Uncategorized
Innovation Amid Yield Compression: DeFi Lending Markets in Q1 2025

The first quarter of 2025 tells a clear story about DeFi’s evolution. While yields across major lending platforms have compressed significantly, innovation at the market’s edges demonstrates DeFi’s continued maturation and growth.
The Great Yield Compression
DeFi yields have declined sharply across all major lending platforms:
The vaults.fyi USD benchmark has fallen below 3.1%, below the U.S. 1-month T-bill yield of ~4.3% for the first time since late 2023. This benchmark, a weighted average across four leading markets, approached 14% in late 2024.
Spark has implemented four consecutive rate decreases in 2025 alone. Starting the year at 12.5%, rates were cut to 8.75%, then 6.5%, and now sit at 4.5%.
Aave’s stablecoin yields on mainnet are around 3% for USDC and USDT, levels that would have been considered disappointing just months ago.
This compression signals a market that’s cooled significantly from late-2024’s exuberance, with subdued borrower demand across major platforms.
The TVL Paradox: Growth Despite Lower Yields
Despite falling yields, major stablecoin vaults have experienced extraordinary growth:
Collectively, the largest vaults on Aave, Sky, Ethena, and Compound have nearly quadrupled in size over the past 12 months, expanding from about $4 billion to about $15 billion in supply-side deposits.
Despite Spark’s consecutive rate cuts, TVL has grown more than 3x from the start of 2025.
As yields have fallen from nearly 15% to under 5%, capital has remained sticky. This seemingly contradictory behavior reflects increasing institutional comfort with DeFi protocols as legitimate financial infrastructure rather than speculative vehicles.
The Rise of Curators: DeFi’s New Asset Managers
The emergence of curation represents a significant shift in DeFi lending. Protocols like Morpho and Euler have introduced curators who build, manage, and optimize lending vaults.
These curators serve as a new breed of DeFi asset managers, evaluating markets, setting risk parameters, and optimizing capital allocations to deliver enhanced yields. Unlike traditional service providers who merely advise protocols, curators actively manage capital deployment strategies across various lending opportunities.
On platforms like Morpho and Euler, curators handle risk management functions: selecting which assets can serve as collateral, setting appropriate loan-to-value ratios, choosing oracle price feeds, and implementing supply caps. They essentially build targeted lending strategies optimized for specific risk-reward profiles, sitting between passive lenders and sources of yield.
Firms like Gauntlet, previously service providers to protocols like Aave or Compound, now directly manage nearly $750 million in TVL across several protocols. With performance fees ranging from 0-15%, this potentially represents millions in annual revenue with significantly more upside than traditional service arrangements. Per a Morpho dashboard, curators have cumulatively generated nearly 3 million in revenue and based on Q1 revenue are on track to do 7.8mm in 2025.
The most successful curator strategies have maintained higher yields primarily by accepting higher-yielding collaterals at more aggressive LTV ratios, particularly leveraging Pendle LP tokens. This approach requires sophisticated risk management but delivers superior returns in the current compressed environment.
As concrete examples, yields on the largest USDC vaults on both Morpho and Euler have outperformed the vaults.fyi benchmark, showing 5-8% base yields and 6-12% yields inclusive of token rewards.
Protocol Stratification: A Layered Market
The compressed environment has created a distinct market structure:
1. Blue-chip Infrastructure (Aave, Compound, Sky)
Function similar to traditional money market funds
Offer modest yields (2.4-6.5%) with maximum security and liquidity
Have captured the lion’s share of TVL growth
2. Infrastructure Optimizers & Strategy Providers
Base Layer Optimizers: Platforms like Morpho and Euler provide modular infrastructure enabling greater capital efficiency
Strategy Providers: Specialized firms like MEV Capital, Smokehouse, and Gauntlet build on these platforms to deliver higher yields upwards of 12% on USDC and USDT (as of late March)
This two-tier relationship creates a more dynamic market where strategy providers can rapidly iterate on yield opportunities without building core infrastructure. The yields ultimately available to users depend on both the efficiency of the base protocol and the sophistication of strategies deployed on top.
This restructured market means users now navigate a more complex landscape where the relationship between protocols and strategies determines yield potential. While blue-chip protocols offer simplicity and safety, the combination of optimizing protocols and specialized strategies provides yields comparable to what previously existed on platforms like Aave or Compound during higher rate environments.
Chain by Chain: Where Yields Live Now
Despite the proliferation of L2s and alternative L1s, Ethereum mainnet continues to host many of the top yield opportunities, both inclusive and exclusive of token incentives. This persistence of Ethereum’s yield advantage is notable in a market where incentive programs have often shifted yield-seeking capital to newer chains.
Among mature chains (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Optimism), yields remain depressed across the board. Outside of mainnet, most of the attractive yield opportunities are concentrated on Base, suggesting its emerging role as a secondary yield hub.
Newer chains with substantial incentive programs (like Berachain and Sonic) show elevated yields, but the sustainability of these rates remains questionable as incentives eventually taper.
The DeFi Mullet: FinTech in the Front, DeFi in the Back
A significant development this quarter was Coinbase’s introduction of Bitcoin-collateralized loans powered by Morpho on its Base network. This integration represents the emerging «DeFi Mullet» thesis — fintech interfaces in the front, DeFi infrastructure in the back.
As Coinbase’s head of Consumer Products Max Branzburg has noted: «This is a moment where we’re planting a flag that Coinbase is coming on-chain, and we’re bringing millions of users with their billions of dollars.» The integration brings Morpho’s lending capabilities directly into Coinbase’s user interface, allowing users to borrow up to $100,000 in USDC against their bitcoin holdings.
This approach embodies the view that billions will eventually use Ethereum and DeFi protocols without knowing it — just as they use TCP/IP today without awareness. Traditional FinTech companies will increasingly adopt this strategy, keeping familiar interfaces while leveraging DeFi’s infrastructure.
The Coinbase implementation is particularly notable for its full-circle integration within the Coinbase ecosystem: users post BTC collateral to mint cbBTC (Coinbase’s wrapped Bitcoin on Base) and borrow USDC (Coinbase’s stablecoin) on Morpho (a Coinbase-funded lending platform) atop Base (Coinbase’s Layer 2 network).
Looking Forward: Catalysts for the Lending Market
Several factors could reshape the lending landscape through 2025:
Democratized curation: As curator models mature, could AI agents in crypto eventually enable everyone to become their own curator? While still early, advances in on-chain automation suggest a future where customized risk-yield optimization becomes more accessible to retail users.
RWA integration: The continued evolution of real-world asset integration could introduce new yield sources less correlated with crypto market cycles.
Institutional adoption: The scaling institutional comfort with DeFi infrastructure suggests growing capital flows that could alter lending dynamics.
Specialized lending niches: The emergence of highly specialized lending markets targeting specific user needs beyond simple yield generation.
The protocols best positioned to thrive will be those that can operate efficiently across the risk spectrum, serving both conservative institutional capital and more aggressive yield-seekers, through increasingly sophisticated risk management and capital optimization strategies.
Uncategorized
BNB Hovers Above $648 as Maxwell Hard Fork Upgrade Set to Double Block Production Speed

BNB BNB traded in a narrow range on Sunday, reflecting resilience amid low volatility as the BNB Chain community gears up for a significant infrastructure upgrade, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
The Maxwell hard fork upgrade scheduled for June 30 is poised to enhance the performance of the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) mainnet by cutting block times from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds—doubling the chain’s throughput potential.
This upgrade builds on earlier milestones like the Lorentz fork, which reduced block time from 3 seconds and introduced enhanced network stability. Maxwell moves BSC into sub-second block speeds, helping it compete more directly with faster chains such as Solana.
The hard fork will be powered by three protocol improvement proposals: BEP-524, BEP-563 and BEP-564. These measures overhaul key components of validator coordination and consensus mechanics. Notably, validators will now serve longer block proposal turns (16 blocks per turn), and the epoch length is being extended from 500 to 1,000 blocks — changes expected to stabilize performance even under accelerated conditions.
To avoid network congestion and excessive state growth, the per-block gas limit will be halved from 70 million to 35 million. Improvements on the networking side are also expected, with faster block propagation among validators — within 400 milliseconds —and improved range synchronization for lagging nodes.
Named after physicist James Clerk Maxwell, the upgrade is designed to balance speed with stability, aiming to elevate BNB Chain’s standing across DeFi, GameFi, and enterprise blockchain sectors. By delivering more responsive block finality and smoother validator participation, the Maxwell hard fork could help drive future adoption and developer growth across the ecosystem.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- Between June 28 15:00 UTC and June 29 14:00 UTC, BNB climbed from $646.29 to $650.25, a 0.61% gain with a $5.75 (0.89%) trading range.
- The price found key support at $647.11 during the 02:00 UTC hour on June 29, with above-average volume of 10,034 units.
- Resistance emerged at $651.30 during the 12:00 UTC hour, capping further gains.Notable volume spikes at 07:00 and 09:00 UTC (18,696 and 22,494 units, respectively) confirmed persistent buyer interest above $648.
- From 13:05 to 14:04 UTC on June 29, BNB dipped slightly from $650.85 to $650.25, posting a 0.09% intraday loss.
- Price briefly hit a session peak of $651.07 at 13:23 UTC before rejecting lower, with a volume spike of 957.81 units at 13:25 UTC.
- As of 21:24 UTC, BNB traded at $648.37, paring earlier gains and holding below resistance near the $651 level.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Uncategorized
Ondo Finance: ‘2025 Will Be the Year of Tokenized Stocks’

Ondo (ONDO) ONDO rose 1.5% to $0.7671 over the past 24 hours, holding near recent highs after a week of gains, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
The move comes roughly two weeks after Ondo Finance disclosed a new industry collaboration focused on setting standards for tokenized securities.
In a June 17 blog post, the firm announced the creation of the Global Markets Alliance, a group of wallets, exchanges, and custodians working together to improve interoperability, investor protections, and access to tokenized real-world assets. Participants include the Solana Foundation, BitGo, Fireblocks, Jupiter, 1inch, Trust Wallet, Bitget Wallet, Rainbow Wallet, and Alpaca.
The announcement comes ahead of Ondo’s planned launch of Ondo Global Markets, a platform aimed at allowing crypto wallets and applications to offer tokenized exposure to U.S. publicly traded securities, such as stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, for users based outside the U.S. According to the company, the initiative is intended to reduce frictions associated with traditional capital market infrastructure and broaden global access.
Each member of the alliance is contributing in a different capacity. Wallet providers like Trust Wallet and Rainbow Wallet are integrating Ondo’s tokenized asset standards, while exchanges such as Jupiter and aggregators like 1inch are expected to support programmatic access to tokenized assets. BitGo and Fireblocks are providing institutional custody and infrastructure, and Alpaca is handling brokerage and regulatory services tailored to tokenized securities.
The firm said the group will work to align technical and compliance standards for tokenized securities, improve cross-platform access and liquidity, and support use cases such as self-custody and onchain trading. While the alliance has not committed to a specific timeline, its members have framed the initiative as part of a longer-term shift toward integrating traditional financial products into blockchain-based systems.
In a post on X dated June 28, Ondo Finance wrote that “2025 will be the year of tokenized stocks,” indicating the team’s belief that adoption of tokenized financial instruments may accelerate in the coming quarters.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- Between June 28 15:00 UTC and June 29 14:00 UTC, ONDO rose from $0.749 to $0.769, a 2.67% gain within a 3.33% trading range.
- Strong support was confirmed at $0.755 with high volume during the 21:00 UTC hour on June 28.
- Key resistance at $0.765 was broken during the 00:00 UTC hour on June 29, when volume spiked to 8.9 million.
- From 13:05 to 14:04 UTC on June 29, ONDO fell slightly from $0.773 to $0.769, a 0.58% drop, with notable selling at 13:33 UTC.
- A temporary support level formed at $0.768 as multiple recovery attempts above $0.769 failed in the final minutes.
- Price action during the final hour formed a descending channel with lower highs, but the last candle hinted at potential reversal.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Uncategorized
Coinbase Outpaces S&P 500 With 43% June Rise as Stablecoin Narrative Grows: CNBC

Shares of Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) rose 43% this month, making the firm the top performer in the S&P 500 since it joined the index at the end of last month.
June’s run is already the stock’s best since November and caps three straight monthly gains. Coinbase’s shares reached their highest level since their public debut.
COIN hit a $382 high this week before enduring a slight correction, ending the week at $353 and seeing a slight 0.7% drop in after-hours trading to $351.
The wider S&P 500 index rose roughly 5% in June as geopolitical tensions eased.
Washington’s progress on the GENIUS Act, Congress’s first rulebook for dollar-pegged stablecoins, helped shift investor focus from trading fees to stablecoin revenue.
The bill brightened the outlook for Circle, whose shares hit a record high and saw its market cap near that of Coinbase this week.
Coinbase keeps all yield on USDC balances held on its platform and nearly half of other USDC income, equal to about 99 percent of Circle’s revenue, giving shareholders indirect exposure at no added cost, CNBC reported Friday, citing analysts including Citizens’ head of financial technology research Devin Ryan.
Trading, however, remains subdued. Average daily volume on Coinbase has drifted lower since April.
-
Business9 месяцев ago
3 Ways to make your business presentation more relatable
-
Entertainment9 месяцев ago
10 Artists who retired from music and made a comeback
-
Fashion9 месяцев ago
According to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Entertainment9 месяцев ago
\’Better Call Saul\’ has been renewed for a fourth season
-
Business9 месяцев ago
15 Habits that could be hurting your business relationships
-
Entertainment9 месяцев ago
Disney\’s live-action Aladdin finally finds its stars
-
Entertainment9 месяцев ago
New Season 8 Walking Dead trailer flashes forward in time
-
Tech9 месяцев ago
5 Crowdfunded products that actually delivered on the hype