> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.trilobyte.finance/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.trilobyte.finance/overview/key-participants.md).

# Key Participants

Trilobyte's lending model involves four key participants. Investors are further split across two risk tranches (see [Tranches and the Waterfall](/overview/tranches-and-the-waterfall.md)).

```
┌─────────────┐         ┌──────────────┐         ┌─────────────┐
│  Borrower   │◄────────│  Pool Manager │────────►│  Investor   │
│ (business)  │  loan   │ (underwriter) │  yield  │ (senior or  │
└─────────────┘         └──────┬───────┘         │  junior)    │
                                │                  └─────────────┘
                       underwrites & posts
                       junior first-loss capital
                                │
                          ┌─────────────┐
                          │   Protocol  │
                          │  (Governor) │
                          └─────────────┘
```

## Borrower

A **business** that needs working capital. The borrower receives the loan proceeds once the vault is fully funded and approved, and repays through incoming revenue over the loan term. The borrower is never in the same address as the manager on their own vault — see the related-party rule below.

**Key responsibilities:**

* Apply for a loan through a Pool Manager
* Optionally pledge a real-world asset into the collateral escrow
* Make periodic repayments on schedule
* Withdraw available residual funds from the cash pool once current on payments

**On-chain actions:** `receive_payment`, `withdraw_cash`, `record_collateral_pledge`

## Pool Manager

A **professional underwriter** who evaluates businesses, negotiates loan terms, and manages the vault throughout its lifecycle. The manager's own capital is the anchor of the vault's **junior tranche** — the first capital to absorb a loss.

**Key responsibilities:**

* Perform due diligence on borrowers
* Structure loan terms (principal, rate, term, leverage ratio, reporting cadence)
* Create vaults via the Factory contract
* Deposit collateral that credits the junior tranche (skin in the game)
* Call `lock_junior` once junior capital reaches its target, opening the vault to senior deposits
* Approve and disburse funded loans
* Monitor repayments, apply late fees, and stay current on any reporting covenant
* Propose renegotiation when terms need adjustment (now requiring the borrower's sign-off too)

**Requirements:**

* Must be approved by the protocol's Operations Admin (`approve_pool_manager`)
* Must deposit collateral covering the vault's default collateral ratio
* A manager's voluntary junior deposit (collateral aside) is capped at a share of `junior_target` (`max_manager_junior_share_bps`, §14.1) so junior isn't entirely manager capital by design
* Subject to credit limits and protocol-wide exposure caps that bound total outstanding principal
* Flagged as delinquent if a vault defaults — blocked from creating new vaults until cleared

**On-chain actions:** `create_vault`, `deposit_collateral`, `lock_junior`, `approve_and_disburse`, `apply_late_fee`, `mark_report_received`, `propose_renegotiation`, `approve_renegotiation`, `reject_renegotiation`

## Investor

Anyone who funds a loan and earns yield from the borrower's repayments, in one of two tranches:

* **Junior** — first loss, paid last in the waterfall, earns a spread on top of its own interest rate as compensation. Opens first, alongside the manager's collateral.
* **Senior** — paid first in the waterfall, protected by the junior cushion, earns a lower but steadier yield. Cannot deposit until the manager calls `lock_junior`.

An investor may hold a position in both tranches of the same vault. Deposits mint SEP-41 debt tokens 1:1 (net of the protocol fee); tokens are non-transferable and only identify a claim — the tranche itself is tracked separately per position.

**Key responsibilities:**

* Evaluate available vaults, their leverage ratio, and each tranche's terms
* Deposit funds during the RaisingFunds phase, respecting the minimum-investment floor
* Claim yield from their own tranche's pool as repayments come in
* Monitor vault health, covenant status, and NAV write-down

**In permissioned vaults**, investors must be allowlisted by the Pool Manager before they can deposit. If the protocol's optional compliance gate is set, both permissioned and permissionless vaults also check it.

**On-chain actions:** `deposit`, `withdraw`, `claim_yield`, `claim_recovery`, `claim_refund`

## Governor

The **protocol administration** that manages global settings and infrastructure. Governance actions are routed through a **Timelock** contract that enforces a delay on critical changes, and Globals can be configured to require the timelock as the enforced admin for upgrades too.

The Governor manages three roles:

| Role                 | Who                 | Responsibilities                                                                                                                             |
| -------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Admin**            | Governor / Timelock | Whitelist lending and collateral assets, set treasury, register the factory, set the compliance gate and timelock address, upgrade contracts |
| **Security Admin**   | Security team       | Pause/unpause the protocol in emergencies                                                                                                    |
| **Operations Admin** | Operations team     | Approve/remove pool managers, set credit limits, clear delinquency, **update global settings & protocol fee**                                |

**On-chain actions:** `whitelist_asset`, `whitelist_collateral_asset`, `set_treasury_address`, `set_factory`, `set_compliance_gate`, `set_timelock`, `pause`, `unpause`, `update_settings`, `set_protocol_fee`, `approve_pool_manager`, `remove_pool_manager`, `set_manager_credit_limit`, `clear_delinquency`

{% hint style="info" %}
Changing global settings and the protocol fee is an **Operations Admin** action and is not currently timelocked. See [Governance](/protocol-mechanics/governance.md).
{% endhint %}

*As of September 2026.*