[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, October 28th, 2025]
Asset manager 21Shares has launched an exchange-traded product (ETP) called APEN based on Pendle — a development that signals deepening institutional recognition of Pendle’s role in bridging traditional fixed-income markets with Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
One of the most notable metrics underlining Pendle’s traction is its recent achievement: the protocol has settled $70 billion in yield, effectively creating a bridge between the roughly $140 trillion global fixed-income market and crypto-native infrastructure. This milestone is supported by on-chain market behavior that sees Pendle’s approach as an emerging link between traditional finance and decentralized systems.
Another indicator of Pendle’s traction is its latest product called Boros, designed for trading funding rates from various centralized and decentralized exchanges in a DeFi-native environment. Boros recently achieved an accumulated trading volume of $2.83 billion in just 3 months, underlining the potential of trading funding rates.
In the words of 21Shares’ Karim, Senior Digital Asset Researcher:
“$PENDLE potential TAM is the massive interest rate derivatives, which alone represent $500T+ in TradFi. Fixed yields aren’t just a pillar of institutional finance, they are the market” — said AbdelmawlaKarim.
For institutional investors — asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds and other large-scale capital allocators — the launch of the 21Shares Pendle ETP presents several important themes: first, that institutional capital is beginning to adopt yield-tokenisation platforms; second, that protocols like Pendle are maturing beyond experimental to investible, regulated-friendly instruments; and third, that the broader narrative of DeFi accessing the massive fixed-income market is moving from theory into execution.
Institutional adoption in focus
Institutional investors typically demand scale, liquidity, transparency, and regulated access. Traditional fixed-income markets offer scale, but often suffer from opacity, illiquidity for some instruments, and high entry thresholds. Pendle’s architecture transforms yield streams into tradeable tokens, enabling access, transparency, and composability — features that align with institutional tooling. By packaging Pendle’s exposure into an ETP, 21Shares renders this ecosystem accessible via familiar capital-markets infrastructure—custody, reporting, regulatory frameworks—bridging DeFi protocols with institutional workflows.
Recent commentary from analysts reinforces this trend: one X-post from TheDeFinvestor highlights how yield-tokenization has grown ready for institutions, underscoring the platform’s revenue-generating capabilities.
What this means for Pendle and institutions
The ability of Pendle to settle tens of billions in yield, coupled with billions in trading volume via Boros, reflects both adoption and liquidity — two critical hallmarks for institutional viability. The 21Shares ETP is more than a product launch; it is symbolic of a shift in institutional attitudes toward DeFi-native infrastructure. As Pendle continues to integrate real-world assets and yield markets, its utility for professionals is likely to expand.
Looking ahead
With the institutional gateway now established via the 21Shares ETP, Pendle is positioned to scale its offerings—whether via fixed-rate instruments, yield tokenization of new asset classes, or deeper tradable products. For institutions looking to access the ~$140 trillion fixed-income market through a programmable, permissionless lens, Pendle offers a contemporary avenue.
In summary, the launch of the 21Shares Pendle ETP signals more than recognition—it marks a juncture where the world’s largest crypto-yield trading platform is entering the infrastructure of institutional finance. With tens of billions settled, billions in trading volume, and ETP access, Pendle is moving from innovation to institutional-ready infrastructure.
About Pendle
Pendle is the world’s largest crypto-yield-trading platform that enables users to separate and trade the future yield streams of yield-bearing assets in DeFi. By enabling the tokenization of both principal tokens and yield tokens, Pendle has created a foundation for programmable fixed-income-style exposure in blockchain.
For further reading, Pendle’s announcement is available on X:
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