Lenders on Moonwell have now earned $20M in fees, all-time.
Across @Base, @Optimism Mainnet, and @Ethereum. https://t.co/N2e6er5Ss8
Moonwell
Non-custodial lending protocol deployed across Base, Optimism, Ethereum, and Moonbeam
3.0/ 5
Our score
Fair
Lending model
Pooled
Chains
BaseOptimismEthereum
Main collateral assets
ETHUSDCUSDTcbBTC
Audited
Yes
Governance token
WELL
What is Moonwell?
Moonwell is an open, pooled lending and borrowing protocol operating across Base, OP Mainnet, Ethereum, Moonbeam, and Moonriver. Users deposit supported crypto assets such as ETH, cbBTC, USDC, and USDT into liquidity pools to earn variable interest or borrow against their deposited collateral.
Founders and background
Moonwell was founded in 2021 by Luke Youngblood and developed alongside Lunar Labs, an engineering team headquartered in Finland. Youngblood previously built staking infrastructure at Coinbase, worked on cloud computing systems at Amazon Web Services, and contributed to iCloud backend infrastructure. In March 2022, the protocol raised $10 million in a private token sale backed by Arrington XRP Capital, Hypersphere Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Lemniscap, Robot Ventures, and Haun Ventures.
Core lending mechanics
Moonwell operates a non-custodial pooled lending model where interest rates fluctuate dynamically according to pool utilization. On Ethereum, core markets across USDC, USDT, cbBTC, and ETH have averaged a 69.5% utilization rate. The protocol also features Moonwell Vaults, automated yield vaults built on Morpho that allow external decentralized finance protocols to integrate Moonwell lending liquidity directly into their own yield strategies.
Availability and governance
The protocol does not require identity verification. Users interact directly with the deployed smart contracts. Governance decisions use the WELL token, which counted over 135,700 holders in October 2026.
Security track record and incidents
Moonwell smart contracts have been audited by Halborn and Code4rena. Despite these security reviews, the protocol has experienced multiple oracle-related exploits. In February 2026, an oracle misconfiguration using the raw cbETH/ETH exchange rate without ETH/USD conversion underpriced cbETH at $1.12 instead of $2,200, resulting in 181 liquidations and $1.78 million in bad debt. In August 2026, a spot price manipulation attack on the MAMO market on Base extracted $8.7 million, causing borrowing on Base core markets to be paused. Total value locked stood at approximately $12.0M in October 2026.
Founders
Luke YoungbloodFounder
Co-founder of Lunar Labs with previous engineering leadership roles at Coinbase and Amazon Web Services.
Best for:DeFi lenders on Base and OptimismBorrowers supplying ETH or stablecoin collateralYield aggregators integrating Morpho vaults
Pros and cons
Pros
- No KYC checks or account registration required to lend or borrow
- Smart contracts audited by firms including Halborn and Code4rena
- Integration with Morpho for automated onchain yield vaults
Cons
- Suffered an $8.7M oracle manipulation exploit on Base in August 2026
- cbETH oracle misconfiguration in February 2026 triggered $1.78M in bad debt
- Core market borrowing on Base was halted following security incidents
Our review
3.0/5
Fair
Moonwell offers pooled lending across Base and Optimism and experienced multiple oracle-related security incidents in 2026.
Moonwell is an open pooled lending protocol operating across Base, OP Mainnet, Ethereum, Moonbeam, and Moonriver. Founded in 2021 by Luke Youngblood and developed alongside Lunar Labs, the protocol raised a $10M private sale in March 2022 backed by Hypersphere Ventures, Arrington XRP Capital, and Coinbase Ventures. Moonwell lets depositors supply assets like ETH, USDC, USDT, and cbBTC into variable-rate lending pools to earn interest or borrow against their collateral.
Deployments span multiple chains and include Moonwell Vaults powered by Morpho. In October 2026, total value locked stood at approximately $12M, down from over $70M earlier in the year. Governance decisions and asset parameters run through the native WELL governance token, which has more than 135,000 holders.
Despite smart contract audits from Halborn and Code4rena alongside an active bug bounty, Moonwell has experienced severe oracle vulnerabilities. In February 2026, an oracle pricing misconfiguration on cbETH led to approximately $1.78M in bad debt and forced liquidations for 181 borrowers after misreporting prices around $1.12 instead of $2,200. In August 2026, a spot price oracle manipulation on the MAMO token market on Base resulted in an additional $8.7M loss, prompting borrowing pauses on Base core markets while Ethereum, Optimism, and Morpho-based vaults continued normal operations.
Specs
| KYC required ⓘ | No · unverified |
|---|---|
| Lending model | Pooled |
| Chains | Base, Optimism, Ethereum |
| Main collateral assets | ETH, USDC, USDT, cbBTC · unverified |
| Audited | Yes |
| Bug bounty | Yes · unverified |
| Governance token | WELL |
| Isolated markets | Yes · unverified |
| Own stablecoin | No · unverified |
| Rates | Variable · unverified |
Not disclosed by the provider: Flash loans, Permissionless markets, Real-world-asset collateral.
Data from the provider's website and public sources. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Key features
Pooled liquidity markets
Suppliers deposit assets into shared liquidity pools that adjust borrow and supply interest rates dynamically as utilization shifts.
Multichain deployments
Core lending pools operate across Ethereum, Base, OP Mainnet, Moonbeam, and Moonriver.
Morpho-powered vaults
Moonwell Vaults use Morpho infrastructure to automate yields and allow third-party applications to integrate Moonwell liquidity.
Major asset collateral
Markets support major liquid assets including ETH, cbBTC, USDC, and USDT as borrowable collateral.
Onchain governance
WELL holders participate in onchain governance.
Inside Moonwell
Moonwell Lending
An open pooled lending protocol where users deposit assets to earn yield or borrow against tokenized collateral across networks like Base and Ethereum.
Moonwell Vaults
Automated yield vaults powered by Morpho that integrate lending liquidity into specialized automated strategies.
Moonwell Governance
An onchain governance portal where WELL holders participate in protocol governance.
Moonwell screenshots
What users say about Moonwell
The available posts do not provide enough specific user feedback to identify recurring praise or complaints about Moonwell.
Based on 2 Reddit posts and comments from the last 12 months, checked Oct 20, 2026. These are posts by users on other sites, not reviews submitted on CryptoReview.
User reviews
No user reviews yet. Have you used Moonwell? Share your experience below.
Funding and investors
$10MTotal raised
3Rounds
14Investors
-
Private token sale Mar 2022 $10M
Arrington CapitalHedge fund
Lead
HY HypersphereVenture capital
Lead
CS C SquaredVenture capital
CS Charterhouse Strategic PartnersVenture capital
FM FMFWVenture capital
HV Haun VenturesVenture capital
KC KeyChain CapitalVenture capital
LE LemniscapVenture capital
Mirana VenturesExchange ventures arm
Robot VenturesVenture capital
Signum CapitalVenture capital
WO WoodstockVenture capital
NF nfrVenture capital
-
Strategic Round Mar 2022 $10MSource
-
Strategic Round Mar 2022 $10MSource
FAQ
Who founded Moonwell?
Moonwell was founded in 2021 by Luke Youngblood alongside the development team Lunar Labs. Youngblood previously led staking infrastructure at Coinbase and worked on cloud infrastructure at Amazon Web Services.
Does Moonwell require identity verification (KYC)?
No, Moonwell is a non-custodial decentralized lending protocol that interacts directly with user web3 wallets without KYC verification.
What security exploits have occurred on Moonwell?
Moonwell suffered an oracle misconfiguration in February 2026 causing $1.78M in bad debt, followed by an $8.7M oracle manipulation attack on the Base MAMO market in August 2026.
What networks does Moonwell support?
Moonwell operates across Base, OP Mainnet, Ethereum Mainnet, Moonbeam, and Moonriver.
Does Moonwell have a native token?
Yes, Moonwell uses the WELL governance token for protocol voting.
What is the lending model used by Moonwell?
Moonwell uses pooled liquidity markets where suppliers earn variable interest rates and borrowers draw funds against pooled collateral.
Latest from Moonwell on X
Congratulations to @aeroxyz on the launch!
Since 2024, the Moonwell AERO Core Market on @Base has enabled people to lend and borrow against their AERO.
Now that Aero is live, should the Moonwell community explore support for the new AERO?
Since 2024, the Moonwell AERO Core Market on @Base has enabled people to lend and borrow against their AERO.
Now that Aero is live, should the Moonwell community explore support for the new AERO?
Tokenized stocks can open up new possibilities for onchain lending.
In this excerpt from the latest Moonwell Governance Call, contributors discuss using stock tokens as collateral on @Base. https://t.co/QHR5cHNSNI
In this excerpt from the latest Moonwell Governance Call, contributors discuss using stock tokens as collateral on @Base. https://t.co/QHR5cHNSNI
Competitive rates power new strategies.
The Moonwell ETH Flagship Vault is one of the active yield sources for @harvest_finance’s WETH Autopilot on @Base.
Powered by @Morpho, Moonwell Vaults let applications integrate lending into their own products.
The Moonwell ETH Flagship Vault is one of the active yield sources for @harvest_finance’s WETH Autopilot on @Base.
Powered by @Morpho, Moonwell Vaults let applications integrate lending into their own products.
Moonwell has been on @Base since day one.
→ Over 100K token holders on Base
→ Millions in lender fees and protocol revenue
In this excerpt from the latest Moonwell Governance Call, a reflection on years of lending activity and the community behind it all. https://t.co/umfWUKUooK
→ Over 100K token holders on Base
→ Millions in lender fees and protocol revenue
In this excerpt from the latest Moonwell Governance Call, a reflection on years of lending activity and the community behind it all. https://t.co/umfWUKUooK
Recent public posts from @MoonwellDeFi, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
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