In the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, innovation and imitation always coexist. In this field, countless protocols attempt to replicate successful models, but very few truly stand out. This article will outline some of the most unique and undervalued yield protocols currently in the DeFi space, which not only possess their own moat but also have the potential for long-term survival.

01. Pendle Finance

Moat: Rate Swapping
Pendle Finance is a very prominent protocol in the DeFi space, offering users fixed-rate and fixed-term yields through a rate swapping mechanism. This feature allows it to stand out in the highly homogenized DeFi market.
Main value points:

  • Provides large-scale fixed-rate/fixed-term yields.

  • Gains yields on liquidity pools (LP) with the same Delta.

  • Offers leveraged exposure to points/airdrops.

  • Hedges interest rate risk.

Assets: $PENDLE
Official website link: Pendle Finance

02. Fluid by Instadapp

Moat: Transforming collateral and debt into efficient DEX liquidity.
Fluid is a protocol launched by Instadapp, whose core innovation lies in its ability to utilize collateral and debt to generate liquidity, thereby improving capital efficiency.
Main value points:

  • Providing LP annualized yield rates (APR) for collateral.

  • Providing LP annualized yield rates (APR) for debt.

  • Increasing the utilization and yield of lending liquidity.

  • Converting leveraged users into liquidity providers (LPs).

Assets: $INST
Official website link: Fluid

03. Ethena Labs

Moat: Achieving high yields for stablecoins through innovative custody solutions.
Ethena Labs has developed a new type of stablecoin mechanism based on a scalable basis trading strategy. This mechanism makes Ethena's stablecoin one of the most profitable products in the current cycle.
Main value points:

  • Offers 19.45% internal rate of return, along with points rewards.

  • Provides high-yield stable collateral across the entire DeFi ecosystem.

  • Offers high-yield margin on certain perpetual contract trading platforms.

  • Stablecoins themselves have speculative exposure to funding rates.

Assets: $ENA
Official website link: Ethena Labs

04. Lombard Finance and Babylon Labs

These two protocols can be said to have a 'bread and butter' relationship, hence discussing them together.
Moat: Provides economic security through derivatives of staked Bitcoin ($BTC) via a re-staking mechanism.
Main value points:

  • Provides fixed income in Bitcoin through Pendle.

  • Generating points/airdrop Bitcoin.

  • Potentially offering high-yield Bitcoin in the future (through AVS).

  • Enhancing the composability of Bitcoin finance (BTCfi).

Assets: TBD (may have airdrop).
Official website link: Lombard Finance and Babylon Labs

05. EtherFi

Moat: Liquidity wrap index of major staking products.
Although EtherFi is also one of many re-staking protocols, it provides users with unique portfolio options by creating a series of index products.
Main value points:

  • Providing continuous 'seasonal' yields.

  • Provides index exposure to re-staking narrative.

  • Composability on mainstream protocols (such as Aave and Pendle).

  • Leveraged exposure to re-staking airdrops.

Assets: $ETHFI
Official website link: EtherFi
Note: The author has a partnership with EtherFi.

06. GMX

Moat: Counterparty capital pools (CPVs) with relatively low profit and loss volatility.
GMX is one of the significant innovations in DeFi during the last cycle. Although many protocols have tried to replicate its model, GMX has re-established its moat this cycle by introducing new mechanisms.
Main value points:

  • Offers double-digit yield rates for ETH and BTC CPV.

  • Supports CPV composability on platforms like Dolomite.

  • Provides micro impermanent loss CPV with 0.5x Delta exposure for mainstream assets.

Assets: $GMX
Official website link: GMX

07. Other innovative protocols worth attention

In addition to the above protocols, the following projects have also shown unique innovation in the DeFi space:

  1. EigenLayer

    • Enhances yield through staked assets and plans to introduce AVS yields into blue-chip assets.

  2. Hyperliquid

    • Efficient perpetual contract DEX application chain, current CPV (HLP) yield is close to 40%, and is one of the best places for funding rate arbitrage.

  3. Pump.fun

    • A protocol that allows anyone to easily issue tokens, though it leans towards speculation, its innovation cannot be ignored.

  4. Virtuals.io

    • A protocol that allows users to generate AI agents, although the narrative is not fully matured yet, its potential is worth noting.

  5. Kaito.ai

    • A powerful tool for tracking narratives, influence, smart capital flows, community dynamics, etc., significantly enhancing the efficiency of narrative analysis.

  6. Anzen Finance

    • Stablecoins backed by credit notes are expected to survive in the RWA (real-world assets) sector for the long term.

  7. Contango

    • Transforms money market aggregators into one-stop yield platforms and provides a perpetual contract interface, supporting leveraged operations without funding rates.

  8. DefiLlama

    • As the OG platform for DeFi data aggregation, it remains the best tool for obtaining protocol information, tracking asset yields, borrowing situations, and capital flows.

Summary

In the world of DeFi, imitators are everywhere, but protocols that truly stand out often have their own moats and unique value points. This article lists some currently undervalued but highly potential protocols that demonstrate exceptional abilities in yield innovation, liquidity utilization, narrative driving, and more. If you wish to accumulate some quality assets before the next market rotation, consider researching these protocols carefully.

At the same time, if you are interested in yield, market sentiment, or even memecoin analysis, you can join the DeFi Dojo Discord, which is one of the best decentralized think tanks in the crypto space.