What is a chit fund?
A group of people pay a fixed amount into a common pot every month, and each month one
member takes the whole pot. Everyone takes it exactly once, so by the end everybody has
put in the same and taken out the same — but the person who needed money in month one
got it in month one. India has run them for generations, mostly on trust and a notebook.
What happens if someone stops paying?
The payment retries through the month, then a grace period starts — all of it visible on
the board the whole time. If it still fails it becomes a default: the shortfall is shared by
the remaining members, and the default is written against that member's account
permanently. A circle itself can never go insolvent, because pots are only ever paid out
of money already collected. Members who want zero default risk belong in a public circle,
where the whole commitment is escrowed at join.
Do I have to bid?
Never. In auction mode, not bidding is a real strategy — the pots nobody claimed are
handed out at close among the members who never took one, interest-free. In friendship
mode there is no bidding at all; your month is set before the circle starts.
Who holds the money?
The contract. Not a foreman, not us. Idle funds sit in shared reserves and go only to
whitelisted, blue-chip lending markets under per-market caps, with every rebalance
publicly visible. The allocation role can move funds between those markets and nothing
else — it can never withdraw. Adding a market sits behind a timelock, and emergency mode
freezes allocation while leaving withdrawals open.
What do you charge?
A share of earnings — interest and yield — and nothing on principal. The admin fee is
separate and belongs to whoever runs the circle: they set it, it is visible before you
join, and it can be zero. That is the real difference from an offline chit, where the
foreman's cut is fixed, opaque, and unavoidable.
Is the yield guaranteed?
No. Lending yield is variable and moves with the market. What the contract enforces is
your right to withdraw — not a rate.
Do I need to know anything about crypto?
No. You can run an entire circle in rupees without ever touching a token, a wallet or a
gas fee. Circles are priced, displayed and paid in ₹ because that is how the group thinks
about the money. Underneath, settlement happens in USDC on Base and your account is a
smart account — but that is our problem to handle, not something you should have to
learn to save with your friends.
What is a public circle?
The same machine, for strangers. Instead of paying month by month, a joining member puts
the full amount in up front and each month's due comes out of it — so default risk is zero
by construction, which is what makes a chit between people who have never met safe.
It ships after closed circles.