WOO X Research: What to do about market Fluctuation? Check out these low-risk yield options.

To steady the ship during this turbulent period, the following will introduce four yield products based on stablecoins.

Written by: WOO X Research

Background: Tariff Policies and Federal Reserve’s Stance Intensify Market Volatility

In April 2025, Trump’s tariff policy caused severe fluctuations in the global financial markets. On April 2, he announced the implementation of “reciprocal tariffs” on major trading partners, setting a 10% baseline tariff and imposing higher rates on specific countries: 34% for China, 20% for the EU, and 32% for Taiwan (with semiconductor products exempted). On April 5, the 10% baseline tariff officially took effect, exacerbating tensions in the global supply chain. On April 9, Trump suspended high tariffs for 75 countries that had not implemented retaliatory measures for 90 days (until July 8), but raised the tariffs on China to 145%, citing China’s imposition of a 34% retaliatory tariff on US goods. The EU announced a suspension of its retaliatory tariffs on 21 billion euros worth of US goods until July 14, in an effort to gain negotiation space.

These policies have triggered a strong reaction in the market. The S&P 500 lost $5.8 trillion in market value within four days after the tariff news was announced, marking the largest single-week loss since the 1950s. Bitcoin prices fluctuated between $80,000 and $90,000. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated on April 17 at the Chicago Economic Club that tariffs could raise inflation and suppress growth, but the Fed would not intervene in the market by cutting interest rates, focusing instead on long-term data. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have raised the probability of a U.S. recession to 20% and 45%, respectively. Corporate profits and prices may both be affected, leaving the market outlook shrouded in uncertainty. What should investors do in such times? Low-risk stablecoin yield products in DeFi might be a good choice to stabilize during this turbulent period, and below are four types of yield products based on stablecoins.

This article does not constitute investment advice, and investors should conduct their own research.

Spark Saving USDC (Ethereum)

Connect your wallet through the Spark official website (spark.fi), select the Savings USDC product, and deposit USDC.

Note: Spark is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that provides the front-end interface for the blockchain-based liquidity market protocol SparkLend. Users can participate in lending and borrowing activities through this platform.

Source of income: The income from saving USDC comes from the Sky Savings Rate (SSR), which is supported by income generated from cryptocurrency collateral loan fees, investments in U.S. Treasury bonds, and providing liquidity to platforms like SparkLend. USDC is exchanged for USDS at a 1:1 ratio through the Sky PSM and deposited into the SSR vault to earn interest, with the value of sUSDC tokens increasing as interest accumulates. Spark bears the liquidity of USDC.

Risk Assessment: Low. The stability of USDC is high, and Spark’s multiple audits reduce the risks of smart contracts. However, attention should be paid to the potential impact of market volatility on liquidity.

Current data situation:

Data Source: Spark Official Website

Berachain BYUSD| HONEY (Berachain)

Visit the Berachain official website, enter BeraHub, connect a Berachain compatible wallet, select the BYUSD/HONEY pool on the Pools page, and deposit BYUSD and HONEY to provide liquidity. Users receive LP tokens, which can be staked to the Reward Vaults to earn BGT.

Note: Berachain is a high-performance, EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that uses an innovative Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism to enhance network security and ecosystem vitality by incentivizing liquidity providers. The product is a BYUSD/HONEY liquidity pool, deployed on Berachain’s native DEX BEX, which is Berachain’s native stablecoin (multi-asset collateralized, soft-pegged to USD), and BYUSD is another stablecoin on Bear Chain.

Source of income: The income mainly comes from BGT rewards (3.41% APR, based on staking weight and validator allocation of BGT emissions, updated every 5 hours) and in-pool transaction fees (0.01% APR, from the sharing of transaction fees). BGT is the non-transferable governance token of Berachain, which can be burned at a 1:1 ratio for BERA (irreversible), and share fee income from core dApps such as BEX, HoneySwap, and Berps (specific ratios determined by governance). The BYUSD/HONEY pool has lower price volatility risk due to the characteristics of stablecoins.

Risk Assessment: Low to Moderate. BYUSD and HONEY are stablecoins with stable prices; Berachain’s PoL mechanism has been audited by Trail of Bits and others, resulting in lower smart contract risks. However, BGT rewards depend on validator allocation and governance decisions, which may fluctuate due to emission adjustments.

Current data situation:

Data source: Berachain official website

Provide Liquidity to Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0 (Uniswap V4)

Connect your wallet through the Merkl official website (app.merkl.xyz) and deposit USDC or USDT into the “Provide Liquidity to Uniswap V4 USDC-USDT0” product to provide liquidity for Uniswap V4.

Note: Merkl is a DeFi investment aggregation platform that provides users with a one-stop solution, covering opportunities such as liquidity pools, lending protocols, and more. This product provides liquidity to the USDC/USDT pool of Uniswap V4 through Merkl. Uniswap V4, set to launch in 2025, introduces a “hooks” mechanism that allows developers to customize pool features, such as dynamic fee adjustments and automatic rebalancing, enhancing capital efficiency and yield potential.

Source of income: UNI token incentives.

Risk assessment: Low to moderate. The USDC/USDT pool is a stablecoin pair, with lower price volatility risk, but be aware of smart contract risks and potential decline in returns after the incentive period ends.

Current data situation:

Data Source: Merkl Official Website, Uniswap Official Website

Echelon Market USDC (Aptos)

Visit the Echelon Market official website (echelon.market), connect to an Aptos compatible wallet, select the USDC pool on the Markets page, and deposit USDC to participate in supplying. Users receive supply certificates, and earnings accumulate in real-time.

Note: Echelon Market is a decentralized cryptocurrency marketplace based on the Aptos blockchain, developed using the Move programming language. Users borrow or lend assets through non-custodial pools, earn interest, or use leverage. The product allows users to deposit USDC into the Aptos mainnet pool, participate in the supply, and earn yields. Echelon Market is integrated with the Thala protocol, which provides stablecoins and liquidity layers on Aptos, generating deposit receipt tokens such as thAPT.

Source of Earnings: Earnings include interest on the USDC supply (5.35%) and thAPT rewards on Thala (3.66%). thAPT is Thala’s certificate of deposit, minted and redeemed 1:1 for APT, with a 0.15% fee on redemption and the fee goes into the sthAPT (Staking Yield Token) prize pool.

Risk assessment: Low to moderate. USDC has high stability, but attention should be paid to the smart contract risks in the Aptos ecosystem and the impact of thAPT redemption fees on returns. Instant exit provides high liquidity, but market fluctuations may affect the value of thAPT rewards.

Current data situation:

Data source: Echelon Market official website

Summary

The table is arranged in descending order by TVL and is for reference only, not as investment advice.