Where to Find the Kink Point of Interest Rate Curves
The kink in the interest rate curve can usually be found in the official developer documentation (Docs) of lending protocols or in parameter proposals on governance forums. This value is not a publicly unified constant; it is set separately by each protocol's governance mechanism for different assets.
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Why Do You Need to Find the Kink Separately?
In mainstream lending protocols like Aave and Compound, deposit and borrowing rates change dynamically with the utilization rate. The core design is: before the utilization reaches a preset "optimal point" (i.e., the kink), interest rates rise slowly; once this point is exceeded, rates surge sharply to encourage repayment and attract new deposits, preventing liquidity exhaustion.
Therefore, the kink is a key parameter that determines how fast the pool's interest rate changes. Here are several ways to check it:
Method 1: Consult Official Protocol Documentation (Most Recommended)
This is the most accurate way to obtain the original parameters. You can directly visit the official documentation of protocols like Aave or Compound, and look for detailed explanations in the "Interest Rate Model" or "Technical Parameters" sections.
Aave: The official docs explicitly state that the interest rate model is built around an "optimal utilization point." Below this point rates rise slowly, above it they rise sharply.
Compound: Compound III's docs list the detailed calculation formulas. The formula explicitly contains a "kink" parameter, and the docs explain that when utilization exceeds this "kink" point, the interest rate grows faster. In other protocol docs, this parameter may appear as the kink_ field.
Venus Protocol: The BaseJumpRateModelV2 documentation directly lists the kink_ parameter, defined as "the utilization point at which the jump multiplier applies."
Method 2: Follow the Protocol's Governance Forum
Interest rate parameters are not static and are adjusted based on market conditions.
A typical example is in April 2026, when Circle's chief economist proposed on the Aave governance forum to urgently adjust the USDC interest rate curve parameters. The proposal explicitly mentioned adjusting the "Optimal Utilization" from 92% down to 85%. This shows that governance proposals are a key source for obtaining the latest, changed kink.
Method 3: Use Third-Party Dashboards or APIs
For users unfamiliar with code, third-party tools can also help.
Risk Monitoring Dashboards: For example, the bad debt monitoring dashboard provided by RiskDAO for Aave V3, while primarily tracking bad debt, often includes real-time risk parameters of the protocol, including data related to the utilization rate and interest rate curve.
DeFi Data APIs: Some tools like defi-rates-mcp provide a get_lending_rates interface that can query lending rates from 14+ protocols including Aave and Morpho. Although it does not directly display the "kink" parameter, you can indirectly infer the approximate location of the kink by observing real-time data on how rates change with utilization. Professional institutions, when devising strategies, also calculate the market impact cost of large funds based on the shape of the interest rate curve and the kink position.
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Confirmation Complete
Open the official developer docs of Aave or Compound, in the "Interest Rate Model" section, find the Uoptimal (optimal utilization point) value for the corresponding asset. If you can't find it directly, go to the protocol's governance forum and search for keywords like "Interest Rate" or "Parameter Update" to check recent parameter adjustment proposals.
