This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Crypto investments carry risks, including loss of capital. Always do your own research or consult a licensed advisor before investing.
In 2025, crypto holders have several ways to earn yield by making their assets productive. Instead of leaving stablecoins or ETH idle, they can be deposited into decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols that distribute returns through lending, staking, or fees.
Current examples include Yearn’s USDT vault on Polygon at ~5.5% APY, Aave lending markets at 4.3–4.8%, and Curve stablecoin pools at under 1%. Bleap also integrates strategies with up to 11% on USD stablecoins, 5% on EUR stablecoins, and 3–4% on ETH staking, while remaining fully non-custodial and offering a 2% cashback Mastercard.
In crypto, yield is the return earned when you make your digital assets productive. This happens when you lend, stake, or provide liquidity rather than just holding tokens in your wallet.
The sources of yield resemble traditional finance but are adapted to blockchain. Borrowers pay interest when they take loans, decentralized exchanges distribute trading fees to liquidity providers, and blockchains reward stakers for helping secure the network. In DeFi, these mechanisms are often bundled into automated strategies, a practice widely known as crypto yield management or yield farming.
When comparing yield opportunities, you’ll often see APR (Annual Percentage Rate) and APY (Annual Percentage Yield). APR reflects the base yearly rate without compounding, while APY accounts for reinvested earnings.
For example, a 5% APR would mean $1,050 from a $1,000 deposit after one year. If that same rate compounds daily, the effective APY becomes 5.13%. While the difference seems small, it grows considerably with larger deposits or longer holding periods.
This distinction is why Yearn reports APY, since its vaults compound automatically, while Aave displays APR, requiring manual reinvestment to match the effect of APY.
In August 2025, yield opportunities for stablecoins and ETH look like this:
If you want to explore Polygon yield farming, Yearn’s USDT vault offers a simple entry point. Suppose you start with €100 in USDT:
From that moment, your yield compounds automatically. This makes Yearn one of the easiest MATIC yield farming strategies for beginners.
While Aave, Curve, and Yearn are powerful, they can be intimidating for new users. Bleap streamlines the process by combining staking, and spending in a single non-custodial platform.
With Bleap, you can purchase stablecoins without fees, deposit them into strategies powered by Angle and Sky, and earn variable APYs. ETH staking via Lido is integrated directly, allowing you to earn without dealing with complex validator setups. Finally, your crypto remains spendable through Bleap’s 2% cashback Mastercard, making it both productive and usable in everyday life.
While Bitcoin itself doesn’t natively earn yield like ETH or stablecoins, recent developments in the BTCFi (Bitcoin DeFi) space are changing that - without compromising on security or self-custody.
In addition to wrapping BTC (WBTC or tBTC) for use in Aave or Curve, BTC holders can now explore:
Previously, yield on BTC required wrapping into WBTC/tBTC for use in Ethereum-based DeFi. With BTCFi, you’re now able to:
All yield strategies carry risks. Smart contracts can be exploited, stablecoins may lose their peg, and interest rates can fluctuate with market conditions. Even highly audited platforms such as Yearn, Aave, Curve, and Lido are not risk-free.
It’s also important to distinguish between estimated APY (based on current conditions) and realized returns (what you actually earn). A vault showing 5.5% today may yield less tomorrow if borrowing demand decreases or strategies rebalance.
Diversification and careful allocation are essential for managing these risks.
In 2025, crypto yield opportunities remain diverse and competitive. On Polygon, Yearn’s USDT vault offers 5.5% APY, while Aave delivers 4.3–4.8% on major stablecoins, and Curve stays under 1% unless boosted. Beyond that, Bleap offers up to 11% APY on USD stablecoins, 5% on EUR stablecoins, and 3–4% on ETH staking, all within one non-custodial app.
For anyone looking to grow their assets while maintaining control, Bleap provides one of the most accessible paths. Your crypto keeps earning, and you can spend it whenever needed, making it a powerful blend of DeFi and real-world usability.
You earn yield by depositing them into lending markets like Aave, aggregators like Yearn, or integrated apps like Bleap that use Angle and Sky Protocol.
Staking with Lido is relatively safe, though risks like validator slashing and protocol exploits still exist.
Neither is strictly better, they serve different purposes:
- APR (Annual Percentage Rate): Shows the base interest rate without compounding. It’s simpler and makes it easier to compare raw rates across platforms.
- APY (Annual Percentage Yield): Includes compounding, so it reflects the actual returns if interest is reinvested.
It is a stablecoin (USDT, USDC, DAI) that has been deposited into a DeFi protocol to generate yield, either through lending, staking, or liquidity provision.
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