# What is Tectonic?

[Tectonic](https://tectonic.finance) is a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol built for users of all experience levels. It’s built to be simple, secure, and efficient—designed for both passive investors and active traders.

As a **liquidity supplier,** you can **deposit supported tokens** into the protocol to **earn passive interest** over time. As a **borrower**, you can **take out loans** by providing more collateral than the amount borrowed, ensuring the system remains secure.

Tectonic is inspired by Compound, a well-established and audited DeFi protocol. Tectonic is also complemented with an attractive incentive program powered by xTONIC, the native token of Tectonic protocol.

In summary, Tectonic protocol aims to provide secure & seamless cryptocurrencies money market functionalities, enabling multiple use cases for its users.

* “HODLers” can generate returns from interest by supplying assets to the protocol without having to actively manage their assets 
* Traders can borrow certain cryptocurrencies to capitalize their short-term trading view (e.g., shorting) or yield maximizing opportunities (e.g., farming) 
* Users can obtain access to other cryptocurrencies for multiple purposes (e.g., participate in ICO, bonding), without having to liquidate their original assets

<figure><img src="https://986628987-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F1Qp0nwxyx5F5286sTIOk%2Fuploads%2F35jrQ1A1Kuio1daG86ZC%2FMedium%20Blog%20Cover%20template_07%20Empty.png?alt=media&#x26;token=aca02b86-fbb2-49b6-874a-16aaba048c47" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://tectonic.gitbook.io/docs/introduction/what-is-tectonic.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.