Surf's Smart Vault

At the core of Surf is the Smart Vault.

A Smart Vault is a non-custodial, user-owned on-chain account that holds capital and defines how that capital can be used by AI and strategies.

It is not a pooled contract where funds are mixed and controlled by the protocol. Each user has their own isolated vault, with their own rules, permissions, and withdrawal rights.

Key properties of a Smart Vault

1. Non-custodial by design

Funds are always owned by the user’s wallet. Surf never takes custody and cannot move assets unilaterally.

All actions require:

• On-chain permission from the vault

• Guardian Layer rule validation

• Valid cryptographic signatures

2. Deterministic execution boundaries

Every vault is configured with strict, on-chain enforced limits, including:

• Allowed protocols and venues

• Maximum exposure per strategy

• Slippage and liquidity thresholds

• Leverage and LTV (Loan-to-Value) caps

• Rebalancing frequency and sizing

• Emergency halt conditions

The AI can propose actions. The vault only executes actions that satisfy these deterministic rules.

3. Strategy isolation

Each vault is logically and financially isolated.

• No shared collateral risk

• No cross-user contagion

• No socialised losses

• Independent liquidation and health factors

This makes Surf vaults suitable for both retail users and institutional mandates.

4. Modular strategy attachment

Strategies are not hard-coded into the vault.

They are attached as modules, such as:

• Horizon lending optimisation

• Velocity liquidity and CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker) strategies

• Future RWA (Real-World Asset) and cross-chain strategies

Each module operates under the same Guardian constraints.

5. Always-on withdrawal rights

Users can withdraw at any time.

There are:

• No lockups

• No protocol-level gating

• No discretionary delays

If the vault holds assets, the user can exit, subject only to on-chain settlement and liquidity conditions.

6. Composable and upgrade-safe

Vault logic is:

• Versioned

• Auditable

• Upgradeable via governance and security reviews

• Backwards-compatible with existing positions

This allows Surf to evolve strategies and safety logic without breaking user positions or custody guarantees.

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In simple terms:

The Smart Vault is the technical and control boundary between:

• The user

• The AI

• The strategies

• The blockchain

It ensures that:

AI can optimise. Strategies can execute. But control, custody, and final authority always remain with the user.