Dialogue with Pendle co-founder: Yield is the core competitiveness, currently most focused on stablecoins.

Written by: Deep Tide TechFlow

This week, Pendle co-founder TN LEE published an article reviewing the key achievements of Pendle in the first half of 2025:

TVL increased by 23%, reaching a new high of $5.29 billion;

Added over 70,000 users;

Trading volume exceeded 16 billion dollars;

vePENDLE holders continue to directly benefit from Pendle's development, earning $13.1 million in fees...

As a leader in the yield trading sector, Pendle continues to solidify its dominance with a series of growth data, capturing over 58% of the market share.

Based on this important opportunity to review the achievements of the first half of the year and look forward to the plans for the second half, we held an in-depth dialogue with TN LEE to explore the core logic behind Pendle's success and the future development direction.

When talking about the core value that Pendle attracts users to participate behind the impressive data, TN LEE answered without hesitation:

Earnings. I believe the core competitiveness of all protocols comes from strong and sustainable earnings. Now, advanced strategies for participating in different pools can achieve APY exceeding three digits. One of Pendle's functions as the world's largest yield trading platform is to allow users to freely participate in the yield trading of the most popular protocols in the market, thereby earning money in a smarter way.

Under the wave of stablecoins, many people have also noticed that the current composition of Pendle's TVL is highly inclined towards stablecoins, with over 87% of the TVL denominated in stablecoins. When discussing his views on stablecoins, TN LEE candidly stated:

Currently, Pendle is focusing on stablecoins. If DeFi wants to continue to grow, it must integrate with traditional finance. Stablecoins not only can drive the maturation of DeFi, but also serve as one of the few important bridges to connect with traditional finance. Currently, Pendle has launched over 100 stablecoin pools. After accelerating the community listing mechanism, Pendle also hopes to launch more and more stablecoin pools.

In this issue, let us follow TN LEE's sharing to gain an in-depth understanding of the products and market strategies behind Pendle's sustainable growth, as well as Pendle's further plans under the major trend of accelerating integration between on-chain finance and traditional finance.

DeFi is maturing, and users are increasingly in need of yield trading.

Deep Tide TechFlow: I am very pleased to have the opportunity to have an in-depth exchange with you. First of all, welcome to briefly introduce yourself.

TN LEE:

Thank you for the visit, Deep Tide.

I am TN LEE, one of the co-founders of Pendle. My team and I established the Pendle protocol in 2021.

Deep Tide TechFlow: How to quickly make everyone understand what Pendle does in one sentence, from 3-year-old children to 80-year-old seniors?

TN LEE:

Pendle is the world's largest yield trading platform. Imagine you have a house; Pendle separates the "ownership of the house (principal)" and the "future rent (yield)." You can choose to hold the house (principal part), or you can turn the future rent (yield) into a contract to rent it out to others for cash, or conversely, buy someone else's rent to earn yield.

This is how Pendle works - it splits assets into PT (Principal Token) and YT (Yield Token), allowing users to participate in the most popular protocols in the market in a way that suits their investment style.

Deep Tide TechFlow: There have not been many competitors in the track where Pendle is located. What do you think is the reason for this? For ordinary users, there is indeed a certain understanding threshold in the yield trading market, but Pendle has still developed into the leader in yield with the highest TVL (according to DeFi Llama data). From a product design perspective, what do you think Pendle has done right?

TN LEE:

First of all, we have always maintained great confidence in the trading profit sector. In traditional finance, nearly 100% of profits can be traded, but in DeFi, it's only about 3%. This sector may have been overlooked by many in the past, but as DeFi gradually enters a more mature stage, users will increasingly need more mature and reliable investment tools, strategies that align with their individual investment styles, and more flexible and diverse options.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Pendle successful overnight. Moving yield trading to DeFi requires very sophisticated and efficient product design to better implement this concept. Before the well-known Pendle V2, Pendle also went through a trial-and-error phase.

Since the establishment of Pendle in 2021, we have been working hard to optimize our products and protocols. The team has maintained an attitude of "humility towards the market" and a firm belief and passion for this track, striving to seize the best opportunities at the right time. Previously, LRTs and the narrative of points gave us the opportunity for our first explosive growth.

Currently, Pendle has also accelerated the pace of community listings, further moving towards Permissionless, allowing users to participate in the trading profits of all good protocols available on the market.

At the same time, we expect more protocols to participate in the construction of the trading track, together increasing the proportion of DeFi yield trading to 10%, 20%, 50%, or even more.

Deep Tide TechFlow: It's often seen on social media that DeFi OGs praise Pendle, and many people say that mostly financial elites can master Pendle. How do you view this perspective? Why do you think people have such an impression?

TN LEE:

Users with experience in traditional finance may understand Pendle more quickly. As mentioned earlier, yield trading is very common in the traditional finance sector, but the growth of DeFi also requires a certain process, especially in accepting a relatively new and unique trading model.

But good wine needs no bush, and we have also put a lot of effort into community building and education.

At every stage of growth at Pendle, we have observed an increasing number of new users willing to take their time to learn and think, investing in a more rational manner.

At the same time, we will continue to optimize our products, develop new features, and diligently maintain our community, carry out more detailed user education efforts, allowing more people to enjoy the benefits brought by trading profits.

Yield is the core competitiveness, Pendle can achieve a 3-digit APY.

Deep Tide TechFlow: Based on what Pendle is doing, what is the core value that attracts users to participate?

TN LEE:

Income.

I believe that the strongest competitiveness of all protocols comes from powerful and sustainable yields. Through the yield trading model, Pendle users can not only freely choose investment models that better align with their understanding and risk control but also optimize everyone's ultimate returns using different strategies.

Deep Tide TechFlow: If someone is a beginner who has just been in contact with DeFi for less than a month, how do you suggest they take their first step in exploring Pendle? After completing the beginner village exploration, could you please share how much the highest yield in the Pendle ecosystem can currently reach? How can one achieve the highest yield?

TN LEE:

For beginners, it is an important first step to seriously study Pendle's educational materials before starting to invest. After gradually becoming familiar with various operational processes, one can formulate the most suitable strategy based on their risk preference and capital size.

In addition to the various official teaching materials prepared by Pendle for users, there are also many impressive KOLs on Twitter who often share their investment insights: from the simplest fixed income provided by PT, to providing liquidity to pools, to staking YT, and even more advanced PT leverage cycling strategies, and so on.

Pendle's highest yield in the ecosystem has increased from the initial double digits to advanced strategies that can achieve an APY exceeding triple digits by participating in different pools.

For users at different stages, the most important thing is, of course, to find a strategy that best suits each individual's investment preferences.

Focus on stablecoins, Boros combines the advantages of CeFi and DeFi.

Deep Tide TechFlow: Stablecoins have also been an important topic this year. Recently, Pendle has been increasingly active in collaborations around stablecoins. What strategic considerations are behind this, and what plans do you have?

TN LEE:

Following the success of Ethena, stablecoins have also become one of the most popular and increasingly mature sectors in recent years.

Currently, Pendle has launched over 100 stablecoin pools. In the current volatile market environment, we believe that the stablecoin sector will be one of the most important narratives in this market cycle. This fiercely contested sector not only promotes the maturation of DeFi but is also one of the few important bridges that can connect with traditional finance.

Pendle, as one of the world's largest yield trading platforms, allows users to freely participate in yield trading of the most popular protocols in the market, thereby earning money in a smarter way.

Currently, after accelerating the community listing mechanism, we also hope to launch more stablecoin pools in a more efficient way.

Deep Tide TechFlow: We know that the explosion of Pendle is closely related to the Restaking craze at that time. Now that we are entering a new cycle, what do you think will be the next opportunity to drive Pendle's explosive growth? In the current market environment, more and more individuals and teams are focusing on on-chain activities. In your opinion, as a crypto finance project, what preparations should be made to seize institutional on-chain opportunities? What new industry landscape changes do you foresee under this trend?

TN LEE:

Currently, the track we are most focused on is stablecoins.

The market is a difficult thing to predict, but our team is always paying attention to the trends of every narrative.

For the integration with institutions, one of the key tasks in Pendle's 2025 Roadmap is the layout of the Citadels initiative. This work includes our development plan for Pendle PT as the most robust fixed income product. Currently, Pendle PT has already reached an ATH of $2.5 billion across major lending ecosystems, and we are actively developing more institutional products to allow different types of institutional investors to participate.

We believe that if DeFi wants to continue to grow, it must integrate with traditional finance. Furthermore, the entry of institutions has raised higher requirements for various DeFi protocols and products, including funding depth, security, and compliance, all of which are the next steps that each protocol must be prepared for.

Deep Tide TechFlow: I heard that Boros is currently in a small-scale testing phase. What kind of product is it?

TN LEE:

In simple terms, Boros is like Pendle; both are products for yield trading.

The biggest reform brought by Boros is the combination of the advantages of CeFi and DeFi, unlocking and utilizing funding rates as a source of income to provide users with a trading platform. The fluctuations and reliability of funding rates also make it one of the largest sources of income in Crypto.

Boros will also be a simpler and more understandable product. In simple terms: if users believe that the funding rate will rise, they can open a long position; conversely, they can open a short position.

We are currently in the final stages of smart contract auditing and internal testing, and we hope to open it to more users soon.

Behind the Growth: Firm Belief in DeFi, Maintaining Thirst for Knowledge, and Enhancing Adaptability

Deep Tide TechFlow: From the perspective of macroeconomic factors such as tariffs and interest rate cuts, do you have concerns about the future development of DeFi, or are you more confident? What keeps you committed to building in the industry?

TN LEE:

I have always had great faith in DeFi.

In the current period of market and political turbulence, we will certainly be more cautious, but my team and I firmly believe that yield trading is a very important sector for the future development of DeFi, and we have great expectations for future growth.

DeFi has always had various narratives, shiny things come and go. I believe that as long as our PMF (Product-Market Fit) is right, and we maintain a continuous and enterprising pace with respect for the market, Pendle will definitely continue to grow steadily.

Anxiety cannot change the direction of the market; all we can do is to work diligently, flexibly adjust our mindset, and actively respond to every challenge that the future presents.

Deep Tide TechFlow: Sometimes I hear friends who have known Pendle for a long time say that you have come a long way to get to where you are today. You have faced many difficulties in the past but have persevered, which has led to your current brilliance. Could you please share the challenges Pendle has experienced during its development and your thoughts at different stages?

TN LEE:

Indeed, from the creation of Pendle in 2021 to today, we have faced many challenges. We also know that at different stages of a protocol's growth, different challenges need to be considered and addressed: from the survival game of a new protocol to how a mature protocol maintains excellent performance, we cannot afford to relax even for a moment. During the toughest times for Pendle, I sometimes wondered how we managed to get through these years, especially during those periods of exceptionally harsh market conditions.

The cost of making agreements is getting lower and lower these days, and almost everyone can start a company and make agreements. However, in the face of difficulties, what is more important is the ability to solve problems, and not everyone can persevere and survive. Sometimes, it is not about how complex the difficulties are, but rather how to adjust one’s mindset to face challenges head-on during hardships.

Pendle has always maintained a streamlined team model and is very frugal with company expenses, ensuring that we have enough funds to continue supporting our future growth.

Deep Tide TechFlow: As a DeFi OG and an entrepreneur who has always been committed to building in the industry, what do you think are the most important qualities for starting a business in the crypto industry?

TN LEE:

Perseverance.

When Pendle first launched in 2021, we did not immediately find product-market fit (PMF). We continued to spend over two years until Pendle V2 truly started to gain some traction in the early stages of LST. However, more than individual qualities, I believe that what is more crucial in entrepreneurship is to deeply embed this spirit into the DNA of the entire team— the team must maintain a sense of hunger, pursue excellence, and move forward collaboratively towards a common mission. Only in this way can we continue to be unstoppable.

Another quality that is particularly important in the crypto industry is adaptability. This industry evolves rapidly, with its own unique rules, pace, and culture. Being able to quickly change direction, whether to optimize products based on the current narrative or adjust market strategies to appeal to crypto-native users, these seemingly minor actions often determine success or failure.