Reference
Glossary
The vocabulary you'll meet across these docs, in plain language. Skim it, or come back when a term trips you up.
The basics#
Liquidity pool#
A shared pot of two tokens that traders swap against. Liquidity providers deposit the pair and earn a cut of the trading fees.
TVL (total value locked)#
The total value of assets deposited in a vault or protocol, usually in US dollars. A quick gauge of size and adoption.
APR & APY#
APR is a yearly rate of return that ignores compounding; APYincludes compounding, so it's higher when earnings are frequently reinvested. Both are estimates, not guarantees.
Impermanent loss#
The gap between holding an LP position and just holding the two tokens separately, caused by the tokens' prices diverging. It becomes permanent only if you withdraw while the gap exists; fees and rewards can offset it.
BNB & gas#
BNB is the native token of BNB Smart Chain. Gas is the small BNB fee you pay the network for each transaction. Keep a little BNB on hand so you can always transact — including to withdraw.
Concentrated liquidity#
Concentrated liquidity (CL)#
Providing liquidity within a chosen price range instead of across all prices, so capital is used efficiently and earns more while the price is in range.
Tick & tick spacing#
A tick is a discrete price step in a CL pool. Tick spacingis how far apart usable ticks are; a vault's range is defined as a number of tick-spacings on each side of the price.
Range & in-range#
The price band a vault's liquidity covers. The position earns only while the market price is in range; the strategy re-centers the range as the price moves.
Main & alt positions#
The strategy runs a main range centered on the price plus an alt position built from whatever token is left over — so it deploys the tokens without forced swaps. See the strategy.
TWAP & the calm check#
TWAP is the time-weighted average price over a recent window. The calm check blocks deposits and rebalances when spot price strays too far from the TWAP, guarding against manipulation and MEV.
Vault mechanics#
Share token & share price#
The ERC-20 you receive on deposit; it represents your slice of the vault. Share price (price per share) is the value of one share and rises as the vault compounds.
Gauge & emissions#
A gauge streams reward tokens (emissions, here TOPAZ) to staked liquidity. The strategy stakes its position to earn these on top of trading fees.
Harvest & compounding#
A harvest claims rewards and reinvests them into the position. Doing this repeatedly is compounding, the engine behind a vault's APY.
Rebalance#
Withdrawing and redeploying the liquidity to re-center the range around the current price when it has drifted.
Keeper#
The automation (a bot, though harvesting is open to anyone) that triggers harvests and re-centering. It governs automation only — it never has custody of funds.
Trading & transactions#
Zap#
Entering or exiting a vault with a single token or BNB in one transaction; the zapper handles the swap. See zapping.
Slippage & price impact#
Price impact is how much your own trade moves the price; slippageis the difference between the expected and actual result. The app sets a minimum-output guard so you're protected from bad fills.
Approval#
A one-time permission that lets a contract move a specific token on your behalf, required before your first deposit or zap of that token.
Non-custodial#
You keep control of your assets at all times — they live in on-chain contracts and your wallet, not with a company. Your keys, your funds.
ERC-20 & ERC-4626#
ERC-20 is the standard token interface (CL vault shares are ERC-20). ERC-4626 is a tokenized-vault standard used by Topaz V2 vaults.