Cryptocurrencies
New Twist on Old Bond-Market Strategy Lures Billions Into Crypto Project
- Pendle splits crypto’s yield-bearing assets into two tokens
- Critics say protocol encourages more speculation and risk
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One of the hottest projects in decentralized finance is attracting billions of dollars by combining a long-time bond market maneuver with one of this year’s most popular crypto marketing strategies.
The project, Pendle Finance, splits yield-bearing cryptocurrencies into two tokens, similar to the stripping of principal and interest payments that has been a mainstay in the bond market for more than half a century. Until recently, the total value locked, or staked to the application, had lingered below $250 million pretty much since its launch in 2020 despite the high returns of 30% or more offered on many of the stripped yield-paying tokens, according to data tracker DeFiLlama.