Original article from SMooTH
Compiled by Odaily Planet Daily Golem ( @web3_golem )
Let’s be honest, no one enters the crypto industry just to quietly stare at the balance in their wallet. We all want our wallet balance to grow, and one of the lower-risk ways to do that is through DeFi. On HyperLiquid, DeFi is completely different.
Want your funds to grow? Want to revolving loans? Want to stake? Want to borrow against principal, stake, and earn points? If so, welcome to experience the real engine of DeFi on HyperLiquid: yield agreements, lending platforms, liquidity staking layers, and automated vaults.
They might not be the flashiest apps, but that’s where your money can really grow — whether it’s while you sleep, trade, or tweet.
Some of these protocols have existed since the birth of HyperEVM, and some have just been launched. All of these protocols are built in the rapidly evolving HyperEVM native environment, which will have a profound impact on the development of DeFi on HyperLiquid.
This article provides a comprehensive analysis of these protocols based on practicality, popularity, and relevance to help you find areas worth investing and paying attention to. (The rating is based on a comprehensive consideration of factors such as potential, relevance, transaction volume, user awareness, and overall ecosystem influence)
S-Class Income/Lending Agreement
These are the base layers of DeFi on Hyperliquid - widely used, well integrated, and shaping how capital moves in the ecosystem. Whether it’s lending, staking, or automated treasuries, these protocols are critical for anyone farming, lending, or deploying liquidity at scale.
Hyperlend: Real-time leveraged lending
Hyperlend allows users to provide or borrow assets such as HYPE, with interest rates automatically adjusted based on demand. It also unlocks dynamic leverage positions, providing traders with speed and flexibility across HL native assets.
Timeswap : Fixed-term lending without an oracle
Timeswap allows users to borrow and lend for fixed terms, without the need for an oracle or price feed. Anyone can create a market for any ERC-20 token, making it one of the most innovative designs in the lending space.
Felix Protocol: Borrow feUSD using crypto collateral
Felix allows users to mint feUSD using assets such as HYPE, ETH, or BTC. With margin strategies, stability pools, and trader-friendly mechanisms, it is a rapidly growing lending layer with strong TVL.
Morpho: Customizable lending services for DeFi professionals
Morpho is a lending protocol known for its combination of peer-to-peer and pool-based strategies, which allows users to fine-tune risk and reward in select markets. With over $4 billion in TVL and a non-profit structure, Morpho is a security-centric, developer-friendly platform designed to provide flexibility.
stHYPE: Liquidity staking for HYPE
stHYPE allows users to stake while using HYPE in DeFi. Staked tokens accumulate rewards in real time, support fast unstacking, and are staked at a 1:1 ratio, making it one of the most widely used staking layers on HL.
Grade A Earnings/Lending Agreement
This category includes platforms with great potential, strong mechanisms and bright prospects. Some of them are relatively new, and some are still expanding - but all of them have the core elements in place. With a little push or time accumulation, they can easily rank among the top.
HypurrFi: Using leveraged lending and stablecoins as an engine
HypurrFi allows users to execute yield strategies using HYPE, stHYPE, or stablecoin loops and borrow collateral using the RWA-backed stablecoin USDXL. With built-in risk management and option-based strategies, it is one of the more sophisticated lending layers in HL.
Hyperbeat: A one-click DeFi yield vault
Hyperbeat provides an automated vault that finds the best path to profit in the HL ecosystem. It supports HYPE, ETH, stablecoins, and has a points program tied to its BEAT token, making it a convenient entry point for passive miners.
Kinetiq: Liquidity Staking Protocol with Validator Routing
Kinetiq issued kHYPE for liquidity staking and routed it through an automatically optimized validator hub. With the launch of the institutional version (iHYPE) and the establishment of an audit mechanism, it aims to expand the staking scale of retail and professional investors.
Class B Earnings/Lending Agreements
These are legitimate protocols that are live, fully functional, and quietly building real traction. But these protocols have low adoption and visibility, or key features are still being rolled out. They are worth keeping an eye on as their potential is realized.
LoopedHYPE: Looping HYPE to get higher returns
LoopedHYPE automates the profit cycle of staking HYPE and converts it into LHYPE, a token that you can use in DeFi and continue to make profits. Smart loops, community rewards, and ecosystem reinvestment give it a unique charm.
Hyperpie: Liquidity Staking, Meme Launchpad, and DEX
Hyperpie combines liquidity staking and Meme token DEX with a Meme launch platform, and these three functions are integrated into an interesting and powerful DeFi suite. Users can stake HYPE, publish or trade Memes, and govern through ve-style voting, which is a full-stack Meme economy.
Liminal: Passive income through delta neutral mining
Liminal automates delta-neutral strategies, earning income from funding rates and providing market-neutral returns for USDC deposits. No lock-up, no token repricing, only passive income, and real-time performance tracking.
Hyperdrive: A Stablecoin-centric Funding Market
Hyperdrive helps users earn yield through stablecoins, borrow against stablecoins, and even stake HYPE, all from a single dashboard. It also supports simplified yield strategies and DeFi stacking of HLP.
D2 Finance: On-chain derivatives vault
D2 tokenizes advanced derivative strategies into tradable positions. It provides an on-chain hedge fund-like experience with institutional background, full transparency and a focus on risk-adjusted returns.
Napier Labs: Fixed Income Markets and Tokenized Interest Rates
Napier makes it possible to lock in fixed income and trade tokenized interest. Its modular design supports customized yield products and integrates with Curve to maximize liquidity. Its like a fixed income DeFi, but composable and built for builders.
Unranked yield/lending protocol
These platforms are either unreleased, still in testing, or lack usage data to be reliably ranked. Do these protocols have a future? Of course they do. But until we see them actually live, they remain unrated.
Altitude: a yield-generating mortgage agreement
Altitude converts users loan collateral into yield-generating assets. These assets do not sit idle, but gradually reduce users debt through automatic rebalancing. This is an excellent choice for users who want efficient loans and do not want to frequently micromanage.
HyperYield: Native Lending and Yield Layer
HyperYield focuses on HL-native flash lending and automatic compounding strategies. With instant liquidity, low fees, and a DeFi-first interface, it aims to become the default yield layer of HyperEVM.
Keiko Finance: Borrow KEI and get rewards
Keiko allows users to mint KEI stablecoins by locking crypto collateral, and then use KEI in DeFi. It has a built-in liquidity incentive mechanism and a rolling points system to provide rewards for borrowers and liquidity providers (LPs).
Harmonix Finance: DeFi Treasury in the Style of Traditional Finance (TradFi)
Harmonix runs automated vaults using hedge fund-inspired strategies such as option roulette and delta neutral mining. With fixed or floating annualized returns and full transparency, it is a good choice for investors seeking risk-adjusted returns.
HyperFlash: MEV-based staking (coming soon)
HyperFlash promises to provide higher staking rewards through a MEV-based withdrawal mechanism. Still under development, it aims to increase the returns of HL staking users by up to 22%.
Growi.HF: Automated Quantitative Investment for DeFi
Growi uses algorithmic trading strategies to help users earn passive income while reducing market risks. It is similar to DeFis smart investment advisor, which is very suitable for lying flat users who seek real returns and are unwilling to chase tokens or points.
