Auto-Deallocating (ADA)

Auto-Deallocating is Flux's mechanism to protect liquidity providers during periods of extreme vault utilization by allowing controlled reduction of healthy-but-risky manager positions.

What is ADA?

Auto-Deallocating (ADA) is a protective measure that allows a vault to close out manager positions when:

  1. The vault has extremely high utilization (typically ≥95%)

  2. The manager's position is healthy but approaching liquidation zone

  3. LPs need liquidity but managers aren't repaying voluntarily

Key Characteristics:

  • Manager is not liquidated (they're still solvent)

  • Manager receives their full net equity back

  • Vault regains liquidity to serve LP withdrawals

  • Only executed by designated ADA Manager (typically vault creator or protocol)

  • Optional - can be permanently disabled when vault is created

ADA vs. Liquidation:

Feature
Liquidation
ADA

Trigger

Health < liquidation threshold

Health between liquidation & ADA threshold

Executed By

Anyone (permissionless)

ADA Manager only

Manager Outcome

Loses position + liquidation penalty

Receives full net equity

Purpose

Prevent bad debt

Free up liquidity

Vault Condition

Any utilization

High utilization (≥95%)

Profit for Executor

Yes (liquidation bonus)

No (break-even)


Why ADA Exists

The Liquidity Crunch Problem

Consider this scenario:

Without ADA: LPs cannot withdraw and are stuck waiting indefinitely for managers to voluntarily close positions.

With ADA: Vault creator can force-close positions (returning manager's equity) to free up liquidity so LP withdrawals can succeed.

ADA is LP Protection

ADA ensures that LPs can eventually get their capital back, even when:

  • Managers are technically healthy

  • Vault is fully utilized

  • Withdrawals would otherwise fail

It prevents LPs from being held hostage by managers who won't close positions voluntarily.


How ADA Works

Eligibility Conditions

A position can be ADA'd only if ALL of these conditions are met:

1. High Vault Utilization

Example:

2. Position Health Below ADL Threshold

Example with Strategy Parameters:

3. Position Still Has Positive Equity

If netEquity ≤ 0: Position is underwater and should be liquidated instead.

ADA Parameters

Defined in the strategy contract:

The ADA Zone:


ADA Execution Flow

Step-by-Step Process

1. ADA Manager Identifies ADA Opportunity

2. ADA Manager Prepares Executor

The ADA Manager needs an executor with a callback to handle position unwinding:

3. Execute ADA Transaction

4. Vault Executes ADA

Inside the vault's executeADL function:

What Happens to Each Party

Manager (being ADA'd):

  1. All positions closed

  2. Debt repaid in full

  3. Receives net equity in vault's base asset (in working capital)

  4. Can withdraw net equity immediately

  5. Loses future earning potential from position

  6. No penalties or fees

ADA Manager (executor):

  1. Receives all manager positions

  2. Unwinds positions to base asset

  3. Pays trueDebt + managerNetEquity back to vault

  4. Ideally breaks even (no profit, no loss)

  5. May incur gas costs and slippage

Vault / LPs:

  1. Receives debt repayment

  2. Gains liquidity

  3. Can service LP withdrawals

  4. Loses future interest from that manager


ADA Manager Role

What is an ADA Manager?

The ADA Manager is a designated address (typically the vault creator or protocol governance) that can execute ADA operations.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Monitor vault utilization

  • Identify ADA-eligible positions

  • Execute ADA when needed to free liquidity

  • Unwind positions with minimal slippage

  • Return manager's equity fairly

Access Control:

ADA Manager Options

Option 1: Vault Creator as ADA Manager (Most Common)

Pros:

  • Vault creator has incentive to maintain vault health

  • Responsive to LP needs

  • Can act quickly

Cons:

  • Centralization risk

  • Requires vault creator to actively monitor

  • May have conflicts of interest

Option 2: Protocol Governance as ADA Manager

Pros:

  • More decentralized

  • Trustworthy for LPs

  • Protocol-level oversight

Cons:

  • Slower response time (multisig)

  • May not prioritize individual vault needs

Option 3: Automated ADA Bot

Pros:

  • Fastest response

  • 24/7 monitoring

  • No human intervention needed

Cons:

  • Bot can be exploited if not secure

  • Requires funding for gas

  • May execute suboptimally

Option 4: No ADA Manager (Disabled)

Use Cases:

  • Vault creator wants pure market dynamics

  • Immutable vaults prioritizing predictability

  • Low-utilization vaults that don't need ADA


ADA in Different Strategy Types

Immutable Strategy

Characteristics:

  • ADA parameters locked forever at deployment

  • LPs know exact ADA trigger conditions

  • Vault creator decides whether to set ADA manager

Mutable Strategy

Why ADA params are immutable:

  • Changing ADA threshold could surprise managers

  • LPs rely on predictable ADA protection

  • Risk parameters should be stable

Flexible Margin Strategy

Why disabled?:

  • Flexible margin vaults are typically single-user

  • Manager = LP in most cases

  • No need for forced deleveraging

  • Manager can close position whenever they want


Use Cases and Examples

Example 1: High Utilization LP Withdrawal Crisis

Scenario:

ADA Manager Action:

Example 2: Preventing Bank Run

Scenario:

ADA Manager Strategy:

Outcome:

  • Vault stabilized at 80% utilization

  • LPs can withdraw without queues

  • Managers received their equity (no unfair liquidations)

  • Vault creator maintains trust

Example 3: Gradual Deleveraging

Scenario: Vault creator wants to gradually reduce risk during uncertain market conditions.

Benefits:

  • Reduces vault risk over time

  • Doesn't shock managers with sudden mass ADA

  • Maintains adequate liquidity for LPs

  • Spreads gas costs over time


ADA Implementation Guide

For Vault Creators

1. Decide on ADA Strategy

Parameter Selection:

Vault Type
adlBuffer
adlUtilizationThreshold
Reasoning

Conservative

0.15 (15%)

0.90 (90%)

Earlier ADA, more LP protection

Balanced

0.10 (10%)

0.95 (95%)

Standard config

Aggressive

0.05 (5%)

0.98 (98%)

Let managers maximize leverage

2. Set ADL Manager

3. Monitor Vault Health

4. Execute ADA When Needed

For ADA Managers (Executors)

Building an ADA Executor

ADA Monitoring Bot


ADA Best Practices

For Vault Creators

Do:

  • Set ADA parameters appropriate for your vault's risk profile

  • Monitor utilization regularly

  • Communicate ADA policy clearly to LPs and managers

  • Execute ADA fairly (lowest health first)

  • Document when and why you'll use ADA

Don't:

  • ADA managers to punish them (unfair)

  • ADA when utilization is healthy (unnecessary)

  • Change ADA manager frequently (undermines trust)

  • Execute ADA with excessive slippage (hurts manager)

  • Forget to fund your ADA executor for gas

For Managers

Do:

  • Understand the vault's ADA parameters before depositing

  • Monitor your health ratio to stay out of ADA zone

  • Keep vault utilization in mind

  • Accept that ADA is fair (you get full equity back)

  • Have a plan for receiving net equity after ADA

Don't:

  • Assume you'll never be ADA'd

  • Let health drift into ADA zone during high utilization

  • Fight or complain about fair ADA execution

  • Borrow from vaults with unfair ADA policies

For LPs

Do:

  • Understand the vault's ADA protection

  • Check if vault has an ADA manager

  • Verify ADA parameters match your risk tolerance

  • Appreciate ADA as liquidity protection

Don't:

  • Deposit in vaults with ADA disabled if you need withdrawal flexibility

  • Expect instant withdrawals during extreme utilization

  • Assume ADA will always save you (bad debt can still happen)


Comparison: ADA vs. Other Mechanisms

ADA vs. Liquidation

Feature
ADA
Liquidation

Trigger

Health in ADA zone + high utilization

Health below liquidation threshold

Executor

Designated ADA manager

Anyone (permissionless)

Manager Outcome

Receives full net equity

May receive net equity minus penalty

Executor Profit

Break-even (no profit)

Liquidation bonus (0-20%)

Purpose

Free liquidity

Prevent bad debt

Vault Condition

High utilization required

Any utilization

When to use each:

  • ADA: Vault needs liquidity, manager is healthy but risky

  • Liquidation: Manager's position is truly at risk of bad debt

ADA vs. Forced Withdrawal

Some protocols have "forced withdrawal" where LP can liquidate a manager. Flux separates these:

Feature
Flux ADA
Forced Withdrawal

Who Executes

Vault-level ADA manager

Individual LP

Coordination

Centralized, efficient

Decentralized, chaotic

Fairness

All LPs benefit equally

First-mover advantage

Gas Costs

Single executor

Every LP pays

Slippage

Optimized by ADA manager

May be rushed

Flux's approach is more efficient because:

  • Single ADA manager can optimize unwinding

  • No race condition between LPs

  • All LPs benefit proportionally from freed liquidity

  • Lower total gas costs

ADA vs. Interest Rate Adjustments

Feature
ADA
Dynamic Interest Rates

Time to Effect

Immediate

Gradual

Mechanism

Force close positions

Incentivize voluntary close

Manager Choice

None

Yes

Complexity

Simple

Complex (IRM curves)

Emergency Response

Effective

Slow

Best practice: Use both

  • Normal times: Adjust rates to encourage borrowing/repayment

  • Emergency: Use ADA to quickly free liquidity


Technical Reference

Events

Errors

View Functions


Summary

Auto-Deallocating (ADA) is Flux's liquidity protection mechanism that allows vaults to force-close healthy-but-risky positions during high utilization.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Purpose: Free up liquidity for LP withdrawals when vault is highly utilized

  2. Fair to Managers: They receive their full net equity back (no penalties)

  3. Controlled: Only designated ADA manager can execute

  4. Conditional: Requires both high utilization AND position in ADA zone

  5. Optional: Vault creators can disable or customize ADA parameters

ADA protects LPs from being unable to withdraw during high utilization periods, while treating managers fairly by returning their full equity.

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