Safe Havens Amid Market Turmoil: A Comparison of Four Low-Risk Stablecoin Yield Solutions

robot
Abstract generation in progress

A Robust Choice in Market Turbulence: Low-Risk Stablecoin Yield Solutions

In April 2025, the global financial markets experienced severe turbulence. The tariff policy introduced by the Trump administration triggered widespread market reactions. On April 2, the government announced the implementation of a "reciprocal tariff" policy against major trading partners, setting a benchmark tariff of 10% and imposing higher rates on specific countries. On April 5, the 10% benchmark tariff officially took effect, leading to a sharp increase in global supply chain pressures. On April 9, the government postponed the high tariff for 90 days for 75 countries that had not retaliated, but increased the tariff on China to 145%. The European Union announced a suspension of retaliatory tariffs on $21 billion worth of U.S. goods until July 14, seeking room for negotiations.

These policies have led to severe market fluctuations. The S&P 500 evaporated $5.8 trillion in market value within four days after the tariff announcement, marking the largest single-week loss since the 1950s. The price of Bitcoin has been fluctuating violently between $80,000 and $90,000. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated on April 17 at an economic conference that tariffs could drive up inflation and suppress growth, but the Fed would not intervene in the market by cutting interest rates, and the policy would focus on long-term data. Several financial institutions have raised their expectations for the probability of a U.S. recession. Corporate profits and prices may be affected, and the market outlook is filled with uncertainty.

How should investors respond during these turbulent times? Low-risk stablecoin yield products in the DeFi space may be a good choice to help investors maintain stability amidst market fluctuations. Below are four types of yield products based on stablecoins for investors' reference.

It is important to note that this article does not constitute investment advice, and investors should conduct their own research and make their own decisions.

What to do about market volatility? Check out these low-risk yield options

Spark Saving USDC (Ethereum)

Connect your wallet through the official platform, select the Savings USDC product, and deposit USDC.

The platform is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that provides a frontend interface for blockchain-based liquidity market protocols. Users can participate in lending and borrowing activities through this platform.

Source of income: The earnings from saving USDC primarily come from the Sky Savings Rate (SSR), which is supported by income generated from cryptocurrency collateral loan fees, investments in U.S. Treasury bonds, and providing liquidity to other platforms. USDC is exchanged for USDS at a 1:1 ratio through the Sky PSM to earn income deposited into the SSR treasury, and the value of the sUSDC token increases as earnings accumulate. The platform bears the liquidity of USDC.

Risk assessment: Low. The stability of USDC is high, and the platform's multiple audits reduce the risk of smart contracts. However, attention should be paid to the potential impact of market volatility on liquidity.

What to do about market volatility? Check out these low-risk return options

Berachain BYUSD|HONEY (Berachain)

Visit the Berachain official website, enter BeraHub, connect your Berachain compatible wallet, select the BYUSD/HONEY pool on the Pools page, and deposit BYUSD and HONEY to provide liquidity. Users receive LP tokens, which can be staked in the rewards vault to earn BGT.

Berachain is a high-performance, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that employs an innovative Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism to enhance network security and ecological vitality by incentivizing liquidity providers. The product is a BYUSD/HONEY liquidity pool deployed on Berachain's native DEX, with HONEY being Berachain's native stablecoin (multi-asset collateral, soft-pegged to the US dollar), and BYUSD being another stablecoin on the Bear Chain.

Source of income: The income mainly comes from BGT rewards (3.41% APR, based on staking weight and validator allocated BGT emissions, updated every 5 hours) and trading fees within the pool (0.01% APR, derived from the share of trading fees). BGT is the non-transferable governance token of Berachain, which can be burned 1:1 for BERA (irreversible) and shares the fee income from multiple core dApps (specific ratios determined by governance). The BYUSD/HONEY pool has lower price volatility risk due to the characteristics of stablecoin pairs.

Risk Assessment: Low to Moderate. BYUSD and HONEY are stablecoins with stable prices; Berachain's PoL mechanism has undergone multiple audits, resulting in lower smart contract risks. However, BGT rewards depend on validator allocation and governance decisions, which may fluctuate due to emission adjustments.

What to do about market fluctuations? Check out these low-risk yield options

Provide Liquidity to Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 (Uniswap V4)

Connect your wallet through the official platform and deposit USDC or USDT into the "Provide Liquidity to Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0" product to provide liquidity to Uniswap V4.

The platform is a DeFi investment aggregation platform that provides users with a one-stop solution, covering opportunities such as liquidity pools and lending protocols. This product provides liquidity to the USDC/USDT pool on Uniswap V4 through the platform. Uniswap V4, launched in 2025, introduces a "hooks" mechanism that allows developers to customize pool functions, such as dynamic fee adjustments and automatic rebalancing, enhancing capital efficiency and yield potential.

Source of income: UNI token incentives.

Risk assessment: Low to moderate. The USDC/USDT pool is a stablecoin pair with lower price volatility risk, but attention should be paid to smart contract risks and potential declines in returns after the incentive period ends.

What to do about market fluctuations? Check out these low-risk yield options

Echelon Market USDC (Aptos)

Visit the Echelon Market official website, connect an Aptos-compatible wallet, select the USDC pool on the Markets page, and deposit USDC to participate in the supply. Users will receive supply certificates, and earnings will accumulate in real-time.

Echelon Market is a decentralized cryptocurrency market based on the Aptos blockchain, developed using the Move programming language. Users can borrow or lend assets through non-custodial pools, earning interest or using leverage. This product allows users to deposit USDC into the liquidity pools of the Aptos mainnet, participate in supply, and earn returns. Echelon Market is integrated with the Thala protocol, which provides stablecoins and liquidity layers on Aptos, generating deposit receipt tokens such as thAPT.

Source of Earnings: Earnings include USDC supply interest (5.35%) and Thala's thAPT rewards (3.66%). thAPT is Thala's deposit certificate, minted and redeemed at a 1:1 ratio for APT, with a redemption fee of 0.15%, which goes into the sthAPT (staking rewards token) reward pool.

Risk assessment: Low to medium. USDC has high stability, but attention should be paid to the smart contract risks within the Aptos ecosystem and the impact of thAPT redemption fees on returns. Instant exit provides high liquidity, but market volatility may affect the value of thAPT rewards.

Summary

The table is arranged in descending order by TVL, for reference only, and does not constitute investment advice.

| Project | Chain | APY | TVL | |------|-----|-----|-----| | Spark Saving USDC | Ethereum | 3.27% | $2.7B | | Berachain BYUSD|HONEY | Berachain | 3.42% | $1.2B | | Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 | Ethereum | 2.85% | $835M | | Echelon Market USDC | Aptos | 9.01% | $127M |

What to do about market fluctuations? Check out these low-risk income options

View Original
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
  • Reward
  • 5
  • Share
Comment
0/400
blocksnarkvip
· 07-10 14:09
There are just a few projects, right? The risks are too high.
View OriginalReply0
ShibaOnTheRunvip
· 07-09 21:10
The returns are so high, isn't it a scam?
View OriginalReply0
TokenomicsTherapistvip
· 07-09 21:09
Do people really believe that these returns can be sustained in the long term?
View OriginalReply0
BloodInStreetsvip
· 07-09 21:00
Low risk? Ha, the beginning of death often means hiding in the safe zone.
View OriginalReply0
DefiOldTrickstervip
· 07-09 20:51
I don't even care if the annualized return is below 10%, I won't play.
View OriginalReply0
Trade Crypto Anywhere Anytime
qrCode
Scan to download Gate app
Community
English
  • 简体中文
  • English
  • Tiếng Việt
  • 繁體中文
  • Español
  • Русский
  • Français (Afrique)
  • Português (Portugal)
  • Bahasa Indonesia
  • 日本語
  • بالعربية
  • Українська
  • Português (Brasil)