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DeFi Lending Yields

Last updated · daily

The same dollar, lent on 5 venues. What does each one pay?

Stablecoin lending yields differ by venue, and this page compares them side by side. As of Sep 2026 the average across 5 tracked pools is 3.21%, ranging from 2.70% on Aave V3 · Arbitrum · USDC to 3.64% on Compound V3 · Ethereum · USDC.

This page tracks base APY — the interest borrowers pay lenders, excluding token incentives — across 5 institutional stablecoin lending pools spanning two protocols, two networks and three stablecoins. Comparing across venues shows when one is offering a genuine premium rather than a transient one: a premium that holds across several pools is a rate signal, while one isolated to a single pool is usually a liquidity event resolving itself.

Date range shown. Every series is already computed over its full history; this selects the window drawn, and All shows each pool from its own start.
Smoothing applied to every pool line and to the average. On-chain rates spike when borrow demand pushes utilization past 90%, so the default is a 7-day trailing average; use Raw to inspect the spike days themselves.
Cross-Pool Average
3.21% 5 pools reporting, Sep 2026
Level
Compressed yield by cross-pool average
Highest Pool
3.64% Compound V3 · Ethereum · USDC
Lowest Pool
2.70% Aave V3 · Arbitrum · USDC
Cross-Pool Spread
0.94pp highest less lowest
Stablecoin Supply
$303.0B total supply, Sep 2026

Base APY by Pool

Each tracked pool on its own line, in a single-hue ramp: the shade separates the lines and the legend carries the identity — no ordering is implied. Where the lines bunch, the cross-pool market is well arbitraged; where they fan out, idiosyncratic borrow demand is pushing one venue above the rest. Each pool begins on its own date, listed in the methodology below.
The axis is capped for readability; single-day liquidity events run well above it. Source: Stablecoin Beat · 2026-09-13.

The Average against Stablecoin Supply

The cross-pool average on the right axis against total stablecoin supply on the left. The average takes whichever pools reported that day. All 5 report on 81% of the series and first did so together on Jun 2023, with 4 later days short of the full set. The series opens on a single pool and runs 269 days below 5 in total. Readings that average fewer venues are not directly comparable with those that average all of them.
Measured over this page’s own history: across the 398 days the average sat above 5%, supply 30 days later was higher on 96% of them, by +3.84% on average; across the 488 days below 3%, higher on 31%, by -0.50%. Two co-moving variables, not a one-way causal claim. Source: Stablecoin Beat · 2026-09-13.

Where the Average Sits

Four levels, placed by boundaries that are Stablecoin Beat’s own. A label states where the current reading falls in a range we have divided; it does not say whether the level is good for anyone.

Above 8% · High yield

Base yields elevated by the standards of this series. Whether that beats risk-free government paper depends on the live T-bill rate, which the DeFi yield spread page carries.

4% to 8% · Normal yield

Mid-range yields. Cross-pool dispersion is typically narrow here, with most pools within a point or two of the average, so the venue matters less than the level.

1.5% to 4% · Compressed yield

The range the average occupies most often. On-chain lending pays little over holding the stablecoin itself, and the venue comparison above matters more than the headline number.

Below 1.5% · Yield collapse

Effectively no on-chain yield premium: deep quiet in borrow demand, or a rate environment that has drained it. Across the 21 days the average has sat this low, total stablecoin supply was lower 30 days later on 100% of them, by -2.67% on average.

Methodology

The pools. 5 institutional stablecoin lending pools, each with its own start date:

The average, and why its basket changes. An unweighted mean across whichever pools reported on a given day — a small pool moves it as much as a large one. Because the pools begin on different dates, the average is computed over a changing basket. It opens on one pool, first carries all 5 on Jun 2023, and runs 269 of its days below the full set — including 4 after the basket was first complete, so the full set is not continuous either. Restricting the series to the days when all 5 report would restate a published series, so the composition is disclosed rather than truncated.

Base APY. The interest borrowers pay lenders, excluding protocol-token reward incentives. Reward APY is tracked in the data but excluded here: emissions can signal a subsidy competing for mercenary capital rather than an organic economic rate.

Smoothing. Per-pool rates spike when sudden borrow demand pushes utilization past 90%. A 7-day trailing average is applied by default to every line and to the average; Raw shows the spike days themselves and the 30-day view the structural trend.

The cross-pool spread. Highest pool minus lowest on the latest observation. It is a snapshot, not a window, and it is undefined in any period where only one pool reported.

The co-movement figures. Computed on each build from this page’s own average and the deep stablecoin supply compilation, over a 30-day forward window, and reported with their sample sizes. They are keyed to the same level constants as the labels above, so if a boundary changes the measurement changes with it.

What this page does not adjust for. Pool-specific risk. The tracked pools differ in collateral mix, utilization profile, oracle dependencies and liquidation design. A premium of half a percentage point may simply price higher implicit smart-contract or collateral risk rather than an arbitrage. Treat yield spreads as a screen for further work, not an allocation signal.

Updated daily. See the methodology for data sources and coverage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cross-pool average?

The mean base APY across the stablecoin lending pools tracked on this page, computed for each day from whichever pools reported that day. It is a simple average, not weighted by pool size, so a small pool moves it as much as a large one.

Why does the basket of pools change over time?

The 5 pools did not all begin reporting at once. The series opens with a single pool and reaches its full 5 on Jun 2023, so readings from the earliest part of the chart average fewer venues than recent ones and are not directly comparable with them.

What is base APY and why exclude token rewards?

Base APY is the interest borrowers pay lenders. Reward APY — protocol tokens emitted to attract deposits — is tracked in the data but excluded here, because emissions can signal a subsidy competing for mercenary capital rather than an organic economic rate. Excluding them understates what a yield-seeker would actually earn and isolates what the lending market itself is paying.

What does the cross-pool spread tell me?

The gap between the highest and lowest pool on the latest observation. A gap that persists suggests one venue is offering a real premium, usually from chain-specific borrow demand or a protocol-specific capital constraint. A gap that appears for a day or two is usually a liquidity event resolving itself.

Do higher DeFi yields coincide with stablecoin supply growth?

Measured over this page’s own history, yes, in both directions: across the 398 days the cross-pool average sat above 5%, total supply 30 days later was higher on 96% of them, by +3.84% on average; across the 488 days below 3%, higher on only 31%, by -0.50%. That is co-movement between two variables, not evidence that one moves the other.

Does a yield premium on one pool mean free money?

No. The tracked pools differ in collateral mix, utilization, oracle dependencies and liquidation design. A premium of half a percentage point may simply price higher implicit smart-contract or collateral risk. Treat cross-pool spreads as a screen for further protocol-by-protocol work, not an allocation signal.

What does the current average of 3.21% mean?

As of Sep 2026 the cross-pool average is 3.21%. Where that sits against risk-free government paper is the question the DeFi yield spread page answers, since it depends on the live T-bill rate rather than on the yield alone.

Cite as: Stablecoin Beat Research, “DeFi lending yields, cross-pool comparison,” stablecoinbeat.com/charts/defi-yields/, retrieved Sep 2026.