Crypto Lending Vault Deposits Surpass $10 Billion as Regulators Focus on Collateral and Smart Contract Risks

On October 19 that, according to CoinDesk, deposits in crypto lending vaults have surpassed $10 billion, marking a significant increase from the $4 billion recorded at the beginning of last year. Vaults of this type are typically overseen by “Curators” responsible for selecting lending strategies, setting risk limits, and charging fees, with annualized returns generally ranging from 3% to 10% and high-risk strategies reaching 20% or higher.

Major depositors include fintech companies, digital asset treasury firms, and hedge funds. Meanwhile, related products also face risks such as insufficient collateral liquidity, market downturns amplified by automatic liquidations, smart contract vulnerabilities, and pricing mechanism failures. The U.S. SEC has begun examining whether vaults holding security-type assets are subject to existing regulatory rules, while European regulators have also proposed strengthening oversight of intermediaries facilitating DeFi access.