Roles & Responsibilities

The Textile protocol is built on a network of interconnected roles. Each participant—whether supplying, managing, or borrowing capital—plays a part in shaping the supply chain and the flow of funds.

Dynamic Role Switching

One of the core features of Textile is that participants are not locked into a single role:

• A lender in one loan might be a curator in another.
• A borrower might eventually become a curator or capital provider.
• Roles are defined by position within the lending graph, not by fixed identity.

This creates a fluid, flexible ecosystem where reputation and behavior, not role titles, dictate access to capital.

Borrowers

Borrowers are individuals or businesses who access financing from lenders operating on the protocol. Although their interaction with Textile is indirect, the protocol facilitates the infrastructure behind each loan, often through junior pools managed by the lenders.

Lenders

Lenders are entities that manage junior pools and take the first-loss position on loans. They perform underwriting based on their own criteria and offer credit to borrowers.

Key responsibilities:

• Underwrite borrowers using internal or external data.
• Fund loans through their junior pool.
• Accept capital from senior vaults (curators or passive providers) – Available in V2.
• Build a track record to attract senior backing.

Lenders can also request backing from vaults (senior capital), effectively becoming borrowers in a different position on the graph.

Curators (Available in V2)

Curators are experienced market participants who manage senior vaults and evaluate which lenders (junior pools) to support. They act as underwriters for underwriters.

Key responsibilities:

• Allocate capital to lenders with strong reputations.
• Manage vault performance and risk exposure.
• Build a portfolio, and attract external capital sources.
• Bid on loan requests in the order book.
• Earn fees over the interest generated for their capital providers.

Capital Providers

Capital Providers are typically passive investors who stake funds into vaults with varying seniority.

Key responsibilities:

• Choose vaults to allocate funds to based on risk appetite.
• Rely on curators and protocol reputation scores for decision-making.
• Receive yield according to the vault’s position in the capital graph.

Capital Providers can be individuals, DAOs, or institutions seeking exposure to real-world yield opportunities with varying levels of risk.