Cover photo

How to Cope with Market Volatility? Explore These Low-Risk Yield Options

In this turbulent period, the following will introduce four yield products based on stablecoins to help you steady your investment strategy.

0x04FB1Dd0B1D4Cc9240BA38f381F80c0b745ef748

0x04FB...f748

Background: Tariff Policies and the Fed's Stance Intensify Market Volatility

In April 2025, Trump's tariff policies triggered significant turbulence in global financial markets.On April 2, he announced the implementation of "reciprocal tariffs" on major trading partners, setting a benchmark tariff rate of 10% and imposing higher rates on specific countries: 34% on China, 20% on the EU, and 32% on Taiwan (with semiconductor products exempt). On April 5, the 10% benchmark tariff officially took effect, further straining global supply chains.On April 9, Trump suspended high tariffs on 75 countries that had not imposed retaliatory measures for 90 days (until July 8), but increased tariffs on China to 145%, citing China's 34% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods. The EU announced the suspension of retaliatory tariffs on $21 billion of U.S. goods until July 14 to secure negotiation space.

These policies sparked strong market reactions. The S&P 500 saw its market value evaporate by $5.8 trillion within four days of the tariff announcement, marking the largest single-week loss since the 1950s. Bitcoin prices fluctuated between $80,000 and $90,000. On April 17, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated at the Chicago Economics Club that tariffs could boost inflation and hinder growth, but the Fed would not intervene with interest rate cuts, focusing instead on long-term data. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase raised the probability of a U.S. economic recession to 20% and 45%, respectively. Corporate profits and prices could both be affected, leaving market prospects shrouded in uncertainty. So, what should investors do in such times? Low-risk stablecoin yield products in DeFi might be a good option to steady your investment strategy, and the following will introduce four yield products based on stablecoins.

This article does not constitute investment advice, and investors need to conduct their own research.

Spark Saving USDC (Ethereum)

Connect your wallet via the Spark official website (spark.fi), select the Savings USDC product, and deposit USDC.

Note: Spark is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that provides a front-end interface for the SparkLend liquidity market protocol based on blockchain. Users can participate in lending and borrowing activities through this platform.

Return Source: The returns from saving USDC come from the Sky Savings Rate (SSR), which is supported by income generated through cryptocurrency-backed loan fees, U.S. Treasury investments, and liquidity provision to platforms like SparkLend by the Sky protocol. USDC is exchanged 1:1 for USDS via Sky PSM and deposited into the SSR vault to earn returns, with the value of sUSDC tokens increasing as returns accumulate. Spark assumes the liquidity of USDC.

Risk Assessment: Low. USDC has high stability, and Spark's multiple audits reduce smart contract risks. However, attention should be paid to the potential impact of market volatility on liquidity.

Berachain BYUSD|HONEY (Berachain)

Visit the Berachain official website, enter BeraHub, connect a Berachain-compatible wallet, and on the Pools page, select the BYUSD/HONEY pool to deposit BYUSD and HONEY to provide liquidity. Users receive LP tokens, which can be staked in Reward Vaults to earn BGT.

Note: Berachain is a high-performance, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that adopts an innovative Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism. By incentivizing liquidity providers, it enhances network security and ecosystem vitality.This product is the BYUSD/HONEY liquidity pool, deployed on Berachain's native DEX, BEX. HONEY is Berachain's native stablecoin (multi-asset backed, soft-pegged to the U.S. dollar), and BYUSD is another stablecoin on the Bera Chain.

Return Source: Returns mainly come from BGT rewards (3.41% APR, based on staking weight and BGT emissions allocated by validators, updated every 5 hours) and pool transaction fees (0.01% APR, from a share of transaction fees). BGT is Berachain's non-transferable governance token, which can be burned 1:1 for BERA (irreversible) and shares fee revenue from core dApps like BEX, HoneySwap, and Berps (specific ratios determined by governance). Due to the stablecoin pair nature of the BYUSD/HONEY pool, the risk of price fluctuation is low.

Risk Assessment: Low to Medium. BYUSD and HONEY are stablecoins with stable prices; Berachain's PoL mechanism has been audited by Trail of Bits, among others, indicating low smart contract risks. However, BGT rewards depend on validator allocation and governance decisions, and may fluctuate due to emission adjustments.

Provide Liquidity to Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 (Uniswap V4)

Connect your wallet via the Merkl official website (app.merkl.xyz), deposit USDC or USDT into the "Provide Liquidity to Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0" product, and provide liquidity to Uniswap V4.

Note: Merkl is a DeFi investment aggregation platform that offers one-stop solutions covering opportunities such as liquidity pools and lending protocols.This product provides liquidity to the USDC/USDT pool on Uniswap V4 through Merkl. Uniswap V4, launched in 2025, introduced the "hooks" mechanism, allowing developers to customize pool functions such as dynamic fee adjustment and automatic rebalancing, thereby enhancing capital efficiency and yield potential.

Return Source: UNI token incentives.

Risk Assessment: Low to Medium. The USDC/USDT pool is a stablecoin pair with low price fluctuation risk, but attention should be paid to smart contract risks and the possibility of reduced yields after the incentive period ends.

Echelon Market USDC (Aptos)

Visit the Echelon Market official website (echelon.market), connect an Aptos-compatible wallet, and on the Markets page, select the USDC pool to deposit USDC and participate in supply. Users receive supply certificates with real-time yield accumulation.

Note: Echelon Market is a decentralized cryptocurrency market based on the Aptos blockchain, developed using the Move programming language. Users can borrow or lend assets through non-custodial pools to earn interest or employ leverage.This product allows users to deposit USDC into the capital pool on the Aptos mainnet, participate in supply, and earn returns.Echelon Market is integrated with the Thala protocol, which provides a stablecoin and liquidity layer on Aptos, generating deposit receipt tokens such as thAPT.

Return Source: Returns include USDC supply interest (5.35%) and Thala's thAPT rewards (3.66%). thAPT is Thala's deposit certificate, minted and redeemed 1:1 for APT, with a 0.15% fee charged upon redemption. This fee goes into the sthAPT (staking yield token) reward pool.

Risk Assessment: Low to Medium. USDC has high stability, but attention should be paid to smart contract risks within the Aptos ecosystem and the impact of thAPT redemption fees on returns. Instant withdrawal provides high liquidity, but market fluctuations may affect the value of thAPT rewards.

How to Cope with Market Volatility? Explore These Low-Risk Yield Options