Yala Updates: June

June marked an explosive leap for Yala. Our Total Value Locked (TVL) soared to $134.4 million, and Mint Cap 2 filled 50 million $YU in just 10 days, bringing the cumulative cap to $70 million. This liquidity has flowed into top DeFi integrations, including Pendle, Kamino, RateX, Raydium, Penpie and Equilibria, with more ecosystem integrations joining soon.

Yala has rapidly evolved from a promising mainnet launch into a thriving liquidity powerhouse, channeling Bitcoin into sophisticated mutli-chain yield strategies.

In This Update:

• Mainnet + Ecosystem Expansion
• Protocol Developments
• Community Momentum
• What’s Next

Mainnet + Ecosystem Expansion

Since our mainnet launch on May 16, Yala has experienced unprecedented growth. By the end of June, our TVL reached $133.4 million according to DeFiLlama. Bitcoin holders are using Yala to unlock yield opportunities previously out of reach.

Most $YU minted doesn’t sit idle, it flows directly into yield-generating strategies through our integrated DeFi partners.

$YU Mint Cap 2 Success & DeFi Flow

On June 13, we opened Mint Cap 2 with a capacity of 50 million $YU. The response was overwhelming – it was fully minted by June 23, demonstrating strong demand for BTC-backed liquidity in the market.

Yield in Action

June saw major expansions to the Yala DeFi Marketplace, our unified hub where the majority of minted $YU flows to earn real yield. These integrations brought leading protocols directly into Yala's ecosystem:

Solana Strategies

• Kamino: Post-launch, the YU/USDC pool on Kamino surged from $1 million to $3.59 million TVL in June, reflecting strong demand to our yield strategy. Kamino anchors our Solana-based liquidity provision strategy.

• Raydium: Offers high-speed, low-cost liquidity provision from the YU/USDC pool. Users earn LP rewards, trading fees, and boosted Berries multipliers.
• RateX: Now live in the Marketplace, RateX brings advanced yield trading strategies to Solana, enabling margin-based yield trading and fixed-rate tokenization, currently offering 11.93% APY for yield optimization.

Ethereum Strategies

• Pendle: Our flagship yield splitting strategy on Ethereum allows Bitcoin holders to split $YU into Principal Tokens (PT) and Yield Tokens (YT), enabling users to either lock in fixed returns or speculate on future yield. The results are exceptional: over 105% APY on YU-Pendle LP positions, plus 6x Yala Berries rewards for providing YU LP liquidity and buying YT.

• Equilibria: Our automated yield enhancement integration automatically directs $YU liquidity into Pendle's staking pools to maximize both base and enhanced rewards without manual management.
• Penpie: The optimized staking strategy built by Magpie lets $YU holders access deep vePENDLE positions for higher LP yields without the complexity of manual lock-ups.

This multi-chain approach gives Bitcoin holders access to Solana's high-speed, low-cost yield farming alongside Ethereum's mature, sophisticated yield strategies. All protocols integrate seamlessly through our DeFi Marketplace, creating a unified experience where users can deploy $YU across multiple chains and strategies while earning 4x to 6× Berries rewards and protocol-native incentives.

Protocol Developments

June was a month of intensive development across multiple fronts:

Institutional Infrastructure & Security

• Institution Mode Integration:  We continued development on Institution Mode, focusing on integrating with cold wallets and third-party custodians. This ensures that large clients can manage assets securely via multi-signature and PSWSH custody solutions, paving the way for institutional adoption and flexible custody setups.
• Binance Wallet Integration on Ethereum: Integration with Binance Wallet for Ethereum has been launched, giving institutional users more wallet options and streamlined asset management.

Cross-Chain & Liquidity Infrastructure

• Native BTC Bridging Development: We’ve begun building a native minting protocol on Solana, which includes bridging BTC directly from the Bitcoin chain to Solana. This is a key step in extending native BTC liquidity across chains and reducing friction for users.
• Liquidity Expansion: $YU liquidity pools expanded across both Ethereum and Solana ecosystems, with significant depth added on Uniswap V3 and Raydium. This deepens trading liquidity and capital efficiency for $YU across chains.
• LST Collateral Support: Development has been completed to support Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) as collateral for minting $YU. This will broaden collateral options for both retail and institutional users and may be integrated into Institution Mode in future releases.

User Experience & Ecosystem

• Lite Mode Launch: We are launching Lite Mode soon for retail users, enabling them to earn a fixed 12% APY with simplified, risk-free participation. This product lowers the barrier for newcomers seeking predictable returns.
• Website Redesign: Development for a redesigned Yala website has been completed, introducing a modern, cleaner interface that reflects the expanding ecosystem and improves user navigation.
• User Interface Updates: Several UI enhancements were implemented across the platform, including real-time display of key metrics like TVL and Mint Caps to improve transparency and usability.
• NFT Strategy & Development: We finalized the technical work for Yala’s upcoming NFT program, paving the way for an NFT giveaway and deeper community engagement.
• RealYield Page: We launched the dedicated RealYield page, setting the stage for new fixed-income products that will soon expand the BTC-backed yield offering for Yala users.

Data & Oracle Integrations

• Oracle Partnership with Pyth: We initiated cooperation with Pyth Network to strengthen data infrastructure, ensuring high-quality price feeds and secure oracle services for Yala’s multi-chain operations.
• Switchboard Partnership: Real-time pricing for $YU is now live on Solana, powered by Switchboard’s fast, verifiable on-chain oracles. 

Community Momentum

June was a pivotal month for Yala's community growth and industry recognition. As our protocol matured and TVL soared, we focused on educating users, building thought leadership, and creating sustainable engagement programs that reward active participation in the Yala ecosystem.

Founders Hour Success

On June 9, our co-founders hosted "Founders Hour: Post Mainnet" at 1pm UTC, diving deep into:

• Unlocking BTC liquidity across DeFi & RWAs
• Multi-chain strategy & Solana integration

KT shared insights on "The BTCFi Reality Check": "BTCFi isn't broken, it's just early. Token performance may lag for some, but infrastructure is maturing. Custody, compliance, and capital are aligning. Yala is building what this sector needs: sustainable, diversified yield powered by BTC."

In the Media

Vicky featured on Unchained Podcast: Sharing Yala's vision to a broader DeFi audience. 

Four Pillars Research: Deep dive into how Yala unlocks Bitcoin liquidity through $YU after mainnet launch, highlighting our role in bringing Bitcoin into broader DeFi and RWA ecosystems.

Community Activation

We launched the first phase of the Yeti Footprints Program - Yeti Yell. Not a campaign, but a culture. Yeti Footprints are earned through genuine contributions that help Yala and Bitcoin grow smarter, stronger, and more useful. From sharp critiques and bold ideas to tutorials, dashboards, and DeFi proposals, every meaning trace you leave counts.

What’s Next

Looking ahead to July, here’s what we’re building for you:

More DeFi Integrations

We're bringing even more top-tier DeFi protocols into the Marketplace so you'll have even more places to put your $YU to work. We're already in talks with lending protocols like NX Finance and Euler – imagine the yield opportunities when these partnerships go live! As we add more protocols, you can expect our points system to get even more rewarding.

More protocols  = More Yield opportunities + More Berries

Institutional Growth

We're rolling out the red carpet for institutional clients with Institution Mode. Think major Bitcoin holders who want the same yield opportunities you have, but with enterprise-grade security. We're also prepping for Mint Cap 3 – and trust us, you won't want to miss it.

Cool New Features Coming

• YU Savings Pool launches in July – think of it as your $YU earning steady returns while you sleep
• More exciting incentives will be revealed to recognize and reward our most dedicated Yetis
• Omnichain PSM in development: making $YU work seamlessly across even more chains
• Continued Solana expansion:  we're not slowing down on making Solana the home for BTC liquidity

Your journey with Yala is just getting started. Bitcoin is working harder than ever, $YU is earning across chains, and our community is driving the liquidity revolution.

Join the Yala Community

Yala is a native Bitcoin liquidity protocol that channels BTC into yield opportunities across DeFi and RWAs. 

Bitcoin holders unlock capital through self-custodial, liquidation-free borrowing by minting $YU, a BTC-backed liquidity asset. In this process, they pay a stability fee directly to $YU depositors, effectively exchanging BTC-backed exposure for portable, capital-efficient liquidity and access to yield without giving up ownership.

Yala’s SmartVault module manages system risk and ensures efficient yield distribution.

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