Ledger Live has added its newest stablecoin yield option: USDe staking, now live directly in the Earn Page and Earn Drawer for millions of Ledger users worldwide. This marks Ledger Live’s most advanced stablecoin yield integration to date, and it’s now live for Ledger users through Yield.xyz’s Optimized Allocator Vaults.
Breaking Past ERC-4626 Limits with Optimized Allocator Vaults (OAVs)
Ethena’s staking system introduces a cooldown module that breaks standard ERC-4626 compatibility. Most providers in the market are confined to ERC-4626 vault structures and could not deliver a compliant, fee-enabled integration.
Yield.xyz solved this. With our market leading Optimized Allocator Vaults (OAVs), Yield.xyz is not simply adding a standard ERC-4626 around yields to charge fees. We’re fundamentally reimagining how DeFi yields should work. Our OAVs take on all complexity to offer Web3 yields with Web2 UX. This includes:
- Off-ramping and reinvesting incentive tokens so users earn yield purely in deposit tokens
- Calculating TrueAPY measuring the actual yield users will receive in the deposit token
- Automated wrapping, swapping, and bridging so users can deposit any input token and get the yield they desire
- Accounting for complex non-ERC4626 compatible functionality such as cooldown modules
- Charging of deposit, management, and performance fees
OAVs are by far the most sophisticated solution to offer DeFi yields in wallets and apps. For USDe in particular, Ledger is leveraging OAVs to:
- Handle Ethena’s cooldown module without breaking user experience
- Charge performance fees, with automatic collection by the OAV
- Preserving security and performance while integrating natively into Ledger Live’s UI
This integration showcases why Yield.xyz is the definitive solution for the most intricate and non-standard yield integrations.
Understanding Ethena’s USDe and sUSDe
Ethena is a synthetic dollar protocol built on Ethereum, creating a crypto-native stable asset independent of traditional banking systems.
- USDe: Maintains a stable USD peg via a delta-neutral strategy that balances long crypto assets (e.g., stETH) with short perpetual futures positions.
- sUSDe: The yield-bearing version of USDe, received when USDe is staked in Ethena’s contract. It automatically accrues yield from:
- Delta-Neutral Basis Trading: Funding rate arbitrage from perpetual futures markets.
- Ethereum Staking Rewards: stETH validator yields.
- Fixed Rewards on Stablecoin Holdings: Loyalty yield from Coinbase programs, with potential EigenLayer restaking in the future.
Yield.xyz stk-USDe Vault in Ledger Live
The stk-USDe Vault is the backbone of Ledger Live’s new USDe staking feature. It handles deposits, interacts with Ethena’s contracts, and tracks yield accrual transparently for all users. At a technical level, the vault:
- Accepts USDe deposits
- Stakes into Ethena to receive sUSDe
- Tracks all idle, staked, and in-transit funds. As sUSDe accrues yield, the vault’s price per share increases, growing user balances over time.
- Charges performance fees.
How it Works: User Flows
The staking process in Ledger Live is simple by design, even though the backend logic is complex. Whether depositing or redeeming, every step is automated to minimize friction while maintaining full control for the user. The flows are as follows:
- User deposits USDe
- Vault stakes into Ethena, receives sUSDe
- Vault issues stk-USDe shares to user
- Burn stk-USDe → receive sUSDe
- Unstake in Ethena → 7-day cooldown → Claim USDe
Security-first Design
Security and capital protection are foundational to both Ledger and Yield.xyz. From independent audits to built-in reserve coverage, the integration is designed to protect user funds under all market conditions. Core protections include:
- Rewards accrue in-contract; principal remains intact
- Negative protocol income does not reduce sUSDe value — Reserve Fund coverage applies
- Fully audited by Zellic and Trail of Bits
Delivering Web3 Yield with Web2 UX
By integrating USDe staking natively into Ledger Live, Yield.xyz has:
- Enabled the most advanced stablecoin yield Ledger has ever shipped
- Proved that ERC-4626 limitations don’t define what’s possible
- Delivered a frictionless, secure user experience for a global audience
Yield.xyz is where DeFi complexity meets turnkey delivery. This is how Web3 yield meets Web2 UX.