We launched YO earlier this year with a simple goal: earning yield shouldn’t require a dozen tabs, constant bridging, and hours of research. Instead, it should feel like a polished fintech product that is simple to use, transparent in how it works, and built to scale safely.

Nine months later, YO has grown into something bigger than a set of vaults. We’re building the yield engine for the crypto economy so users can just “set and forget”. And we’re building it in a way that wallets, apps, and protocols can embed directly.

Here’s what defined our first year.

From Zero to Scale

In our first year, YO crossed ~$62M TVL across our vaults, and at our peak we reached $85M+. That growth came from real adoption across 15,000+ unique depositors who trusted YO with their assets.

That trust is earned through real outcomes and consistency. In 2025, YO vaults generated over $2.7M in cumulative yield for depositors, with nearly $900K just in Q4 so far.

Along the way, our flagship lineup matured into five core vaults built for the assets users actually want to hold including yoETH, yoBTC, yoUSD, yoEUR, and most recently yoGOLD.

And we’re especially proud of the part that rarely makes for flashy charts–we’re closing the year with zero hacks or exploits impacting any YO vaults.

Base and Beyond

A major theme of 2025 was proving the product market fit first. We didn’t try to be everywhere on day one. We tried to become undeniably useful where we were.

That effort made YO the #1 yield aggregator on Base, and today we rank in the top 10 across all chains.

Base also shaped how we think about distribution. The best yield product is the one users don’t have to go looking for. It should show up inside the apps and wallets they already use.

Deposits Made Simpler

One of the biggest UX failures in DeFi is how often “earning yield” starts with bridging. We wanted deposits to feel native, not like a multi-step process.

In November, YO enabled native Ethereum deposits across all vaults, so users can deposit without bridging first. It’s a simple change with a big effect, leading to fewer steps, fewer mistakes, and a smoother experience for both new and experienced users.

The YOverse

YO vaults are only half the story. The other half is what you can do once you have a yoToken.

In 2025, we grew the YOverse to 59 partners, and we now route through or plug into 50+ protocols and integrations. That includes DeFi primitives like Aave, Pendle, Balancer, and Morpho, plus wallet and app partners like Tuyo, Binance Wallet, Base app, and more.

This is how we think YO scales sustainably, not as a single destination, but as a yield engine that becomes more useful the more places it’s integrated.

To make that direction explicit, we launched Build with YO. It’s the simplest way for builders to integrate a unified yield engine without recreating vault logic, sourcing, routing, and risk work from scratch.

A highlight from this year was the Tuyo case study. After integrating YO, Tuyo reported a 50% TVL boost post-integration. That’s the thesis working in action: partners ship a better Earn product, users get a simpler yield experience, and growth compounds across the ecosystem.

Funding Year 1, Building Year 2

To close the year, YO Labs raised a $10M Series A led by Foundation Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, and Launchpad Capital.

We’re using this to do what Year 1 proved matters, including broadening the yield engine, expanding partner distribution, adding assets and chains, and raising the bar on safety and execution.

On to 2026

Our first year clarified what we’re building: dependable, risk-aware yield that feels simple to use, and that can be embedded anywhere users already are.

If you deposited, integrated, shared feedback, or contributed to YO in any way in 2025, thank you. We’re just getting started.

See you in 2026.