Yala Updates: March

February sent us into hyperdrive, but March propelled us beyond the stratosphere. With 2.99 million Yetis now stress-testing Yala’s Testnet V3 — a staggering 1 million new co-builders joining in just one month — we’ve shattered limits and sharpened our mission: building a liquidity layer unlocking Bitcoin’s untapped yield across DeFi and RWAs.

While markets fluctuate, Yala’s momentum remains unstoppable. From institutional-grade risk frameworks to RWA strategies, March was about laying rails for mainnet launch — the gateway to permissionless Bitcoin liquidity. Here’s the truth we’re proving: Bitcoin isn’t just a store of value. It’s the fuel for a yield revolution, bridging DeFi, traditional assets, and institutions.

In this update, we’ll cover:

1. Yala Testnet V3 Success
2. Yala Protocol Developments
3. Community Momentum
4. What's Next

Testnet V3 Success: The Gathering of 2.99M Yetis

March was a defining moment for Yala as Testnet V3 surged past expectations, rallying 2.99M Yetis (and counting!) to stress-test, refine, and co-build the future of Bitcoin liquidity. The numbers speak the story:

• Total BTC Staked: 1.34M
• Total $YU Minted: $42.62B
• Total Users: 2.99M

Since launching Testnet V3 on March 11, we welcomed over 1 million new users in just three weeks.

Thanks to every Yeti: Your transactions, feedback, and relentless testing are the backbone of Yala’s evolution.

Yala Protocol Developments

As we gear up for our mainnet launch, our technical and product teams made significant strides in March across institutional partnerships, risk management, liquidity strategies, and user experience. Here’s the breakdown: 

Institutional Solutions & Partnerships

1. Institution Mode Development: We are working through integrations of Anchorage and Coinbase Prime, and have onboarded several large clients to test third-party custodial solutions alongside Yala.
2. Risk & Liquidity Monitoring: Established a real-time Backend Operations Center to monitor critical on-chain and market data round-the-clock. This system tracks key metrics such as Institution Mode adoption rates and liquidity health, with automated alerts triggered for deviations from critical thresholds. Focus areas include smart contract health, token price volatility, and liquidity pool stability — ensuring proactive risk mitigation and protocol resilience.
3. CEX & Hedging Strategies: Established exchange accounts and implemented assets hedging strategies to make yield for our users and safeguard against market volatility.

 Mainnet Preparation

4. Testnet V3: Launched early March to stress-test functionalities and gather final feedback before mainnet launch.
5. Berries Evolution: Introduced Ice Berries, a new points type, and improved rules for points/NFT interactions to align with mainnet incentives.
6. Liquidity Reserves: Began securing liquidity pools to ensure a stable mainnet debut. and other preparation work for the mainnet launch.
7. Tokenomics Design: Finalized foundational concepts for the $YALA token economy (details coming soon!).

User Experience & Massive Adoption

8. UI Optimization: Moved the “Convert to $YU” (PSM Module) feature to a more prominent location for seamless user access.

Security & Compliance

9. Audit Complete: Passed a rigorous audit by Zenith. Review the full report here:

10. TRM Labs Integration: Integrated anti-money laundering (AML) solutions to block high-risk addresses, ensuring compliance ahead of mainnet.
11. Multi-Sig & Key Management: Enhanced protocols for institutional-grade safety, including multi-signature workflows and secure private key storage.

Community Growth & Initiatives

At the heart of Yala’s evolution is a force more powerful than any codebase: Yeti. Building the Yeti community isn’t just about technology; it’s about delivering our strategic transition and long-term vision to the community. Connecting Bitcoin to real-world value is the key, and your voices are shaping our roadmap.

In our first Founders Hour AMA on March 20th, Co-Founder KT unveiled Yala’s long-term vision: sustainable yields via Real-World Assets (RWA).

“We want to make sure that this APY is sustainable over a year and a year. Otherwise it is very short-lived. A few months of liquidity incentive is not enough to attract our user and we want to have this liquidity sticking around the protocol. So RWA makes sense.” — KT, Co-Founder, Yala

Check out the key takeaways here:

Our X Spaces have become a thriving space for dialogue with industry leaders. This March, we continued our Bitcoin Liquidity Series with Venus Protocol, where the team shared their innovative lending and borrowing ecosystems and discussed how Venus is expanding its DeFi footprint into 2025.

We also kept up the momentum with educational content, introducing our community to Yala’s 3 Modes: Lite Mode, Pro Mode, and Institution Mode, showcasing how Yala ensures safety and flexibility for every type of user. 

Read more: 

In March, the community continued to grow, reaching 261,000+ members across X, Discord and Telegram.

What’s Next: April and Beyond

As we head into April, we’re rapidly approaching a monumental milestone — the Yala mainnet launch. And that's just the beginning. Here’s what’s on the horizon:

• DeFi Marketplace: You’ll soon be able to use $YU in leading partner protocols to earn Yala points, fueling cross-ecosystem utility and expanding the use cases for $YU across DeFi.
• Cross-Chain Bridge: Launching tools to bridge $YU between Ethereum and Solana on Yala testnet V3,  expanding interoperability.
• LST Collateral: We’ll be integrating Liquid Staking Tokens (LST) to allow users to mint $YU with staked assets, adding another layer of flexibility.
• Yala RealYield: Preparing the launch of a structured marketplace that consolidates all RWA-related collaborations within the Yala ecosystem, with new integrations, expanded product offerings, and enhanced user tools on the horizon to further strengthen Yala RealYield’s position as the leading RWA yield marketplace. 

The countdown to mainnet has officially begun! Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for being part of the Yala journey!

Join the Yala Community

Yala is building a liquidity layer to unlock Bitcoin’s untapped yield across DeFi and RWAs. Users can deposit BTC and mint $YU natively, enabling seamless liquidity movement and yield opportunities across ecosystems, chains, and protocols.

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