Issue SmartBonds with Maple

5 min readNov 14, 2019

A How-to Guide

TL;DR

Maple is a two sided marketplace for raising debt. It provides the technology for Issuers to borrow from Investors by creating and selling SmartBonds. Issuers will use Maple when they want to speculate on the Compound Supply rate increasing, or to raise Dai to reinvest in Compound or other DeFi platforms to increase their return. This article provides a step by step guide with gifs to turn you from zero to DeFi hero.

What’s a SmartBond? SmartBonds = the WORLD’S FIRST digital native bonds.

Digital bonds. Backed with Digital Assets. Trusting code.

Getting Started

What you need to get started:

Metamask wallet — this is the wallet you use to interact with Maple. If you haven’t got one, click this link to download the extension — https://metamask.io/.
cDai — when you supply Dai on Compound, you receive these tokens which earn you interest. With Maple, you lock the cDai as collateral to secure the SmartBonds you’re creating. Your cDai earns interest on Compound and Maple will use some of that interest to pay the SmartBond interest to your Investors.

If you don’t have any cDai then you can obtain some by:

Converting from ETH or DAI to cDai here: https://uniswap.exchange/swap or https://kyberswap.com/swap
Or directly by from Compound (note requires you to supply DAI) here: https://app.compound.finance/asset/cDAI

How to Issue SmartBonds

Click through from the App Homepage into the Issuer portal.
Click “Create SmartBond” and approve the MetaMask transaction — this sets up a basket for you to put your cDai collateral into. Next click “Create Offer” to start setting the terms you’ll offer Investors.

3. You have two options here:

Basic: our default settings, we recommend using these if it’s your first time.

Advanced: power user settings with more custom options if you’ve got a feel for Maple.

Issuing Basic Terms

Input the amount of Dai you want to use as collateral (note: the number of SmartBonds you issue to Investors will be smaller than this because you will keep some Equity).
Use the Interest Rate dropdown to set the Interest Rate you will pay Investors. This is an annualised rate.
The duration of the SmartBonds is preset to repay Investors in 90 Days and to give them 7 days to invest in your SmartBonds.
Check the Forecast returns table on the right (disclaimer: this assumes the Compound supply rate remains the same for the duration so should not be relied on).
Once your terms are set, click “Approve Tokens” and Confirm the MetaMask transaction.
Then click “Issue SmartBond” and approve the MetaMask transaction to complete the Issuance
Congratulations you’ve just created SmartBonds! Now wait for Investors to invest in them.

Issuing Advanced Terms

Input the amount of Dai you want to use as collateral (note: the number of SmartBonds you issue to Investors will be smaller than this because you will keep some Equity).
Advanced Issuers have the option to also create Grade 2 SmartBonds using the “Number of Investor Grades” dropdown. This lets the Issuer borrow more from Investors by giving them a higher interest rate option.
Set what proportion of the Collateral each Grade covers with the “Grade 1 Amount” and “Grade 2 Amount” settings.
Set the interest rate payable on each Grade of SmartBond. Grade 1 starts at the Compound Supply rate minus 2%. Grade 2 starts just above the Grade 1 rate.
Choose a duration (when you repay investors) of between 30, 90 or 180 days.
Choose whether Investors have a 1, 7 or 14 day Offer Period to Invest.
Check the Forecast returns table on the right (disclaimer: this assumes the Compound supply rate remains the same for the duration so should not be relied on).
Once your terms are set, click “Approve Tokens” and Confirm the MetaMask transaction.
Then click “Issue SmartBond” and approve the MetaMask transaction to complete the Issuance
Congratulations you’ve just created SmartBonds! Now wait for Investors to invest in them.

Activating Your SmartBonds

Once your SmartBonds have been created, they’re posted to the Investor portal and the offer period will continue to countdown until it either reaches zero or the offer gets fully bought by Investors (100% filled).
When it gets 100% filled or the Offer Period ends, you can Activate the SmartBonds through the Issue portal.
When Activated, the SmartBonds are minted and transferred to the Investors’ wallets and start earning interest. The DAI which the Investors paid to you for the SmartBonds is transferred to your wallet.