Pendle is a project in the Yield Protocol category, which means it focuses on helping users manage, trade, or improve their returns (or “yield”) from crypto assets. Pendle allows people to split their yield-bearing tokens into two parts: one for the original token (the principal) and one for the future yield. This lets users trade the future interest separately, opening up new strategies like locking in profits or betting on interest rate changes.
The main goal of Pendle is to create a market for future yield, something that didn’t exist before in DeFi. It solves the problem of passive yield farming by making it more flexible—users can now decide exactly what to do with their future earnings, instead of waiting for them to arrive.
The PENDLE token is used for governance and staking. When users lock their tokens, they get vePENDLE. This gives them voting power and boosts their yield rewards. It also encourages long-term holding and active participation in the ecosystem. Finally, it gives access to special benefits like boosted rewards and bribes.
Pendle’s governance is community-driven. VePENDLE holders vote on how to distribute rewards to different pools. While the Pendle team created the system, the control is now more decentralized. The community is active, especially among experienced DeFi users who care about yield strategies.
PENDLE is liquid and widely traded. It’s available on major centralized exchanges (like Binance and Coinbase) and decentralized ones (like Uniswap and SushiSwap). It has strong trading volume and a market cap over $1 billion, which shows that many people believe in the project’s long-term value.
Finally, pendle is built on Ethereum and Layer 2 networks (like Arbitrum and Optimism), helping keep fees low and transactions fast. It’s a decentralized project, so it doesn’t have built-in KYC/AML rules.