➥ Onchain vaults = DeFi’s ETFs 2.0
If ETFs made investing simpler in TradFi, onchain vaults are doing the same for onchain yield.
Instead of choosing pools, rebalancing positions and managing risk manually, users can simply deposit into a vault.
The curator handles the strategy behind the scenes.
Based on June 2026 data, total AUM across automated vault strategies has reached around ~$17.5B.
I personally see strong potential in this sector.
The projects leading this category could have a real chance to break out.
protocols I’m watching close:
» vault leader → @MorphoLabs
» curators → @SteakhouseFi, @gauntlet_xyz
» Solana vaults → @kamino
» enterprise infra → @veda_labs
» yield layer → @pendle_fi
» OG vaults → @yearnfi
Another thing I’m watching is how vaults are moving from a DeFi niche into real asset management infra.
Bitwise, Kraken DeFi Earn and institutional-grade curators are starting to use vaults as backend yield rails.
Risks still exist, especially smart contract risk and curator risk.
But with current TVL, AUM and institutional adoption, I think on-chain vaults are one of the key DeFi sectors to watch in 2026.
btw, if DeFi really comes back in a more sustainable way, vaults could become one of the main rails behind it ↓
