---
title: vaults
canonical_url: https://ensurance.app/manual/vaults
markdown_url: https://ensurance.app/manual/vaults.md
subtitle: institutional layer — no deposit surface yet
section: mechanisms
---

# vaults

*institutional layer — no deposit surface yet*

Vaults are the institutional layer of the model: one deposit, held as a share of many ensurance instruments. There is no vault to deposit into.

:::johnson
**no deposit surface.** There is no vaults page and no vaults API. Do not integrate a teller, a share token, or a net-asset-value feed.
:::

## why

Large allocators often cannot operate an agent. They want one deposit, a share of a diversified book, and someone else to allocate. That is the job a vault would do. The protocol does not offer it yet.

The live way to pool instruments is an agent. A syndicate is an agent that holds certificates and coins from other agents. See [agents](/manual/agents).

## what

| | Syndicate (live) | Vault (not live) |
|--|------------------|------------------|
| Who holds the book | an agent account | a share contract |
| Who deposits | anyone who can fund that agent | a passive depositor |
| What you hold | the instruments, inside the agent | a share of the book |
| Status | in the app | no product |

Themes a vault might one day hold — water, fire, a region — are already expressible as agents, coins, and certificates. The missing piece is the deposit contract, not the theme.

## how

Do not integrate a vault. Browse agents, coins, and certificates. Pool through an agent.

| Need | Use |
|------|-----|
| see agents | [agents](/manual/agents), `GET /api/accounts` |
| see coins | [coins](/manual/coins), `GET /api/general` |
| see certificates | [certificates](/manual/certificates), `GET /api/specific/tokens` |

## related

- [agents](/manual/agents) — the live way to hold a book of instruments
- [pools](/manual/pools) — liquidity for coins
- [proceeds](/manual/proceeds) — how value routes
- [certificates](/manual/certificates) — direct funding