# A Community-First Protocol ### The Elara Story: Tested, Secure, and Independent. We launched two years ago natively on Zircuit. In that time, Elara operated as the #1 lending protocol on the network, serving over 3,000 active users with zero security breaches. Our core mission has never changed: **to build the most secure, efficient, and user-friendly lending solutions in DeFi.** But the way we build has evolved. We have operated for two years with zero external funding. No VCs. No private seed rounds. No fragmented allegiances. We align perfectly with the Hyperliquid ethos because we share the same DNA. The true value of a decentralized network belongs to the users who provide liquidity and trade on the system. As Elara V2 grows, our economics, rights, and protocol governance will be shared directly with the community that supports us. We are building Elara V2 *with* the Hype Fam, entirely *for* the Hype Fam. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://learn.elara.finance/elara-v2-hyperevm-testnet/a-community-first-protocol.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.