Yield platform Pendle reaches $4 billion in TVL and $10 billion in trading volume

The total value of crypto held on Pendle PENDLE +0.82% has reached $4 billion, as the yield trading platform continues to attract attention.

Pendle’s core idea is that it divides yield-bearing assets into the underlying asset and the yield, both of which can be traded separately. This concept seems to have gained popularity, as trading across the platform has reached $10 billion, according to the project’s analytics dashboard — with trading volume surpassing $400 million in a single day on April 2.

Pendle has significantly benefited from the ongoing ether restaking boom, as most of the trading is concentrated around liquid restaking tokens related to ether and its corresponding yield.

Inflows from these liquid restaking platforms has increased the value held on Pendle. The yield platform's weETH holdings — the wrapped version of eETH from the liquid restaking platform EtherFi — have increased by 13% over the last week, according to Dune Analytics data aggregated by Henrystats. Pendle now holds 263,442 weETH ($920 million). Similar inflows have come from Renzo, another liquid restaking protocol.

Trading of tokens related to the synthetic dollar protocol Ethena has also been significant, as it has gathered a lot of attention alongisde its own growth and token launch. Yield pools for its stablecoin USDe recently introduced on Pendle have contributed over $500 million in TVL.

"We've greatly benefited from the the recent surge in interest towards restaking assets and Ethena. Looking ahead, our priority is to continue delivering features and products that cater to our users' needs," said Pendle's CEO, who goes by TN.

The majority of trading on Pendle occurs on Ethereum, but the project is gaining some traction on Ethereum Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Mantle.

Pendle allows leveraged points trading

Pendle also lets users make trades with their points. Points are where projects allocate loyalty points to users for activities such as trading volume, which may later be turned into tokens if an airdrop is to take place. However, such airdrops are guaranteed and the potential value that may be gleaned from these points is uncertain.

In response to this, Pendle's products let users hedge against their points or leverage them by up to 128 times. Points trading accounts for roughly 10% of the total-value locked on the platform.

"Pendle's point farming strategies launched this year have been driving massive growth since they allow airdrop farmers to lever up in the form of buying yield tokens that accrue points for a fraction of the cost of the underlying principal often with added bonus multipliers) for prominent restaking protocols like EtherFi and Renzo," noted George Calle, Head of Research at The Block. 

With Pendle's rapid growth, the price of the pendle token has grown steadily this year. The token started this year just above a dollar, according to The Block's Price Page, and recently broke $5.