Table of Contents
December, 23. 2025
TradingStrategy.ai published its monthly benchmark, analyzing performance across 1,341 ERC-4626 compliant stablecoin vaults with minimum $10,000 TVL.
The report tracks USD-denominated vaults on multiple EVM-compatible blockchains, focusing on share price changes to calculate returns.
Legacy non-ERC-4626 vaults remain excluded.
Airdrop points and external incentives are not factored into yield calculations.
Key Takeaways
- 1,341 vaults tracked; USDC holds ~50% market share at $3B TVL.
- Returns based solely on ERC-4626 share price; excludes airdrops/points.
- Access real-time rankings via TradingStrategy.ai vaults dashboard.
- Prioritize TVL >$10M vaults for liquidity and lower withdrawal risk.
- Evaluate one-month vs longer-term returns for strategy volatility.
Report Overview and Methodology
The analysis covers vaults denominated in major stablecoins, including USDC (Circle), USDT (Tether), EURC (Circle), USDS (Sky), and others like MetaMask USD (mUSD).
Returns derive directly from ERC-4626 share token price appreciation, reflecting actual asset growth within vaults.
Total tracked stablecoin vaults:
1,341 (displaying top 400 by TVL in the report).
USDC vaults dominate with approximately $3 billion in markets, representing half the sector. USDT follows as the second-largest denomination. Real-world asset-backed USDAI ranks third, backed by GPU-related loans.
The report maintains open-source transparency, built on TradingStrategy.ai's automated DeFi data pipeline. Users access raw data via Jupyter notebooks for custom analysis.
Partners contributing infrastructure include Arbitrum, Envio, Goldsky, IPOR, Lagoon, Enzyme, 1delta, Keyring, GMX, IceCreamSwap, Orderly, and GRVT.
Real-time dashboards available at tradingstrategy.ai/trading-view/vaults provide sortable TVL, yields, depositor counts, protocol categorization, and chain filters.
Key Market Insights
Stablecoin vault TVL remains concentrated in established protocols. High-yield vaults often involve delta-neutral strategies on perpetual futures DEXs or optimized lending aggregators.
Vault strategies range from low-risk lending (e.g., Morpho, Euler) to higher-risk market-making on platforms like GMX or Orderly. Performance rankings prioritize one-month rolling returns for volatile strategies, with longer periods recommended for assessment.
Notable sector distribution:
- Lending and aggregation protocols (Yearn, Harvest Finance, Morpho) hold significant TVL.
- Perpetual DEX vaults capture trading fees and funding rates.
- RWA-integrated vaults gain traction for tokenized yield exposure.
Chain coverage spans over 20 EVM networks, with ongoing additions based on RPC infrastructure quality.
Performance Highlights
Top vaults sorted by TVL show stable growth in large-cap options. Smaller vaults with newer strategies occasionally post higher short-term returns but carry elevated risk.
Yields exclude non-reflected incentives like points farming. High APY outliers typically stem from temporary funding rate arbitrage or concentrated liquidity provision.
The report emphasizes risk-adjusted selection: larger TVL vaults offer better liquidity for deposits/withdrawals, while newer vaults may underperform during market stress.
Conclusion
TradingStrategy.ai's December 2025 report delivers transparent benchmarking for over 1,300 stablecoin vaults, highlighting USDC dominance and diverse strategy options.
Investors gain actionable data through open-source metrics and real-time tools to identify TVL-weighted opportunities while navigating DeFi yield landscapes.
Read Next:
- 2025 Stablecoin Year-End Report (Insights, Data, and Adoption Trends)
- 2025 Stablecoin Spending Report
- Who Is Winning the Stablecoin Infrastructure Race?
FAQs:
1. What vaults does the report include?
Only ERC-4626 compliant stablecoin-denominated vaults with ≥$10,000 TVL across supported chains.
2. How are yields calculated?
From direct share token price change; reflects on-vault asset growth only.
3. Why exclude legacy vaults?
Non-ERC-4626 contracts lack standardized performance tracking.
4. Which stablecoins are supported?
USDC, USDT, EURC, USDS, mUSD, and select others verified as legitimate.
5. Where to view live data?
tradingstrategy.ai/trading-view/vaults for sortable dashboards.
6. Does the report cover risks?
Focuses on performance; users must assess smart contract and strategy risks independently.
Disclaimer:
This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice; no material herein should be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument, and readers should conduct their own independent research or consult a qualified professional.
