October 28, 2025 – Singapore, Singapore
Asset manager 21Shares has launched an ETP (exchange-traded product) called APEN based on Pendle a development that signals deepening institutional recognition of Pendle’s role in bridging traditional fixed-income markets with DeFi (decentralized finance).
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 onchain market behavior that sees Pendle’s approach as an emerging link between TradFi (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 DEXs (decentralized exchanges) in a DeFi-native environment.
Boros recently achieved an accumulated trading volume of $2.83 billion in just three months, underlining the potential of trading funding rates.
Karim AbdelMawla, senior digital asset researcher at 21Shares, said on X,
“Pendle potential TAM is the massive interest rate derivatives, which alone represent [over] $500 [trillion] in TradFi.
“Fixed yields aren’t just a pillar of institutional finance they are the market.”
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-tokenization platforms.
Second that protocols like Pendle are maturing beyond experimental to investible, regulated-friendly instruments.
Third that the broader narrative of DeFi accessing the massive fixed-income market is moving from theory into execution.
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.
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 RWAs (real-world assets) and yield markets, its utility for professionals is likely to expand.
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 approximate $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.
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.
Media relations, Pendle
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