Pendle crossed a huge milestone last week: $1.42 billion in weekly trading volume, the highest ever since our inception. The majority of this was driven by the May 29th maturity event, where $1.6b in TVL reached maturity. In fact, this maturity event had the best liquidity retention rate of all time. The rest came from users buying PTs and looping collateral across money markets, a testament to the utility and composability of Pendle assets. Historically, Pendle's maturity events have prompted understandable concerns around TVL retention. Since the launch of Pendle V2, we’ve gone through 27 maturity events, 7 of which involved over $1 billion in maturing TVL. Over the course of the last cycles, what has remained consistently true is this: a) Pendle works. All of our mechanisms have operated as intended over the years. We’ve successfully processed all PT/LP redemptions, including last year’s $3.8 billion June 2024 event. b) Yes, we’ve seen liquidity outflows post-maturity. Some due to macro headwinds, others tied to shifting narratives. But if there’s one constant in Pendle’s evolution, it’s our ability to constantly adapt to find PMF. From LSTs → LRTs → BTCfi → Stablecoins, the nature of Pendle has allowed us to continuously realign to meet the market where it is. Looking at the recent maturity events in the past 6 months, I believe that Pendle has reached a new stage of growth, with a reasonable offering as the premier yield marketplace. The Pencosystem is growing, with PTs being increasingly adopted as a trusted collateral across DeFi money markets, including household names such as Aave, Morpho, and Euler. The same foundation and growth path are currently being laid for Pendle LPs as well. Unlike earlier cycles, TVL retention has become significantly more consistent, even as the scale and frequency of maturity events have grown. Let’s look at some of the numbers from the recent May 29th maturity: - $4.79B → $4.23B peak-to-trough dropoff (-11.7%) in TVL - Within one week, TVL rebounded to $4.45B (just -7% from peak) - 35% of matured TVL migrated to other Pendle pools within a week, the best 7D retention rate of all time - $1.15B of PT and $236M of LP redemption processed successfully within a week - Ethena-linked TVL only saw a -6% dip ($2.8B → $2.6B) after 4 days, and has already rebounded back to $2.73B (h/t @jamesjho_) Today, over 83% of our TVL is in stablecoins, showing a significant shift from our early days dominated by LST and LRT yield farming. Comparatively, stablecoin yields remain evergreen with their demand persisting through bull and bear markets as a reliable tool for wealth preservation. Unlike our early LRT days where headline-grabbing yields of 80–120% Fixed APY were the norm, the current range of 3–12% Fixed APY reflects a maturing market - and that’s a good thing. We’re now seeing more stable, reliable yield flows, underpinned by real demand rather than short-lived, mercenary capital. This coupled with the shift towards more sustainable liquidity dominated by stablecoins, is ideal for Pendle’s long-term trajectory - all while maintaining the flexibility in pivoting to various narratives on demand. This price discovery of yields is crucial in helping the whole financial ecosystem of the crypto space mature as Pendle transitions into a platform offering DeFi yields to TradFi and institutional investors. The global fixed income market is one of the largest securities markets in the world, valued at US$140 trillion as of 2023 (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association). The demand for Fixed Yield products is obvious and continuing to grow, and we believe that stablecoin-denominated PTs are DeFi’s best shot at breaking out into the mainstream. Job’s not done.