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FAQ

Answers to frequently asked questions about Catpound Finance.

General

What is Catpound Finance?

Catpound Finance is an auto-compounding yield optimizer for MOTO tokens on Bitcoin L1. You deposit MOTO, the vault stakes it in MotoChef, harvests rewards, swaps them back to MOTO, and re-stakes everything automatically. You receive cpMOTO share tokens that represent your growing claim on the vault's assets.

What blockchain is this on?

Catpound runs on Bitcoin L1 through OPNet, a smart contract platform that uses Tapscript-encoded calldata on Bitcoin's proof-of-work chain. It is not a sidechain, L2, or bridge.

Do I need ETH for gas?

No. OPNet uses BTC for transaction fees. There is no separate gas token. You just need a small amount of BTC in your OPWallet to pay for transactions.

Yield

How do I earn yield?

Deposit MOTO into the Catpound vault. The vault stakes it in MotoChef, which generates reward tokens. The vault harvests these rewards, swaps them to MOTO, and re-stakes the MOTO. Each compound cycle increases the share price, making your cpMOTO worth more MOTO over time.

How often does compounding happen?

Compound cycles are triggered by whitelisted compounder bots, typically every 14 to 28 hours. The exact frequency depends on reward accumulation and gas costs. If bots are offline, anyone can trigger a compound via the autoOpen function after the auto-open threshold is reached.

cpMOTO

What is cpMOTO?

cpMOTO is the share token you receive when you deposit MOTO. It is an OP20 token (Bitcoin's ERC-20 equivalent) that represents your proportional claim on the vault's total MOTO holdings. As the vault compounds, each cpMOTO becomes worth more MOTO.

Can I transfer my cpMOTO?

Yes. cpMOTO is a standard OP20 token. You can send it to any other OPNet wallet. The recipient can later redeem it for MOTO through the vault.

Can the share price go down?

Under normal operation, no. The share price only increases because the vault adds rewards without minting new shares. Exit fees from other users also stay in the vault, further benefiting remaining holders. The vault uses donation-proof accounting to prevent manipulation.

Withdrawals

Can I lose money?

Your MOTO principal is not at risk from the compounding mechanism itself. However, there are risks: smart contract bugs, platform risk (OPNet is new), and exit fees if you withdraw during the silent phase. See the Risks page for a full assessment.

When should I withdraw?

If you want to avoid exit fees entirely, withdraw during the free exit window (when the compound window is open) or wait for the exit fee to decay to 0% (2,001 blocks after the window closes, roughly 14 hours).

What are exit fees?

Exit fees are charged on withdrawals during the silent phase (the period after a compound window closes). The fee starts at the maximum rate for your tier and decays linearly to 0% over 2,001 blocks. Fees stay in the vault and benefit remaining holders. See Fee Structure.

How do I avoid exit fees?

Two ways:

  1. Withdraw during the free exit window (0% fee).
  2. Wait for the exit fee to fully decay (2,001 blocks, roughly 14 hours after the window closes).

The vault page shows a countdown to help you time your withdrawal.

What happens if the vault is paused?

Pausing only blocks new deposits. Withdrawals always remain available. This is a safety feature, not a lock on your funds.

Tiers and NFTs

What is NFT staking?

You can stake eligible Catpound NFTs in the vault to upgrade your fee tier. Higher tiers have lower exit fees and lower protocol fee surcharges. See NFT Staking.

Does staking an NFT immediately lower my fees?

No. The vault uses an anti-gaming mechanism: your NFT tier activates at the next compound cycle, not immediately. If you stake an NFT and withdraw in the same compound cycle, you do not receive an NFT tier benefit for that withdrawal. After the next compound window closes, the tier is fully active.

What is a VIP tier?

A VIP tier is a manually assigned fee tier with a 0% exit fee at all times. The vault admin can assign VIP tiers to partners, early supporters, or other designated accounts. Even VIP users still pay the floor protocol fee (2%) on compounded rewards.

How do whale tiers work?

If the USD value of your vault position exceeds a configured threshold, the vault automatically assigns you to a whale tier with lower fees. No NFT staking required. See Whale Detection.

Security

Is Catpound audited?

Yes. The vault was audited at V4.1 (3 findings resolved) and has since been improved to V4.3 with ten additional security fixes identified through internal review and a 127-test regression suite. See Security for the full list of findings and protections.

Who controls the vault?

The vault has an owner (admin) who can:

  • Open and close compound windows
  • Set fee tiers and parameters
  • Pause deposits (but never withdrawals)
  • Propose ownership transfers (requires acceptance by new owner)

Hard caps on fees are enforced at the contract level and cannot be overridden. See Risks for a full breakdown of trust assumptions.