Traditional Finance

Aave pays 2.61% on USDC while high-yield savings accounts offer 5%. The yield premium that drew billions into decentralised finance has evaporated, and the protocols' best remaining rates come from repackaging traditional finance.

Aave's 2.61 per cent APY on USDC now trails the 3.14 per cent offered by Interactive Brokers on idle cash, inverting the risk-return logic that underpinned decentralised lending for five years.