The expectation of interest rate hikes and intensified trade friction have increased market Fluctuation, low-risk stablecoin products may serve as a hedging option.

In April 2025, the global financial markets experienced severe turmoil. A series of trade policy adjustments triggered a strong market reaction. The S&P 500 index evaporated $5.8 trillion in market value in just four days, marking the largest single-week drop in over 70 years. The cryptocurrency market also saw significant fluctuations, with Bitcoin prices swinging dramatically between $80,000 and $90,000.

In the face of such fluctuations, the Federal Reserve Chairman stated in a public speech on April 17 that although new trade policies may push up inflation and suppress economic growth, the central bank will not easily resort to interest rate cuts to intervene in the market, but will continue to focus on long-term economic data trends. Several well-known investment banks have also raised their expectations for the probability of a recession in the United States.

In such a highly uncertain market environment, how should investors respond? Low-risk stablecoin yield products in the decentralized finance ( DeFi ) space may be one of the options worth considering. These products can provide investors with relatively stable returns during periods of market volatility. The following introduces four types of yield products based on stablecoins for reference.

It is important to note that the content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice. Investors should conduct thorough independent research and analysis before making decisions.

Spark Saving USDC ( Ethereum )

Users can connect their wallets through the official website of a certain DeFi platform, select the Savings USDC product, and deposit USDC to earn returns.

The returns of this product mainly come from the Sky savings interest rate ( SSR ). The earnings of SSR are supported by the fees from cryptocurrency collateralized loans, investments in U.S. Treasury bonds, and the income generated from providing liquidity to other DeFi protocols. Users' deposited USDC will be converted to USDS at a 1:1 ratio and stored in the SSR vault to earn returns, and the value of the sUSDC token will grow as the earnings accumulate.

Risk Assessment: Low Risk. USDC itself has a high level of stability, and the platform has also undergone multiple audits to reduce smart contract risks. However, investors still need to pay attention to the potential impact of market Fluctuation on liquidity.

BYUSD/HONEY Liquidity Pool on a Native DEX of a Public Blockchain

Users can access the relevant interface through the official website of this public chain, connect a compatible wallet, and select the BYUSD/HONEY pool on the Pools page to deposit these two tokens to provide liquidity. The LP tokens obtained by users can be further staked in the reward vault to earn additional BGT token rewards.

The sources of income mainly include BGT token rewards ( with an annualized rate of approximately 3.41% ) and a share of transaction fees within the pool ( of about 0.01% APR ). BGT is the non-transferable governance token of this public chain, which can be burned at a 1:1 ratio for BERA ( as an irreversible operation ), and can share the fee income from multiple core DApps.

Risk Assessment: Low to Moderate Risk. BYUSD and HONEY are both stablecoins with relatively stable prices. The consensus mechanism used by this public chain has also been audited by a well-known security company. However, the distribution of BGT rewards may be subject to fluctuations due to the influence of validators and governance decisions.

Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 Liquidity Provision

Users can connect their wallets through a certain DeFi aggregation platform to deposit USDC or USDT into the corresponding products, providing liquidity for Uniswap V4.

Uniswap V4 will be launched in 2025, introducing the "hook" mechanism, which allows developers to customize pool functions, such as dynamically adjusting fees and automatic rebalancing, thereby enhancing capital efficiency and yield potential.

Source of income: Mainly from UNI token incentives.

Risk Assessment: Low to Medium Risk. USDC/USDT is a stablecoin pair, with lower price fluctuation risk. However, it is important to be aware of smart contract risks and the possibility of reduced returns after the incentive period ends.

USDC Lending Market on a Public Blockchain

Users can access the official website of the relevant platform, connect a compatible wallet, and select the USDC pool on the Markets page to deposit USDC and participate in the supply. Users will receive supply certificates, and the earnings will accumulate in real-time.

This product allows users to deposit USDC into a funding pool of a specific public chain to participate in supply and earn yields. The platform integrates with other protocols on the public chain, generating deposit receipt tokens such as thAPT.

The sources of income include USDC supply interest ( currently around 5.35% ) and thAPT rewards ( around 3.66% ). thAPT is a deposit certificate of a certain protocol, which can be minted and redeemed for APT at a 1:1 ratio, with a redemption fee of 0.15%. These fees will go into the staking reward token prize pool.

Risk Assessment: Low to moderate risk. The stability of USDC is relatively high, but attention should be paid to the smart contract risks of the public chain ecosystem. Instant exit provides high liquidity, but market fluctuations may affect the value of thAPT rewards.

Summary

The table below lists the main data of the above four products in descending order based on the total locked amount ( TVL ), for reference only:

| Product | Chain | APY | TVL | |------|-----|-----|-----| | Spark Saving USDC | Ethereum | 5.73% | 297 million | | BYUSD/HONEY Liquidity Pool | A Layer 1 Public Blockchain | 3.42% | 171 million USD | | Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 | Ethereum | 1.71% | 142 million dollars | | USDC Lending Market | A High-Performance Public Chain | 9.01% | 6.84 Million USD |

It is necessary to emphasize again that the above information is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice. Investors should fully consider their own risk tolerance and conduct comprehensive independent research and analysis when making decisions.