment
Use as Collateral
Yes (shares are tokens)
More complex
Best For
Passive yield, composability
Active DeFi, custom strategies
Use Core Vaults When: You want set-and-forget yield, need composable/productive collateral, or want to participate without wallet setup.
Use Programmable Wallets When: You want full control, custom strategies, agent execution, payment automation, or manager delegation with precise limits.
Real-World Examples
Passive Yield Seeker
Sarah has 50,000 USDC sitting idle. She wants yield but doesn't have time to monitor rates.
Solution: Deposits to the USDC Core Vault
Receives _USDC tokens instantly
AI captures yields across Morpho, Aave, Euler, and more.
Uses _USDC as collateral on Ripe to borrow for other opportunities
Her collateral earns yield while borrowed against
Result: Productive yield + productive collateral, zero management required.
Fintech App Integration
PayFlow is a payment app wanting to offer yield on user balances.
Problem: Building yield infrastructure from scratch requires significant engineering effort and security audits.
Solution: Integrates Underscore Core Vaults directly
Users deposit through PayFlow's interface
Vault handles all yield optimization
PayFlow tracks user shares internally
Standard ERC4626 interface, minimal integration work
Result: AI-managed yield without building yield infrastructure.
Amplified Yield Strategy
Marcus wants amplified yield on his BTC without managing liquidation risk.
Solution: Deposits 1 cbBTC to the Amplified cbBTC Vault
cbBTC earns base yield in the cbBTC Core Vault
Vault borrows USDC against his cbBTC-linked collateral (70% LTV) via Ripe Protocol
Borrowed USDC earns yield in the USDC Core Vault
Borrowed funds stay USD-denominated — no amplified downside if BTC drops
AI manages rebalancing and debt ratios automatically
Result: ~8x yield improvement over base BTC yield, with risk exposure limited to BTC price movement only.
Common Questions
Can I withdraw anytime? Yes. Withdrawals are immediate — the vault automatically unwinds positions as needed to fulfill your request in a single transaction.
What if the vault loses money? Your shares reflect actual vault value. If underlying assets lose value (market movement, not AI error), share price decreases. Performance fees only apply to profits.
What assets can I deposit? Core Vaults specify their underlying asset (USDC, ETH, cbBTC, AERO, RIPE, etc.). Amplified Vaults currently support BTC- and USDC-based positions on Base.
Are vault shares transferable? Yes. Vault shares are standard ERC-20 tokens. Transfer, trade, or use as collateral anywhere ERC-20 tokens are accepted.
What's the minimum deposit? No protocol-enforced minimum, though gas costs make very small deposits impractical.
Get Started
Ready to earn AI-optimized yield? Open the app →
Deposit directly: Connect your wallet and deposit into a Core Vault or Amplified Vault
Choose your profile: Use Core Vaults for passive yield or Amplified Vaults for a Ripe-powered second yield layer
Track your position: Your vault shares appear in any ERC-20 compatible wallet
Use as collateral: Deposit shares to Ripe Protocol to borrow against your yield
Withdraw anytime: Redeem shares for underlying assets whenever you need them
Build on vaults: Integrate into your app via technical documentation
Inspect live vault configs: View current vault parameters and addresses in the Params Explorer
For full control over your DeFi strategy, explore Programmable Wallets with custom managers, payment automation, and more.
Deposit. Earn. Amplify. Compose.
Last updated