Users in North America and Europe will soon gain streamlined access to Kraken Defi Earn through a new yield-focused product from the major crypto trading platform.
Kraken expands DeFi access with a new product to earn cryptocurrencies
Crypto exchange Kraken has introduced a new DeFi Earn product in Canada, the European Economic Area and most U.S. states, aiming to make onchain yields more accessible to its clients. The launch targets users who want exposure to decentralized finance without leaving the familiar environment of a centralized exchange.
The service will offer onchain earning opportunities with advertised annual percentage yields of up to 8%, according to an announcement shared today.
Moreover, Kraken emphasized that the product is designed to deliver the perceived simplicity and security of a traditional exchange interface while routing funds into decentralized protocols behind the scenes.
“With DeFi Earn, we are moving decentralized finance from a hobbyist’s pursuit to a mainstream financial utility,” Kraken Director John Zettler said. He added that the product aims to unlock real-time, transparent rewards in a way that feels intuitive to everyday users, arguing that this kind of offering can help bring decentralized finance to the “next billion” participants.
Centralized platforms race to build DeFi bridges
The launch arrives amid a broader push by centralized operators to act as a centralized defi bridge between traditional exchange users and onchain markets. Coinbase, for example, recently integrated Base-based DEX trading into its core platform, allowing customers to access decentralized liquidity from a familiar interface.
Meanwhile, custodians such as Anchorage have partnered with Spark to provide onchain lending yield on assets held in custody. However, many of these offerings still face the challenge of translating complex DeFi risk profiles into products suited for institutional and retail users who expect clear disclosures and smooth user experiences.
Veda vault infrastructure and USDC strategies
Kraken’s DeFi Earn will rely on vault infrastructure provider Veda to power the new offering, integrating its underlying technology to manage deposits and strategy execution. In addition, risk managers Chaos Labs and Sentora will operate the first three USDC vaults, which will serve as the initial strategies available to users at launch.
According to Kraken, those vaults will allocate funds to what it describes as “well-known onchain protocols” including Aave, Morpho, Sky and Tydro. Moreover, the exchange said the vaults are expected to generate variable USDC vault yields derived from actual market demand, with returns ultimately paid by borrowers using these lending and liquidity platforms.
This structure is intended to give users exposure to decentralized lending markets while maintaining a centralized point of access. That said, performance will still depend on protocol-level demand for borrowing and liquidity, as well as broader market conditions that influence utilization and interest rates across these DeFi protocols.
Risk management and institutional-grade infrastructure
The involvement of specialized firms underscores the focus on risk controls. Chaos Labs CEO Omer Goldberg argued that onchain yields have historically lacked the type of infrastructure and oversight institutions require. “Onchain yield has lacked the infrastructure institutions expect,” Goldberg said, pointing to the need for more robust safeguards around market and protocol risk.
“Launching Chaos Vaults on Kraken changes that, bringing AI-powered risk intelligence to millions of users and laying the foundation for how institutional-grade yield operates at scale,” he added. Furthermore, this positioning suggests Kraken is targeting not only retail users seeking defi earning opportunities but also more sophisticated clients that demand enhanced risk analytics and monitoring.
The partners say their approach is meant to create a framework that could later extend to additional assets and strategies. However, the long-term viability of any kraken defi earn strategy will depend on the continued reliability of the underlying protocols, as well as the effectiveness of Chaos Labs’ and Sentora’s risk management models in volatile market environments.
User experience, disclosures and withdrawals
Kraken stressed that transparency around returns and risks will be central to the user interface. DeFi Earn participants will receive clear alerts about offered rates, any applicable fees and potential risks before they commit funds to a vault. Moreover, users will be able to review this information on an ongoing basis as yields and market conditions change over time.
The exchange also outlined its withdrawal process, stating that redemptions are expected to be “typically instant.” However, Kraken cautioned that temporary delays may occur if liquidity in the underlying strategies becomes constrained, a risk inherent to onchain markets where capital can move quickly in response to changing incentives.
By embedding these disclosures directly into the product experience, Kraken aims to balance ease of use with clear communication about how DeFi-based yields are generated. In doing so, the platform is positioning its new Kraken Defi product as a gateway to onchain returns that still respects the expectations of users accustomed to centralized services.
Overall, Kraken’s partnership with Veda, Chaos Labs and Sentora seeks to merge institutional-style risk management with consumer-friendly access to decentralized yield, potentially expanding the audience for DeFi-based income products across Canada, the European Economic Area and most U.S. states.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/01/26/kraken-defi-earn-launch/
