Decentralized Finance收益竞赛：Pendle与后起之秀Spectra

Author: Coinshift, encryption KOL

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

The DeFi yield market is growing rapidly—Pendle and Spectra are major players driving growth in this space, employing different approaches.

Pendle is set to have a breakthrough year in 2024. Thanks to the integration with staking/re-staking ETH derivatives (LST and LRT), an active community, and strong airdrop momentum. Pendle's TVL rose from $20 million to $4.6 billion.

In June 2024, APWine was renamed Spectra, focusing on permissionless pool creation and integration with stable, high-yield assets such as csUSDL (Coinshift) and USR (Resolv). By early 2025, its TVL grew from $20 million to around $190 million. Although the pace is not as fast as Pendle, it has sustained appeal in Base and other L2s. Spectra is also developing MetaVaults features aimed at improving capital efficiency in the yield market.

This article aims to review the development history of two protocols, interpret the differences between them, and analyze how their growth strategies impact the future returns of DeFi.

*Note: This article is for reference only and does not constitute financial advice. All data related to token prices, market capitalization, and protocol TVL is based on public sources such as DeFiLlama.

Spectra and Pendle: Development Trajectory

Pendle 's explosive growth: first-mover advantage

Pendle gains an edge in the yield derivatives space by converting future earnings into tradable assets. Thanks to the wave of liquid staking and early integration with staking ETH derivatives such as Lido's wstETH and Renzo's ezETH, its TVL is expected to soar to $5.2 billion by mid-2024.

The main drivers of Pendle's growth include:

• Early support for popular yield tokens
• vePENDLE model will guide issuance to high-demand pools, encouraging deep liquidity.
• Bribery-driven governance system that encourages active participation and enhances token utility

As TVL rises, protocol revenue and user participation are also increasing, creating a flywheel effect. Thanks to the narrative surrounding yield innovation and increased fee accumulation, Pendle's native token has surged 20 times in 2024.

The growth of Pendle's TVL

Spectra low-key restart and breakthrough moment

Spectra took a different approach - a strategic, phased rollout rather than a high-profile launch. After the planned relaunch of the revenue market in June 2024, the initial adoption rate was not high. However, this changed in December 2024, when Spectra's TVL surged from $20 million to over $190 million in just a few weeks.

What is a catalyst? Resolv Labs' USR has rapidly risen, a stablecoin that has triggered a wave of demand for fixed income options.

Spectra has quickly become the primary venue for USR deployments, especially for users seeking predictable fixed-rate returns. By the end of the year, USR accounted for over 80% of Spectra's TVL.

The growth of Spectra's TVL

USR and Spectra**:****DeFi flywheel

USR will迎来 a breakthrough moment at the end of 2024, with TVL jumping from 36 million dollars to nearly 400 million dollars in less than a month. Spectra has become the preferred platform for users looking to lock in USR fixed income.

Several key factors have initiated the flywheel:

• Spectra is one of the earliest platforms to provide fixed income for USR holders.
• The incentive pool funded by SPECTRA and the Resolv revenue mechanism quickly attracted liquidity.
• With the influx of liquidity, more and more users are turning to the USR-Spectra strategy, chasing competitive fixed income and potential airdrops.

The TVL of Resolv follows a growth curve almost identical to that of Spectra. In particular, yield farmers are attracted by the incentives from Spectra and the stablecoin returns from Resolv.

The TVL growth trajectory of Resolv Lab

This has formed a self-sustaining growth loop. By December 2024, Spectra's TVL has climbed from around 20-25 million USD to 143 million USD, while the USR pool has just exceeded 300 million USD. Spectra is one of the first platforms where users can deploy USR for fixed income, so most of the new USR supply flows directly into its market.

The effect is very obvious:

The increase in circulating USR → The demand for fixed income increases → More TVL flows into Spectra → User confidence continues to grow → A cycle repeats.

Spectra's Discord and social channels are quickly keeping up with this trend. Some even describe it as a "Pendle-like moment" because Spectra has shown signs of catching up in terms of TVL.

With the addition of more yield-bearing assets, the composition of Spectra's fund pool has also changed.

Morpho Loop: Pendle Flywheel, Spectra Opportunities

One of the strategies behind the recent growth of Pendle's stablecoin TVL is the leveraged yield loop. This is a recursive strategy where users borrow and lend Principal Tokens (PT) to expand their fixed income exposure.

This strategy is commonly referred to as "Morpho Loop" or stablecoin arbitrage trading, demonstrating the practical application of DeFi composability. Taking PT-USR on Pendle as an example, here is how it works:

(i) obtain yield-generating stablecoins

Users start with base stablecoins like USDC or DAI and convert them into yield-bearing tokens like wstUSR.

(ii) split into PT and YT on Spectra

Users deposit wstUSR into Pendle, generating PT (Principal Token) and YT (Yield Token).

Most strategies involve holding PT, as its value is relatively stable and will accumulate to the full face value at maturity. Users can sell YT for instant returns or use it elsewhere.

(iii) use PT as collateral on Morpho

Users obtain PT (e.g., PT-wstUSR) and provide it to Morpho as collateral.

For example, the PT-wstUSR/USR market on Morpho allows users to borrow USR using their PT collateral.

(iv) Reinvest borrowed stablecoins

The borrowed USR is converted back to wstUSR, deposited into Pendle again to mint more PT and YT, and then the process is repeated.

The result of Morpho loop is a leveraged fixed interest rate position:

The final amount of PT held by the user exceeds the amount allowed by their original capital, which means that at maturity, they will receive more stablecoins.

Why is this important?

PT-USR loop is a typical example of DeFi composability - combining stablecoin issuers, yield protocols, and lending markets into a self-reinforcing flywheel.

The strategy is as follows:

Mint stablecoin → Split into PT / YT → Use PT as collateral → Borrow → Loop.

This stablecoin yield strategy has become a key factor in Pendle's TVL growth, as it allows users to expand fixed income exposure while putting idle stablecoins to use.

What does this mean for Spectra ?

Currently, this loop exists on Pendle rather than on Spectra. However, Spectra is actively collaborating with Morpho and ecosystem managers to bring the Spectra-PT market to Morpho. Once launched, the same strategy may open a new round of growth for Spectra, especially considering its deep focus on the native yield market for stablecoins and the creation of permissionless mining pools.

In other words: Pendle's flywheel is now in operation. The version of Spectra is still loading - but if its mechanism is replicated, there could be significant upside potential.

The leveraged yield cycle strategy is in effect.

TVL growth and token price correlation

The cases of Spectra and Pendle illustrate that the growth of a protocol's TVL is often related to the performance of the token price, especially when the token gains value through fees, issuance, or governance.

Pendle

Pendle TVL experiences explosive growth in 2024, directly translating to strong token performance:

• TVL surged from 230 million USD to 6.7 billion USD, significantly increasing market share.
• PENDLE surged from around 1 dollar to a historic high of 6.67 dollars, an increase of nearly 590%.

This is not just a guess. Pendle's vePENDLE model introduces fee sharing and governance weight, so more TVL means more protocol revenue—along with more incentives to lock PENDLE for voting rights and bribery.

At its peak, Pendle's TVL was $4.6 billion, with a market capitalization of $644 million, resulting in a TVL-to-market-cap ratio of about 14%. This "undervalued" perspective has contributed to ongoing buying pressure. Ultimately, after reaching its peak in April, the token price fell from around $7 to the $2-4 range as some TVL declined with the expiration of popular yield pools.

Nevertheless, the overall trend still exists: as Pendle's TVL grows, the demand for tokens is also increasing. Strong fundamentals (TVL, revenue, and token utility) are driving the narrative and attracting investor attention.

Even in early 2025, when Pendle's TVL fluctuates between $3.5 billion and $5 billion, the token remains in the range of a few dollars. This indicates that the market is still pricing in future upside potential, rather than just the current TVL.

Comparison of PENDLE token price and TVL

Spectra

The token history of Spectra is recent, but early data shows a significant correlation between TVL growth and token price fluctuations.

In December 2024 alone, the TVL grew from 20 million dollars to 143 million dollars, primarily due to the integration of USR and the demand for stablecoin yields.

In early December last year, SPECTRA was issued at a price of $0.07 and climbed to a historic high of $0.23 within a few weeks, an increase of approximately 310%.

After peaking in early January, the price of SPECTRA began to decline, stabilizing around $0.04-0.05 by March, while the TVL remained stable at over $150 million. This indicates that the initial price surge may have outpaced the rate of usage and fees generated, and the market will adjust expectations accordingly.

At a peak price of $0.236, Spectra's circulating market cap is approximately $80 million, accounting for over 50% of its $143 million TVL—an MC/TVL ratio significantly higher than Pendle's at a similar growth stage. Once this imbalance becomes apparent, the premium will disappear.

By March 2025, Spectra's TVL will be $190 million, with a market cap of $14 million, which is only about 7% of its TVL—compared to Pendle, which is at a similar point on the growth curve, it can be said to be undervalued.

If Spectra continues to expand and activate governance mechanisms like veSPECTRA, the demand for tokens may arise accordingly. Assuming strong and sustained adoption of fees, a leap to over $1 billion in TVL could potentially reprice the tokens.

Comparison of SPECTRA token price and TVL

Spectra can it catch up with Pendle?

Pendle has demonstrated a strong market demand for tokenized yields, with billions of dollars in liquidity and a clear product-market fit. Spectra is building on this foundation—focusing on stablecoin-native strategies, integrating composable lending through Morpho, and designing permissionless solutions to encourage broader participation.

As the profit landscape continues to evolve, Spectra's development path appears to be increasingly solid. If it can maintain growth, activate long-term token incentives through veSPECTRA, and continue to attract real users, it is highly likely to become the next major player in the field.

Related reading: Interest-bearing stablecoins are thriving, how to earn profits from them?