Exchanges, neobanks embed DeFi vaults for consumer savings

On Jan. 26, 2026 Kraken launched DeFi Earn, a stablecoin vault product that offers up to 8% annual percentage yield. The feature appears inside Kraken’s existing exchange interface and attracted more than 40,000 unique depositors within months of launch.

Kraken’s product uses vault containers provided by Veda built on the ERC-4626 token standard. Sentora handles risk management and strategy execution and deploys capital into on-chain lending markets, including Aave and Morpho. Kraken serves as the customer-facing distribution layer while Veda and Sentora operate the vault and strategy functions.

Users of DeFi Earn do not need to manage seed phrases, pay gas fees directly, use bridges or install a separate app. The interface shows a savings rate while the on-chain activity and asset routing remain behind the exchange interface.

Early adoption of DeFi Earn came from crypto-native users who already hold digital assets. The number of depositors indicates uptake among that segment rather than mass-market retail customers.

Other financial platforms have added or tested similar capabilities. Revolut integrated Uniswap access and described its roadmap as “financial infrastructure for how trillions of dollars will be traded, earned and moved.” Revolut applied for a full banking charter in March 2026, shortly after receiving a UK banking licence. Coinbase launched Morpho-powered Bitcoin loans. Robinhood began using Arbitrum for tokenized stock trading across Europe. Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion and is preparing to launch its own blockchain. Klarna has tested a stablecoin, and PayPal’s PYUSD grew 600% in 2025 to $3.6 billion in circulation.

Vault-as-a-service providers have standardized deployments that once required weeks of engineering work. The standardized tooling allows protocols, custodians and institutions to create vaults more quickly, increasing the number of vault options available to depositors.

Industry participants say a larger set of vaults increases competition for deposits and creates pressure to deliver higher returns. Higher yields can result from improved strategy design or from taking greater risk. In 2025, some market participants reported collateral failures and losses tied to risk exposures that were not fully recognized.

Market participants have also described standards that platforms and custodians need before routing significant customer capital into vaults: clear risk disclosures, continuous monitoring, automation and institutional-grade reporting. Kraken published fees, protocol allocations and risk information for DeFi Earn depositors. Observers cite those disclosures as an example of the level of transparency some distribution channels expect when offering vault-based yield products.