Crypto finance is beginning to look at lot more traditional, Aave and Ethena founders say

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Crypto finance is beginning to look at lot more traditional, Aave and Ethena founders say Until recently, crypto users mostly traded tokens or borrowed against them, often chasing high, but unpredictable yields. New tools allow them to lock in returns, even in a market known for big swings. By Margaux Nijkerk | Edited by Sheldon Reback Mar 24, 2026, 4:05 p.m. Make us preferred on Google Aave Labs founder Stani Kulechov and Ethena founder + CEO Guy Young (Margaux Nijkerk/ CoinDesk) What to know : Crypto is evolving beyond trading into more stable, predictable return products, similar to bonds, as new tools let users lock in or manage yield despite market volatility, said the heads of Aave and Ethena. While DeFi yields still rely heavily on trading activity and leverage, Stani Kulechov and Guy Young said returns will increasingly come from traditional finance assets moving onchain. Crypto finance is only now beginning to provide an environment that matches traditional finance: ways to earn steadier, more predictable returns — similar to bonds or savings products, according to Aave Labs founder Stani Kulechov and Ethena CEO Guy Young. “Most fixed income is like the distribution of risk in different formats … basically just slicing and dicing and distributing risk,” Young said during a panel at Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York. “This piece of DeFi was probably the least featured two years ago.” Until recently, crypto users mostly traded tokens or borrowed against them, often chasing high, unpredictable yields. New tools make it possible to lock in returns, even in a market known for big swings. “What you’re doing with Pendle is providing a fixed-to-floating rate swap,” Young said, referring to a system that lets users choose between more stable or more variable returns — similar to choosing between fixed or adjustable interest rates. That’s not easy in crypto. “It’s very difficult to know three months out what the market is actually going to look like,” he said. Kulechov said Aave has helped support this shift by providing deep pools of capital that other projects can tap into. “Aave is sort of acting as a liquidity sink,” he said, helping “bootstrap a lot of the new coming products in DeFi.” For now, much of the money being made still depends on trading rather than traditional lending. “A lot of DeFi yield … is largely still based on … leverage,” Kulechov said. Over time, that could change as more real-world assets move onchain, a process known as tokenization. “A lot of the yields and a lot of the economics will come from the traditional finance,” he said. Read more: Ethena-backed suiUSDe stablecoin goes live on Sui with $10 million yield vault launch DeFi Ethereum News More For You Tether hires a 'Big Four' firm for a full audit of USDT reserves By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Stephen Alpher 2 hours ago The audit aims to address long-standing questions over USDT reserves and push new disclosure standards. What to know : Tether has hired a Big Four accounting firm to conduct its first full financial statement audit of the reserves backing its $184 billion USDT stablecoin. The company, which has previously released only periodic attestations, said the audit will involve a detailed review of its assets, liabilities, controls and reporting systems. Tether did not name the firm but said it was chosen through a competitive process, amid longstanding criticism and scrutiny over whether USDT is fully backed one-to-one by liquid reserves. Read full story Latest Crypto News Why cautious TradFi firms love staked ether 9 minutes ago Bitcoin slips below $70,000, Circle's 16% slide leads crypto stock sell-off 35 minutes ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: Polkadot (DOT) drops 2.3% as index trades lower 2 hours ago Tether hires a 'Big Four' firm for a full audit of USDT reserves 2 hours ago Bitcoin may have already bottomed out near $60,000. Here’s why. 2 hours ago Solana Foundation taps Mastercard, Western Union, Worldpay for institutional developer platform 3 hours ago Top Stories Stablecoin yield in crypto Clarity Act won't allow rewards on balances, latest text says 17 hours ago New York Stock Exchange taps Securitize to build its tokenized stock platform 3 hours ago Bitcoin finds stability at 2023 investor cost basis, echoing past cycle 4 hours ago Balancer Labs will shut down as corporate entity became 'a liability' after $110 million exploit 9 hours ago Wall Street broker Bernstein calls bitcoin bottom, keeps $150,000 year-end target 3 hours ago Here’s how Treasuries could shape Trump’s Iran war and bitcoin moves 8 hours ago