Stablecoin Yield Products: A Low-Risk Option to Combat Market Fluctuation

In April 2025, Trump's tariff policy triggered turmoil in the global financial markets. He announced the implementation of "reciprocal tariffs" on major trading partners and imposed higher tax rates on countries such as China. These policies led to a short-term evaporation of $5.8 trillion in market value for the S&P 500, setting a historic decline. The price of Bitcoin also fluctuated violently in the range of $80,000 to $90,000.

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that tariffs could raise inflation and suppress economic growth, but the Fed will not intervene in the market by cutting interest rates. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have raised the probability of a U.S. recession to 20% and 45%, respectively. In this uncertain market environment, how should investors respond?

Low-risk DeFi yield products based on stablecoins might be a good choice for stabilizing assets during turbulent times. Below are four stablecoin yield products for investors' reference.

Spark Saving USDC (Ethereum)

Users can deposit USDC through the Spark platform to participate in savings. The earnings come from the Sky savings interest rate ( SSR ), generated by crypto-backed loan fees, U.S. Treasury investments, and providing liquidity to lending protocols. USDC is converted at a 1:1 ratio to USDS deposited in the SSR treasury to earn returns, and the value of the sUSDC token increases with accumulated earnings.

Risk Assessment: Low. USDC has high stability, and multiple audits reduce the risk of smart contracts. Attention should be paid to the potential impact of market Fluctuation on liquidity.

Berachain BYUSD|HONEY (Berachain)

Users can provide liquidity for the BYUSD/HONEY pool on Berachain's native DEX BEX, obtaining LP tokens and staking them to earn BGT in the reward vault. Earnings include BGT rewards of (3.41% APR) and trading fees within the pool of (0.01% APR). BGT can be burned 1:1 for BERA and share the fee revenue of core dApps.

Risk assessment: Low to medium. BYUSD and HONEY are stablecoins with stable prices; the risk of smart contracts is relatively low. However, BGT rewards may fluctuate due to emission adjustments.

Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 Pool (Uniswap V4)

Through the Merkl platform, users can provide liquidity for the USDC/USDT pool of Uniswap V4. Uniswap V4 introduces a "hook" mechanism that allows developers to customize pool functions, enhancing capital efficiency and yield potential.

Source of income: UNI token incentive.

Risk assessment: Low to moderate. Stablecoins have low price fluctuation risk, but attention should be paid to smart contract risks and the potential decline in returns after the incentive period ends.

Echelon Market USDC (Aptos)

Users can deposit USDC on the Echelon Market platform to participate in supply. This product is integrated with the Thala protocol, providing USDC supply interest of (5.35%) and Thala's thAPT rewards of (3.66%). thAPT is Thala's deposit certificate, which can be exchanged 1:1 for APT.

Risk Assessment: Low to Medium. USDC has high stability, but attention should be paid to the smart contract risks in the Aptos ecosystem and the impact of thAPT redemption fees on returns.

Summary

| Product | Chain | APY | TVL | |------|----|----|-----| | Spark Saving USDC | Ethereum | 3.63% | $195.63M | | Berachain BYUSD|HONEY | Berachain | 3.42% | $87.32M | | Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 | Uniswap V4 | 2.96% | $56.91M | | Echelon Market USDC | Aptos | 9.01% | $22.78M |

The above data is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors should make decisions based on their own risk preferences and market judgments.