Counterparty Risk

What is counterparty risk?

Counterparty risk within the BitU Protocol concerns the risks associated with the specific counterparties in the ALMM that use mirrored collaterals. This risk is particularly relevant to institutions engaging in lending or market-neutral investment strategies using these funds. Here are the key points:

Although mirrored assets are used externally, the original user's collateral remains securely stored in custody addresses. Only the user, not the institution, can access these funds.

Risks Identified: The primary concerns include:

1. The potential financial loss by a market maker while managing the funds.

2. The risk of the market maker illegally withdrawing and absconding with the allocated funds.

Risk Mitigation Measures: The protocol employs various strategies to mitigate these risks, ensuring robust oversight and the safeguarding of assets against unauthorized withdrawals.

How do we manage counterparty risk?

In the BitU ecosystem, counterparty risk is managed through strict controls over fund usage and collateral requirements:

• Access Restrictions: Borrowing entities can use but not withdraw mirrored funds, ensuring control remains with BitU's systems, such as the LTP trading system.

• Collateral Requirements and Loss Limits: For example, if a market maker wishes to use $1 million in mirrored collateral, they must provide $300,000 as a collateral margin. If the market maker incurs losses during trading, their activities are halted once losses reach $100,000. This loss is covered by the $300,000 collateral margin, and their trading activities for mirrored assets are halted until they replenish their margin account back to 30% collateral to prevent further risk exposure.

These measures effectively prevent unauthorized fund withdrawals and mitigate potential financial risks from borrowing entities.