Borrowing against ETH on-chain means depositing into a lending market like Aave, Morpho, or Compound, then drawing USD-denominated stablecoin credit against the deposit. Rates float with utilization. Liquidation is automated. Custody is yours.
Aave
The largest and most battle-tested lending protocol. Multi-chain (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon). Variable and stable rates. Health factor must stay above 1; below it, liquidation fires automatically. ETH typical LTV: 80–82%.
Morpho
A newer protocol that builds on top of Aave/Compound for better rates. Peer-to-peer matching when possible, falls back to the underlying pool when not. Lower spread, marginally better borrowing rates. Same liquidation mechanics.
Compound
The original DeFi lender. Cleaner UI, fewer assets, well-tested. Rates are typically slightly higher than Aave or Morpho, but the protocol has the longest production track record.
What to actually watch
- Health factor: the number that separates “I have a loan” from “I just got liquidated.”
- Oracle pricing: Chainlink, redundant feeds, no single point of failure.
- Stablecoin choice: borrow USDC for the cleanest counterparty risk profile.
This is the framework ARCrypto Apex members work through with the senior strategist. Book a call for the structured walkthrough.