DeFi yield aggregator guide: how to optimize your yield farming

You may have explored the world of DeFi yield farming, earning rewards by staking your crypto or supplying liquidity to trading pools. While this might be productive, it can be tough to manage over time as you juggle yield farming across multiple decentralized applications (DApps) while attempting to keep transaction fees affordable. What if there was a way to streamline this process, maximize your yields, and slash those pesky gas fees? Enter yield aggregators — the DeFi powerhouses designed to simplify your experience and boost your earnings potential.

With DeFi yield aggregators, you can enjoy optimized yield farming with a fraction of the effort put in. Keen to find out how the yield farming grind can be made easier with DeFi yield aggregators? From addressing the shortcomings of frequent yield farming to highlighting possible pros and cons, here's everything you'll need to know when it comes to making use of DeFi yield aggregators.

What are DeFi yield aggregators?

DeFi yield aggregators are platforms that automatically search for the best opportunities to earn yields on your crypto holdings and pool liquidity from multiple yield sources to deliver optimized yields. These platforms optimize yield farming by sourcing the best yields from activities like staking and DEX liquidity pool provisions. In short, you can think of DeFi yield aggregators like high-performance yield farming assistants that work tirelessly behind the scenes to maximize your gains.

By combining assets into automated "vaults", these platforms pool together liquidity from multiple yield sources and then continuously seek out and shift your exposure to optimize earnings. This process of autocompounding rewards is handled by smart contracts without any work from users, making them the go-to choice for many users seeking a form of passive yield over time.

To appreciate the impact of DeFi yield aggregators, let's first understand the challenges yield farmers regularly face in the DeFi space.

Today's yield farming challenges

As one of the most popular DeFi activities, yield farming is a lucrative activity that can be rewarding if executed correctly. Unfortunately, yield farming can feel like a complex and time-consuming process, especially when we consider the following challenges yield farmers tend to face:

• High gas fees: If you're a DeFi native, you'll feel the pinch with every interaction on the blockchain as it incurs a gas fee. Gas fees add up over time and can be expensive when the network gets congested. When switching protocols to chase the best yields, gas fees can quickly eat into your gains.

• Managing multiple protocols: Juggling between multiple DeFi protocols can feel like an organizational nightmare. From constantly tracking various platforms and analyzing their offerings to manually moving your crypto between them to optimize your yield, it can be a time-consuming and error-prone process.

• Staying informed: The DeFi landscape is constantly evolving. Keeping up with the latest yield farming opportunities and potential risks requires significant research and effort, which sometimes may be out of reach for some DeFi users who prefer a more passive yield farming approach.

Why DeFi yield aggregators are popular among yield farmers

Fortunately, with DeFi yield aggregators, you can navigate the challenges above because such platforms achieve the following:

• Consolidate information: Forget about switching between countless tabs. Yield aggregators present a unified interface that displays all your DeFi activities in one place. You can easily track your activities, monitor gains, and analyze performance across different protocols.

• Automate yield farming optimization: With yield farming optimization, there'll be no need to manually search for the best rates or meticulously time your crypto transfers. Yield aggregators automate the optimization process, constantly searching for the most lucrative opportunities across the DeFi landscape.

• Minimize gas fees: As the bane of every DeFi user's existence, gas fees can quickly eat into your profits. Yield aggregators can significantly reduce gas fees by employing batch processing and other optimization techniques. This translates to more gas fees saved and less frustration when navigating the DeFi space.

How do yield aggregators work?

Now that we've explored why yield aggregators are popular among DeFi users, you might be wondering about the core functionalities that make yield aggregators such powerful tools. Here's a breakdown of how the technology works:

1. Pooling your funds: When you deposit your funds into a yield aggregator, it gets combined with funds from other users. This creates a larger pool of capital, allowing the platform to negotiate better rates with DeFi protocols, potentially leading to more gains for you.

2. Identifying high-yield opportunities: DeFi yield aggregators constantly scan the DeFi ecosystem, searching for protocols offering the most lucrative yield for your specific crypto assets. They factor in various data points like interest rates, liquidity levels, and potential risks to identify the most lucrative opportunities.

3. Employing automated yield farming strategies: For many DeFi users, the automation is where the magic happens. Yield aggregators can automatically implement strategies to maximize your gains. One example is auto-compounding, where your earned yield is automatically deposited back into the pool, generating even greater returns over time. This eliminates the need for manual intervention and ensures you never miss out on compounding opportunities.

Benefits of using DeFi yield aggregators

Now that you understand the core functionalities, let's explore the compelling reasons to consider using a DeFi yield aggregator:

• Maximized returns: By leveraging multiple DeFi protocols and automatically seeking the highest rates, yield aggregators can significantly boost your earning potential compared to traditional methods. They handle the legwork of finding the best opportunities, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your crypto strategy.

• Simplified DeFi experience: Yield aggregators provide a user-friendly interface, allowing you to manage all your DeFi activities from a single platform. No more juggling multiple protocols, deciphering complex interfaces, or worrying about gas fees for every transaction. This streamlined approach saves you time, effort, and reduces the risk of errors.

• Reduced gas fees: Yield aggregators can significantly reduce your gas fees by optimizing transactions and leveraging batch processing. This is because they can bundle multiple transactions into a single interaction with the blockchain, minimizing the overall gas cost for all users involved.

• Convenience for experienced users: While yield aggregators are perfect for beginners, they also offer significant advantages for experienced DeFi users who are used to managing their yield farming portfolio across multiple DApss. With yield aggregators freeing up time from constant monitoring and manual optimization, experienced DeFi users can focus on other aspects of managing their crypto portfolio.

Risks to consider when using DeFi yield aggregators

While yield aggregators offer many benefits, it's crucial to be aware of the associated risks before diving in:

• Smart contract risk: Like any DeFi platform, yield aggregators rely on smart contracts — self-executing code that governs their operations. If these contracts contain vulnerabilities, hackers could potentially exploit them and steal your funds. To overcome this risk, DeFi users will have to do their due diligence by making sure to select reputable yield aggregator platforms with a strong track record of security. This can be done by looking out for those that have undergone independent audits by security firms and prioritize secure coding practices

• Impermanent loss: This risk is particularly relevant if you choose to try out liquidity pool farming through a yield aggregator. Liquidity pool mining involves providing liquidity to a trading pair by depositing two different crypto assets. While you earn fees for facilitating trades, the value of your deposited assets can fluctuate. If the price of one asset in the pair falls significantly relative to the other, you could experience impermanent loss when withdrawing your funds. To counteract this, it's key to first get yourself used to liquidity pools by trying out stablecoin pairs. These liquidity pools are typically less prone to fluctuations and minimize the risk of impermanent loss

• Dependence on the platform's performance: Ultimately, your returns are tied to the performance of the yield aggregator platform you choose. It's essential to conduct thorough research and select a reputable platform with a strong track record and a focus on security. From platform fees involved to supported assets, it's key to know what you're putting your funds into before committing to an automated yield farming strategy.

Popular yield aggregators in the DeFi Landscape

Keen to give yield aggregators a go? Why not check out these platforms to get started with automated and optimized yield farming:

ether.fi Liquid (ETHFI)

While most DeFi users know about ether.fi for its attractive yield in the liquid restaking scene, Liquid is the lesser-known DeFi strategy vault that functions as a DeFi yield aggregator. By pooling user funds together and deploying them strategically across protocols, users can enjoy diversified exposure to different yield-generating opportunities without manually managing their yield farming activities. With strategies ranging from low to high risk, users of ether.fi are able to choose strategies and yields based on their risk appetite.

Yearn Finance (YFI)

Yearn Finance is a leading yield aggregator known for its innovative and diverse yield-generating strategies. It goes beyond simple staking and liquidity pools, potentially offering higher returns but also potentially carrying greater risk. Some examples include techniques like yield farming across multiple chains, leveraging borrowed assets, and rebalancing portfolios based on market conditions. With all-time high total value locked numbers reaching almost $7 billion during December 2021, it's safe to say Yearn Finance has gained significant trust from the crypto community for outlasting the recent bear market. As such, Yearn Finance remains a popular DeFi yield aggregator and may be considered if you're on the lookout for complex strategies that are able to generate greater yields.

Beefy (BIFI)

With support for 26 different networks, Beefy Finance certainly stands out as a DeFi yield aggregator platform known for its focus on simplicity, security, and maximizing returns. Beefy prioritizes a user-friendly platform, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced DeFi users. Unlike some yield aggregators, Beefy offers support for multiple blockchains, allowing users to diversify their DeFi yield farming activities across different ecosystems. Ultimately, Beefy's diverse vault options, multichain support, and focus on transparency make it a strong contender for both novice and experienced DeFi users seeking to optimize their yield farming activities.

The future of yield aggregators: innovation and evolution

The yield aggregator space is a dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape. Here are some potential trends to watch for as the DeFi scene continues to bloom:

• Increased focus on security: As the DeFi space matures, security will remain a top priority. Yield aggregators can be expected to implement even more robust security measures to mitigate smart contract vulnerabilities and protect user funds. This is to avoid situations like the infamous Pancake Bunny hack as the yield aggregator fell victim to flash loan attacks that allowed hackers to make off with $45 million in stolen funds.

• Integration with advanced DeFi strategies: We might see yield aggregators incorporating more sophisticated DeFi strategies, such as flash loans and arbitrage opportunities, to maximize user returns. However, such strategies may be more suitable for experienced users.

• Improved user experience: As the user base expands, yield aggregators will continue to prioritize user experience by offering more intuitive interfaces, educational resources, and seamless integration with various DeFi protocols. This will ultimately lower the barrier to entry for yield aggregators and allow more users to discover the perks of automated yield farming.

Final words and next steps

Yield aggregators offer a compelling opportunity to simplify your DeFi experience and potentially maximize your earnings. By leveraging the power of automation and diversification, they can be a valuable tool in your cryptocurrency trading journey. However, it's important to remember that DeFi, by its very nature, carries inherent risks. Before diving in, ensure you understand the associated risks and conduct thorough research on the specific yield aggregator platform you choose. With time, you'll be able to get the most out of DeFi yield aggregators and reap the benefits of automated and optimized yield farming.

For more on yield, you can read our Ethena guide that discusses the possibility of stable yields through a synthetic dollar. Alternatively, you can also read up more about liquid staking and how it's shaking up the DeFi scene.

FAQs about DeFi yield aggregators

What are yield aggregators and how do they work?

Yield aggregators are platforms that automatically search for the best opportunities to earn yield on your crypto holdings. They pool user funds together and deploy them across various DeFi protocols, optimizing returns through strategies like staking and liquidity provision.

Is it safe to use yield aggregators?

The safety of using yield aggregators depends largely on the platform itself. Choose a reputable platform with a strong track record of security and a focus on responsible practices. Smart contract audits and robust security measures are essential considerations. It's also crucial to understand the inherent risks of DeFi, such as smart contract vulnerabilities and impermanent loss.

How much can I realistically earn with a yield aggregator?

Potential gains with yield aggregators vary significantly depending on the chosen automated strategy and the overall market conditions. Some strategies might offer high yield, but they also carry a greater degree of risk. It's essential to conduct due diligence and choose a strategy that aligns with your risk tolerance and long-term goals.

What are the tax implications of using yield aggregators?

Cryptocurrency transactions, including those generated through yield aggregators, may be subject to capital gains taxes depending on your jurisdiction. Consult a qualified tax professional for guidance on reporting your DeFi earnings.

Are there any alternatives to yield aggregators?

Yes, you can participate in DeFi protocols directly, but this requires a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanics and involves manual management of your funds. Centralized exchanges might also offer staking opportunities, but these typically have lower yields compared to DeFi options.