Yield Protocol, a popular decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, has announced its decision to shut down operations. In an announcement made on Wednesday, December 4th, the DeFi lending project stated that it will cease its activities by the end of this year. The decision to shut down was attributed to a lack of demand and regulatory challenges in the United States.
According to the team behind the protocol, loans will only be available until December 2023. Additionally, liquidity providers for the March-September strategies will not accumulate any additional fees.
On December 29th, 2023, the remaining series of loans will also expire, effectively ending all lending activities on the Yield Protocol. The team assured users that full support will be provided until the end of December, after which support for withdrawals will be available for a limited time.
“While we believe that the future is bright for DeFi markets and fixed-rate lending in DeFi, we feel that this decision was necessary because there is currently no sustainable demand for fixed-rate loans on the Yield Protocol. Furthermore, the current regulatory environment in the US, combined with the increasing regulatory requirements in Europe and the UK, pose a challenge for us to continue supporting the Yield Protocol,” emphasized the team.
In their closing statement, the Yield Protocol expressed gratitude for the support received over the years and expressed pride in their contributions to the industry.
The Yield Protocol, which was once valued at over $22 million in total value locked (TVL) in April 2022, has experienced a significant decrease in value since then, with approximately $1.96 million currently locked in, according to data from DeFi Llama.
It is worth noting that the Yield Protocol’s decision to wind down operations comes as a blow to the DeFi community, as the project was well-regarded and had gained considerable traction in the market.