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SoK: Yield Aggregators in DeFi

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  • Simon Cousaert
  • Jiahua Xu
  • Toshiko Matsui

Abstract

Yield farming has been an immensely popular activity for cryptocurrency holders since the explosion of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) in the summer of 2020. In this Systematization of Knowledge (SoK), we study a general framework for yield farming strategies with empirical analysis. First, we summarize the fundamentals of yield farming by focusing on the protocols and tokens used by aggregators. We then examine the sources of yield and translate those into three example yield farming strategies, followed by the simulations of yield farming performance, based on these strategies. We further compare four major yield aggregrators -- Idle, Pickle, Harvest and Yearn -- in the ecosystem, along with brief introductions of others. We systematize their strategies and revenue models, and conduct an empirical analysis with on-chain data from example vaults, to find a plausible connection between data anomalies and historical events. Finally, we discuss the benefits and risks of yield aggregators.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Cousaert & Jiahua Xu & Toshiko Matsui, 2021. "SoK: Yield Aggregators in DeFi," Papers 2105.13891, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2022.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2105.13891
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jiahua Xu & Krzysztof Paruch & Simon Cousaert & Yebo Feng, 2021. "SoK: Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) with Automated Market Maker (AMM) Protocols," Papers 2103.12732, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2023.
    2. Massimo Bartoletti & James Hsin-yu Chiang & Alberto Lluch-Lafuente, 2020. "SoK: Lending Pools in Decentralized Finance," Papers 2012.13230, arXiv.org.
    3. ., 2020. "Taxes for which state?," Chapters, in: Tax Tyranny, chapter 11, pages 163-176, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Jiahua Xu & Nikhil Vadgama, 2021. "From banks to DeFi: the evolution of the lending market," Papers 2104.00970, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2022.
    5. Ingolf G. A. Pernice & Sebastian Henningsen & Roman Proskalovich & Martin Florian & Hermann Elendner & Bjorn Scheuermann, 2019. "Monetary Stabilization in Cryptocurrencies - Design Approaches and Open Questions," Papers 1905.11905, arXiv.org.
    6. Daniel Perez & Sam M. Werner & Jiahua Xu & Benjamin Livshits, 2020. "Liquidations: DeFi on a Knife-edge," Papers 2009.13235, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2021.
    7. Sam M. Werner & Daniel Perez & Lewis Gudgeon & Ariah Klages-Mundt & Dominik Harz & William J. Knottenbelt, 2021. "SoK: Decentralized Finance (DeFi)," Papers 2101.08778, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2022.
    8. Amani Moin & Emin Gun Sirer & Kevin Sekniqi, 2019. "A Classification Framework for Stablecoin Designs," Papers 1910.10098, arXiv.org.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Matthias Nadler & Felix Bekemeier & Fabian Schar, 2022. "DeFi Risk Transfer: Towards A Fully Decentralized Insurance Protocol," Papers 2212.10308, arXiv.org.
    2. Teng Andrea Xu & Jiahua Xu, 2022. "A Short Survey on Business Models of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Protocols," Papers 2202.07742, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.
    3. Raphael Auer & Bernhard Haslhofer & Stefan Kitzler & Pietro Saggese & Friedhelm Victor, 2024. "The technology of decentralized finance (DeFi)," Digital Finance, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 55-95, March.
    4. Jiahua Xu & Yebo Feng, 2022. "Reap the Harvest on Blockchain: A Survey of Yield Farming Protocols," Papers 2210.04194, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2022.
    5. Teng Andrea Xu & Jiahua Xu & Kristof Lommers, 2022. "DeFi versus TradFi: Valuation Using Multiples and Discounted Cash Flows," Papers 2210.16846, arXiv.org, revised May 2025.

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