Weekly Alpha: Your edge in DeFi before everyone else figures it out.

📚 This Week's Intel

🎧 Podcast Picks

🧑‍🌾 Where to Deploy Stablecoins: 4 Yield Strategies Compared

🧐 Onchain Analytics

The signal from the noise, this week's developments that actually matter for your DeFi positioning.

I've filtered through the endless stream of headlines, hot takes, and crypto Twitter drama to bring you the stories moving the ecosystem forward. These aren't just news updates; they're intelligence briefings on where capital is flowing, which narratives are gaining traction, and what regulatory shifts could reshape your strategy.

Skip the timeline doom-scrolling. This is your weekly intel drop.

LayerZero launches 'Zero' Layer 1 blockchain with backing from Citadel Securities, Ark Invest, Google Cloud, and DTCC. Claims 2M TPS (~100,000x faster than Ethereum, ~500x faster than Solana). CEO: "We can bring the entire global economy onchain.".

Read the full article

Robinhood launched its public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum L2 built on Arbitrum with $2.3B TVL. The testnet lets developers build apps for tokenized real-world assets, lending, and perpetual futures - first step toward moving all Robinhood infrastructure on-chain.

Read the full article

Other news

• Vitalik draws line between ‘real DeFi’ and centralized yield stablecoins - read

• Trend Research cuts ETH exposure by over 400K as liquidation risk rises - read

• MegaETH Unveils Token Buyback and TGE Plan - read

• Uniswap ETF enters the chat: Bitwise files a registration statement with the SEC - read

• Robinhood shares fall after earnings as crypto revenue slides 38% in Q4 - read

• BlackRock enters DeFi as institutional crypto push accelerates: Finance Redefined - read

• Binance France CEO Targeted in Home Invasion Attempt - read

• Aave Labs seeks $50M grant to redirect product revenue to DAO -

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This week’s audio alpha: handpicked conversations that shaped my thinking and could shift yours too.

I sift through hours of DeFi content so you don't have to. These are the episodes worth your commute, the insights that made me pause and rewind, and the perspectives that are moving markets before they hit mainstream media.

Queue these up and stay ahead of the narrative.

Subscribe

Sky Lending’s SUSDS pool is offering a steady 4.00% APY with nearly $5B in TVL, making it the largest stablecoin yield opportunity in DeFi right now. This represents a consistent yield that’s been stable at 4% over the past 30 days, suggesting strong demand and sustainable economics.

How it works

• Deposit stablecoins into Sky’s SUSDS savings rate mechanism

• Earn yield from Sky’s lending protocol revenue and DSR mechanics

• Benefit from MakerDAO’s rebrand momentum and institutional adoption

Current Yields: On-chain: 4.00%, 30-day average: 4.00%

Key details

• $4.87B TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• Sky protocol smart contract risk

• Direct deposit access

My take

With $4.87B TVL and rock-solid 4% yields, Sky is becoming the new benchmark for risk-free stablecoin returns. The consistency here is impressive.

Maple’s USDC pool is delivering 4.4% APY with $3.71B TVL, representing one of the highest yields for traditional stablecoins. The 30-day average of 5.14% shows this pool has been even more attractive recently, though yields have compressed slightly.

How it works

• Lend USDC to institutional borrowers through Maple’s credit-based system

• Earn yield from loan interest paid by verified institutional counterparties

• Benefit from Maple’s underwriting and risk assessment framework

Current Yields: On-chain: 4.5%, 30-day average: 5.14%

Key details

• $3.71B TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• Credit risk from institutional borrowers

• Pool delegate screening required

My take

Maple continues to offer premium yields for those willing to take credit risk. The slight yield compression from 5.14% to 4.5% suggests strong demand, but still beats most alternatives.

Ethena’s sUSDe is pulling in $3.63B TVL while offering 3.30% APY, down from a 30-day average of 4.35%. This synthetic dollar strategy remains one of the largest stablecoin plays, though yields have compressed as the protocol matures.

How it works

• Stake USDe tokens to earn yield from Ethena’s delta-neutral trading strategy

• Benefit from funding rate arbitrage and staking rewards

• Participate in Ethena’s synthetic dollar ecosystem growth

Current Yields: On-chain: 3.30%, 30-day average: 4.35%

Key details

• $3.63B TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• Synthetic asset and funding rate risks

• Direct staking interface

My take

The yield drop from 4.35% to 3.30% reflects Ethena’s growing maturity and competition. Still solid for a synthetic dollar play, but the premium is shrinking.

Merkl’s RLUSD pool is offering 4.15% APY purely through rewards with $619M TVL, though down from a 30-day average of 4.71%. This newly launched Ripple stablecoin is seeing significant incentive programs to bootstrap liquidity.

How it works

• Provide RLUSD liquidity to earn Merkl protocol rewards

• Benefit from early adopter incentives for Ripple’s new stablecoin

• Participate in cross-protocol reward distribution mechanisms

Current Yields: Rewards: 4.15%, 30-day average: 4.71%

Key details

• $619M TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• New stablecoin adoption risk

• Merkl rewards interface

My take

RLUSD incentives are generous but fading from 4.71% to 4.15%. Early stage stablecoin with solid backing, but rewards dependency is high.

Recently launched, MegaETH is steadily growing in terms of TVL. Performance has been solid given current market conditions, not exactly the ideal time for a launch, but builders remain undeterred by macro headwinds.

The chain currently holds $66.85M in TVL with a limited number of dApps deployed.

MegaETH recorded 149.99K active addresses yesterday, representing a 439.67% increase over the last 7 days.

On the dApp front, the ecosystem remains sparse. Kumbaya dominates the protocol rankings by a significant margin with $51.88M TVL and over 30% TVL growth in the last 30 days.

There is currently no MegaETH token, though one is expected to launch soon. This could drive a spike in activity in the mid-term, assuming the protocol finds product-market fit.

My Take

MegaETH has enormous potential, but success hinges on attracting builders and executing a strong TGE. As Vitalik has noted, the current state of L2s doesn’t make much sense; they’re not paying enough rent to Ethereum mainnet. We haven’t yet seen a real-time blockchain handle substantial user activity, so it’s difficult to predict how MegaETH will perform under load or how the token will fare post-launch.

That said, I believe there could be compelling opportunities with asymmetric risk/reward for those positioned early in the MegaETH ecosystem.

That’s it for this week.

If you found this edition valuable, please consider sharing it with your network — it helps grow our community and keeps the alpha flowing.

Follow me on X and Farcaster

Leave a comment

None of the information in this newsletter constitutes financial advice. While I personally use most of the protocols that I discuss, it's important to understand that they involve substantial risk. Don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose

Thanks for reading Yannis' DeFi Digest! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe

Weekly Alpha: Your edge in DeFi before everyone else figures it out.

📚 This Week's Intel

🎧 Podcast Picks

🧑‍🌾 Where to Deploy Stablecoins: 4 Yield Strategies Compared

🧐 Onchain Analytics

The signal from the noise, this week's developments that actually matter for your DeFi positioning.

I've filtered through the endless stream of headlines, hot takes, and crypto Twitter drama to bring you the stories moving the ecosystem forward. These aren't just news updates; they're intelligence briefings on where capital is flowing, which narratives are gaining traction, and what regulatory shifts could reshape your strategy.

Skip the timeline doom-scrolling. This is your weekly intel drop.

LayerZero launches 'Zero' Layer 1 blockchain with backing from Citadel Securities, Ark Invest, Google Cloud, and DTCC. Claims 2M TPS (~100,000x faster than Ethereum, ~500x faster than Solana). CEO: "We can bring the entire global economy onchain.".

Read the full article

Robinhood launched its public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum L2 built on Arbitrum with $2.3B TVL. The testnet lets developers build apps for tokenized real-world assets, lending, and perpetual futures - first step toward moving all Robinhood infrastructure on-chain.

Read the full article

Other news

• Vitalik draws line between ‘real DeFi’ and centralized yield stablecoins - read

• Trend Research cuts ETH exposure by over 400K as liquidation risk rises - read

• MegaETH Unveils Token Buyback and TGE Plan - read

• Uniswap ETF enters the chat: Bitwise files a registration statement with the SEC - read

• Robinhood shares fall after earnings as crypto revenue slides 38% in Q4 - read

• BlackRock enters DeFi as institutional crypto push accelerates: Finance Redefined - read

• Binance France CEO Targeted in Home Invasion Attempt - read

• Aave Labs seeks $50M grant to redirect product revenue to DAO -

Subscribe

This week’s audio alpha: handpicked conversations that shaped my thinking and could shift yours too.

I sift through hours of DeFi content so you don't have to. These are the episodes worth your commute, the insights that made me pause and rewind, and the perspectives that are moving markets before they hit mainstream media.

Queue these up and stay ahead of the narrative.

Subscribe

Sky Lending’s SUSDS pool is offering a steady 4.00% APY with nearly $5B in TVL, making it the largest stablecoin yield opportunity in DeFi right now. This represents a consistent yield that’s been stable at 4% over the past 30 days, suggesting strong demand and sustainable economics.

How it works

• Deposit stablecoins into Sky’s SUSDS savings rate mechanism

• Earn yield from Sky’s lending protocol revenue and DSR mechanics

• Benefit from MakerDAO’s rebrand momentum and institutional adoption

Current Yields: On-chain: 4.00%, 30-day average: 4.00%

Key details

• $4.87B TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• Sky protocol smart contract risk

• Direct deposit access

My take

With $4.87B TVL and rock-solid 4% yields, Sky is becoming the new benchmark for risk-free stablecoin returns. The consistency here is impressive.

Maple’s USDC pool is delivering 4.4% APY with $3.71B TVL, representing one of the highest yields for traditional stablecoins. The 30-day average of 5.14% shows this pool has been even more attractive recently, though yields have compressed slightly.

How it works

• Lend USDC to institutional borrowers through Maple’s credit-based system

• Earn yield from loan interest paid by verified institutional counterparties

• Benefit from Maple’s underwriting and risk assessment framework

Current Yields: On-chain: 4.5%, 30-day average: 5.14%

Key details

• $3.71B TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• Credit risk from institutional borrowers

• Pool delegate screening required

My take

Maple continues to offer premium yields for those willing to take credit risk. The slight yield compression from 5.14% to 4.5% suggests strong demand, but still beats most alternatives.

Ethena’s sUSDe is pulling in $3.63B TVL while offering 3.30% APY, down from a 30-day average of 4.35%. This synthetic dollar strategy remains one of the largest stablecoin plays, though yields have compressed as the protocol matures.

How it works

• Stake USDe tokens to earn yield from Ethena’s delta-neutral trading strategy

• Benefit from funding rate arbitrage and staking rewards

• Participate in Ethena’s synthetic dollar ecosystem growth

Current Yields: On-chain: 3.30%, 30-day average: 4.35%

Key details

• $3.63B TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• Synthetic asset and funding rate risks

• Direct staking interface

My take

The yield drop from 4.35% to 3.30% reflects Ethena’s growing maturity and competition. Still solid for a synthetic dollar play, but the premium is shrinking.

Merkl’s RLUSD pool is offering 4.15% APY purely through rewards with $619M TVL, though down from a 30-day average of 4.71%. This newly launched Ripple stablecoin is seeing significant incentive programs to bootstrap liquidity.

How it works

• Provide RLUSD liquidity to earn Merkl protocol rewards

• Benefit from early adopter incentives for Ripple’s new stablecoin

• Participate in cross-protocol reward distribution mechanisms

Current Yields: Rewards: 4.15%, 30-day average: 4.71%

Key details

• $619M TVL

• Ethereum mainnet

• New stablecoin adoption risk

• Merkl rewards interface

My take

RLUSD incentives are generous but fading from 4.71% to 4.15%. Early stage stablecoin with solid backing, but rewards dependency is high.

Recently launched, MegaETH is steadily growing in terms of TVL. Performance has been solid given current market conditions, not exactly the ideal time for a launch, but builders remain undeterred by macro headwinds.

The chain currently holds $66.85M in TVL with a limited number of dApps deployed.

MegaETH recorded 149.99K active addresses yesterday, representing a 439.67% increase over the last 7 days.

On the dApp front, the ecosystem remains sparse. Kumbaya dominates the protocol rankings by a significant margin with $51.88M TVL and over 30% TVL growth in the last 30 days.

There is currently no MegaETH token, though one is expected to launch soon. This could drive a spike in activity in the mid-term, assuming the protocol finds product-market fit.

My Take

MegaETH has enormous potential, but success hinges on attracting builders and executing a strong TGE. As Vitalik has noted, the current state of L2s doesn’t make much sense; they’re not paying enough rent to Ethereum mainnet. We haven’t yet seen a real-time blockchain handle substantial user activity, so it’s difficult to predict how MegaETH will perform under load or how the token will fare post-launch.

That said, I believe there could be compelling opportunities with asymmetric risk/reward for those positioned early in the MegaETH ecosystem.

That’s it for this week.

If you found this edition valuable, please consider sharing it with your network — it helps grow our community and keeps the alpha flowing.

Follow me on X and Farcaster

Leave a comment

None of the information in this newsletter constitutes financial advice. While I personally use most of the protocols that I discuss, it's important to understand that they involve substantial risk. Don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose

Thanks for reading Yannis' DeFi Digest! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe