What Borrowing Really Costs You
Spout charges no interest and no fees on loans. That does not mean borrowing is free of trade offs. Here is everything a borrower can give up.
1. Upside above the strike, sometimes
In a cycle where your asset rallies past its strike, you give up the move above the strike on the called shares. In cycles where it does not, you give up nothing. This is the main cost of borrowing on Spout, and it only exists when the stock is already rising.
The app shows an estimated borrower cost a year for each asset: an estimate of the value of upside you might give up over a year, expressed as a percentage of what you borrow. It is an estimate, not a charge. Your actual cost depends on how the stock moves.
2. A penalty, only if you are liquidated
If your LTV passes your asset's threshold, you pay a penalty of 4.1% to 12.5% of the collateral sold, depending on the asset. Borrowing well below the maximum makes this much less likely.
3. The issuer's spread when you buy
When you buy a tokenized stock, the issuer's quoted price includes its own spread. Spout adds nothing on top.
4. Network fees
Usually very small per transaction, paid in SOL to the Solana network, not to Spout.
How this compares with interest
| Margin interest | Spout | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical rate | 12.075% a year on balances under $25,000 at Schwab and Fidelity (broker rate pages, 13 October 2026) | 0% |
| When you pay | Every day, whatever the stock does | Only in a cycle where the stock rallies past the strike |
| In a flat or falling market | You still pay | No interest. A liquidation penalty applies only if your LTV passes your asset's threshold |
| Does the loan grow? | Yes, if interest is added to it | No |
| Compounding against you | Yes | No |
The trade suits people who want cash or leverage against a stock without paying for it in quiet or falling markets, and who accept giving up part of an occasional sharp rally.