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# Getting Started
[All FAQ topics](/docs/faq.md)
Select a question to reveal its answer.
What is Constant Finance?
Constant Finance is a fixed-rate lending protocol that brings borrowers and suppliers together through signed Orders. Borrowers and suppliers set their own lending terms, and compatible Orders can be matched to open a loan. Each loan has a separate Position that holds collateral and tracks the borrower's debt.
Once a loan opens, its APR remains fixed, while the actual lending duration can be shorter if the borrower repays early. This is **Fixed Rate, Flexible Duration**: the APR stays fixed, while interest accrues only for the time and principal actually outstanding.
See [Overview](/docs/introduction/overview.md) for the participants and core concepts.
Why do I set my own supply rate instead of receiving one protocol-wide rate?
Constant Finance matches individual Orders rather than setting one rate for everyone based on how much of a shared lending pool is borrowed. Your Supply Order specifies the minimum net APR you are willing to accept, after the protocol interest fee. The APR you earn when matched may be higher.
The borrower pays interest at the agreed borrower APR. The protocol retains a configured percentage of that interest as its fee, and the remaining interest goes to the supplier. A match can proceed only when the resulting supplier APR meets the minimum in the Supply Order.
For example, with 1,000 supplied for a full year at a borrower APR of 7% and a protocol fee of 10% of borrower interest, the borrower pays approximately 70 in interest, the protocol receives 7, and the supplier receives 63. This corresponds to a net supplier APR of 6.3%, even if the supplier originally quoted a minimum of 5%. The example assumes no repayments during the year and full repayment and distribution at the end.
A higher minimum rate may take longer to find a compatible borrower, and a match is not guaranteed. Rates are expressed as **APR** and use simple interest; interest is not assumed to be automatically reinvested.
What happens if my Supply Order is not matched?
Signing a Supply Order does not deposit or lock your funds. For the Basic lending flow covered here, funds remain in your wallet until a successful match transfers the amount used for the loan.
You remain free to use those funds elsewhere. For a match to succeed, your wallet must still have enough funds and the required token approval, and your Order must have enough of its lending amount left unfilled. See [Orders and Matching](/docs/introduction/concepts/orders-and-matching.md).
What can I use as collateral?
The documented deployment supports approved ERC-20 assets and approved Uniswap V3 LP NFTs. Support depends on the configured asset or LP pair; it does not extend to every token or NFT.
See [Risk Configuration](/docs/introduction/deployment/risk-configuration.md) for the supported assets, pairs, and liquidation parameters in the Sepolia snapshot.
Is my rate fixed for the whole term?
Yes. Once the loan opens, its agreed rate stays fixed. Total interest still depends on how long the principal remains outstanding: early repayment reduces the lending duration, and partial principal repayment reduces the balance used to calculate future interest.
Refinancing creates a new loan under newly agreed terms. Liquidation can cause collateral losses, but it does not rewrite the original agreed rate.
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