> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.buoy.finance/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.buoy.finance/for-depositors/depositing.md). # Depositing Depositing puts your USDC into a vault and mints **Buoys** (vault shares) to your wallet at the vault's current share price. ## Before you start * Your wallet is connected and on **HyperEVM** (the app will prompt you to switch if not). * You hold **USDC** on HyperEVM (minimum deposit: 1 USDC). * You hold a little **HYPE** for gas plus the request fee (currently 0.01 HYPE). {% hint style="info" %} **No USDC on HyperEVM yet?** You don't have to leave the app. Hit **+ TOP UP** above the amount field — or just type an amount larger than your balance and the main button turns into **Top up USDC** — and an in-app widget opens where you can bridge or buy USDC straight onto HyperEVM. {% endhint %} ## Step by step 1. Open the vault and make sure the **Deposit** tab is selected in the transaction panel. 2. **Enter an amount** of USDC. Your wallet balance is shown next to the input; use **MAX** to deposit it all. 3. **Review the quote.** Before you sign anything, the panel shows: * **Expected output** — how many Buoys you'll receive at the current share price; * **Share price** — the vault's live price per Buoy; * **Projected yield** — a rough daily/monthly estimate based on the vault's recent 30-day performance (an extrapolation, not a promise). A slippage floor (minimum shares) and the small request fee in HYPE are included in the transaction automatically. 4. Click **Approve & Deposit** and confirm in your wallet. ### About the approval The **first** deposit from a wallet asks for two signatures: a USDC **approval** to the Router, then the **deposit** itself. The app requests an unlimited approval, so every later deposit into any Buoy vault is a **single transaction**. If you'd rather not grant an unlimited allowance, you can set your own limit directly with the token contract — the app simply won't be able to skip the approval step next time. You can revoke the allowance at any point from your wallet or any allowance-management tool. ## Vaults with deposit limits Some vaults restrict who can deposit or how much — a minimum share the Leader must keep holding, a cap on the vault's total value, or a depositor whitelist. The Leader sets these and the contracts enforce them (see [Choosing a Vault](/for-depositors/choosing-a-vault.md#deposit-limits)). The deposit panel tells you before you sign: | Message | Meaning | | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Max deposit is X USDC** | The vault has that much room left under its cap or the Leader's minimum share. **MAX** fills to the smaller of your balance and this room. | | **Vault is full** | No room at all right now — the vault is at its cap, or the Leader would drop below their minimum share. Try again once the Leader has topped up or raised the cap. | | **Not whitelisted for this vault** | Deposits are limited to addresses the Leader has whitelisted, and yours isn't one of them. Ask the Leader. | | **Your whitelist cap is used up** | You are whitelisted, but your position has reached the cap the Leader gave you. Withdrawing frees room; so does the Leader raising your cap. | On a whitelist-only vault your Buoys can only be minted to **your own wallet** — depositing on someone else's behalf is refused. None of these limits ever applies to a **withdrawal**: whatever you hold, you can always redeem. ## What happens next Your deposit appears as a **Pending Deposit** card in the vault panel: 1. **Pending** — your USDC is escrowed in the vault and the request is waiting for settlement. 2. **Fulfilled** — the fulfiller values the vault at the current moment and mints your Buoys at that exact share price. You'll see **"Deposit Complete — shares minted to your wallet."** Settlement typically takes **under a couple of minutes**. Your Buoys are then in your wallet like any other token, and your position shows up at the top of the vault page — it survives page refreshes and reconnects, since it lives on-chain. ## Price protection The number of Buoys you receive depends on the share price **at settlement**, not at the moment you click. The quote includes a **minimum shares** floor: if the share price were to spike upward between your click and settlement, the transaction can never give you fewer Buoys than that floor — it would fail instead, leaving your USDC safely cancellable. In practice the gap is seconds and the difference is negligible. ## If the deposit isn't settled In the rare case a deposit stays Pending past the timeout (30 minutes), a **Cancel** button appears and you can reclaim your full USDC. See [Cancelling a Request](/for-depositors/cancelling-a-request.md). One case worth knowing on vaults with deposit limits: the room the panel showed you is measured against the vault's last known value, but the limits are checked again at settlement against the live value. If the vault moved in between and your deposit no longer fits, settlement refuses it and the request stays **Pending** — the settlement service retries whenever the vault's state changes (the Leader tops up, the cap is raised, other requests settle). Your USDC is safe in escrow the whole time, and after the timeout you can cancel and take it back. {% hint style="info" %} **Why isn't it instant?** The vault's capital is deployed in live perp positions whose value changes every second. Settling asynchronously at a freshly computed NAV is what guarantees you — and every other depositor — always enter at the vault's true value. Details in [How Buoy Works](/getting-started/how-buoy-works.md). {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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