What is an OctoGear Curator?
An OctoGear Curator is the operator of a specific lending market built on top of the OctoGear credit infrastructure (Gearbox V3). Curators act as risk parameter managers, not capital allocators — they define the rules under which borrowers and lenders interact, without ever having custody of user funds.
This role is permissionless: any entity can deploy a Market Configurator and launch a lending business on OctoGear.
Parameters, not funds
The Curator does not touch depositor funds. Instead, they manage a set of smart contracts that enforce rules on how funds can be utilised:
- No custody — Curators cannot withdraw LP funds or seize borrower collateral.
- No active allocation — Curators set eligibility rules (e.g. "Strategy A is allowed up to $10M debt"). The protocol handles the flow based on user demand.
OctoGear-specific infrastructure
Beyond standard Gearbox V3, OctoGear adds two contracts curators must understand:
| Contract | Role |
|---|---|
| MarketRegistry | Whitelist of allowed prediction markets, lockdown state, and resolution tracking. A prediction market outcome token cannot be used as credit account collateral unless it is whitelisted here by the OctoGear team. |
| SmartMakerRegistry | Deploys and tracks per-credit-account CTF custody contracts. Polymarket positions are not held directly in a credit account — each account gets a dedicated SmartMaker contract that holds CTF tokens on its behalf. |
Curators do not directly control these registries. The OctoGear team manages market whitelisting and SmartMaker deployment. When configuring collateral for a new prediction market, confirm the market is already registered before setting its liquidation threshold.
Role architecture
Curator powers are split across distinct roles to balance agility with security.
Administrator
The ultimate authority, controlling the Market Configurator contract.
- Can modify all risk parameters (LTVs, supply caps, interest models, fee splits).
- All actions are subject to a mandatory 24-hour timelock.
- Recommended: a multisig safe.
Emergency Admin
A crisis-response role with a limited subset of powers that bypass the timelock.
- Can pause contracts, set debt limits to zero, and forbid specific adapters or tokens.
- Cannot increase risk — can only restrict operations.
- Recommended: a separate security multisig or hardware wallet.
Operational roles
- Pausable/Unpausable Admin — freeze or unfreeze specific market contracts.
- Fee Collector — designated recipient for accrued interest and liquidation fees.
- Emergency Liquidator — whitelisted address permitted to liquidate when the market is paused.
The timelock
Any transaction that alters a risk parameter must be queued in the Timelock contract for a minimum of 24 hours before execution. This gives lenders and borrowers time to audit pending changes and exit if they disagree.
Economic model
Curators earn revenue by configuring fee parameters that are deducted automatically by the smart contracts.
| Revenue source | Description |
|---|---|
| Interest fee | A percentage of borrower interest, added on top of the base rate paid to lenders |
| Liquidation fee | A percentage of collateral seized during a liquidation |
Default split: 50% to the Curator / 50% to the Protocol DAO.
Curator vs. active capital allocator
OctoGear curators are fundamentally different from vault managers on protocols like Morpho:
| Action | OctoGear Curator | Active allocator (e.g. Morpho) |
|---|---|---|
| Add collateral exposure | Set LTV and oracle for the token — borrowers use pool liquidity | Deposit vault funds into a new market |
| Modify LTV | Ramp LT to target value over ≥2 days | Deploy a new market; migrate liquidity |
| Adjust collateral-specific rate | Set a new quota rate on top of the IRM | Move allocation in/out of the market |
| Enable leverage for a collateral | Allow the relevant adapters in the strategy | Integrate with an external strategy provider |