Minting & redeeming Index DTFs
Minting/redeeming directly converts between Index DTFs and their underlying tokens—no authorized participants required. Anyone can mint or redeem permissionlessly.
For convenience, the protocol offers zapper helpers that let users enter or exit using almost any ERC‑20 token or native ETH in one transaction. Manual redemptions and direct contract calls enable more flexibility and provide an escape hatch if other methods are down, ensuring users are not reliant on offchain tools to exit positions.
How to mint or redeem
There are three main ways to mint or redeem. The Reserve app provides a convenient interface, but any front‑end can access the same permissionless contracts.
Zapper (one‑step)
When to use: You want to use a single ERC‑20 or ETH and let the app handle the swaps
- Click the Buy or Sell button on any Index DTF page
- In the You use or You receive field, pick any supported token (ETH, USDC, wBTC, etc.)
- Enter an amount and review the quote
Due to the volatile nature of DEXs (decentralized exchanges) and the way the zapper routes tokens, it is common to receive dust amounts of certain tokens. Generally, the amount of dust is on the order of 1-10 bps of the input value.
Manual mint / redeem
When to use: You hold/want the exact collateral tokens or need precise slippage control
- Click Switch to manual mode on the DTF’s Mint/Redeem page
- Review per‑token amounts to deposit/receive
- Approve any necessary tokens and submit
Direct contract call
When to use: Integrations, scripts, advanced use cases
Call mint or redeem on the DTF proxy. Basket ratios are calculated and enforced onchain.
See the smart contracts section for contract details and addresses.
Anyone can create an RToken
In a similar way as how anyone can create a new trading pair on Uniswap, anyone can permissionlessly create a new Reserve stablecoin (RToken) by interacting with Reserve Protocol’s smart contracts. The protocol applies a system of factory smart contracts that allows anyone to deploy their own smart contract instance.
Creating an RToken can be done either by interacting directly with the Reserve Protocol’s smart contracts or any user interface that gets built on top of it. The first user interface for these smart contracts will be released by ABC Labs the company that's leading protocol development. Besides the creation of RTokens, this user interface will also support exploring usage and stats related to RTokens, RToken minting & redeeming, and RSR staking.
Non-compatible ERC20 assets
The following types of ERC20s are not supported to be used directly in an RToken system. These tokens should be be wrapped into a compatible ERC20 token to be used within the protocol. A concrete example is the use of Static ATokens for Aave V2.
- Rebasing Tokens that return yields by increasing the balances of users
- Tokens that take a "fee" on transfer
- Tokens that do not expose the decimals() in their interface. Decimals should always be between 1 and 18.
- ERC777 tokens which could allow reentrancy attacks
- Tokens with multiple entry points (multiple addresses)
- Tokens with multiple entry points (multiple addresses)
- Tokens that do not adhere to the ERC20 standard in general
Advanced RToken parameters
When deploying an RToken, the deployer has the ability to configure many different advanced parameters. The following list goes into detail about what these parameters do and some of the factors the deployer should keep in mind to set them.
As many of these parameters concern the Protocol Operations, we advise reading through that section of the documentation first—as it will give the deployer the necessary context to fully understand all parameters.
Trading delay(s)
The trading delay defines how many seconds should pass after the basket has been changed before a trade can be opened.
A collateral asset can instantly default if one of the invariants of the underlying DeFi protocol breaks. If that would happen, and we would not apply a trading delay, the protocol would react instantly by opening an auction. This would give only auctionLength seconds for people to bid on the auction, making it very possible for the protocol to lose value due to slippage.
The trading delay parameter may only be needed in the early days - before we get to a point where there is a robust market of MEV searchers. We expect that this parameter can be set to zero later on (once a robust market of MEV searchers is established).
