According to Blockworks, Gearbox Protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform known for its leverage and lending products, has announced plans to launch its v3 upgrade later this month. The new version introduces an Onchain Credit Layer, which aims to redefine the concept of credit in DeFi, NFTs, and beyond. The core innovation of v3 is account abstraction, allowing users to control individual credit accounts with smart contracts that manage collateral and borrowed funds.

A Gearbox DAO contributor, IvanGBi, explained that the protocol will design credit accounts to unlock composable credit without touching the wallet layer where people own assets or the protocol layer where liquidity is. On-chain credit will operate similarly to an in-store credit card, providing users with access to increased capital across various DeFi protocols. Gearbox v3 will focus on all-seasonal leverage that is not subject to different market conditions and will introduce collateral limits for new and large assets, adjustable through governance and rate markets.

IvanGBi also highlighted that Gearbox v3 will feature modular and composable pools, allowing users to deploy and redeploy different pools as they choose. This could lead to Gearbox pools governed by gear holders, pools specific for KYCed institutions, or other DAOs creating their own Gearbox with their own parameters.