YieldNest’s journey began with a spark of innovation at the ETH Hackathon in Tokyo. In a room filled with passionate builders, three builders — Amadeo Brands, Shawn Fladager, and ZK Sean — worked tirelessly, crafting a vision that would soon redefine the DeFi landscape.
Against fierce competition, their idea was shining brightly, winning first prize from Aave and igniting a journey far greater than they could imagine.
Shortly after learning about #restaking and EigenLayer, YieldNest’s first core members met with Dan Octaivan, who stepped in to build this vision to life.
Drifting on the restaking wave, the team managed to do a successful fundraising round from notable parties like @BackedVC, Faculty Group Insignius Capital, Kahuna, Contango, Proof Capital, Mozaik Capital, and Rana.
Also highly praised by some notable DeFi figures like Sam Kazemian, Loi Lou, CryptoWinthorpe, C2tP, Mich Will, Steve Kokinos, 0xPims, Allen Day, IvanOnTech, Martin Krung, Naga Kingg, wavey0x - YieldNest was on the way to success.
This, combined with their ambition to simplify and revolutionize DeFi, accelerated quickly from concept into product. And from here on out #YieldNest was born. The team managed to shape the brand and launched their first breakthrough: $ynETH.
ynETH was not just another token — it symbolized a pure, secure, and accessible path into restaking via EigenLayer. Quickly embraced by the community for its elegant simplicity and robust reliability, ynETH rapidly became the foundation upon which YieldNest would build its future.
As users flocked in, the vision began expanding naturally. Yet, as the community grew, so did their questions.
“Can we do more? Can we utilize assets already staked elsewhere?” YieldNest stood at a crossroads: enhance ynETH or dare to innovate again. With a commitment to tailored solutions and user-driven growth, we boldly chose innovation.
Thus, $ynLSDe was born — a product dedicated exclusively to Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSTs) from major providers like Lido Finance, Frax Finance, Origin Protocol, and Mantle. ynLSDe wasn’t just another product; it was a carefully crafted answer to our community’s specific needs, allowing users to restake their LSTs and significantly amplify their yields.
But YieldNest knew there was even more untapped potential awaiting users. Our journey was turned toward amplifying these restaking products through powerful DeFi integrations. By partnering with industry-leading protocols like Curve Finance, StakeDAO, and Convex Finance, we created dynamic earn opportunities within our app. This transformed our LRTs into even more powerful yield engines, unlocking higher returns and allowing users to seamlessly explore multiple layers of yield optimization through liquidity pools.
With success came the desire to pioneer once again. YieldNest set its sights beyond Ethereum, exploring uncharted territory — the rapidly expanding ecosystem of BNB Chain. Through strategic collaboration, notably with Kernel DAO, YieldNest proudly launched $ynBNB, the very first BNB restaking token ever developed. This marked a historic moment, propelling YieldNest into the spotlight as a true leader in cross-chain innovation.
But the expansion didn’t stop there. Understanding the need to push max risk-adjusted yields even further, YieldNest embraced powerful new DeFi partnerships, adding integrations with Thena’s next-gen liquidity pools and Spectra Finance’s innovative yield derivatives. These strategic alliances created even richer opportunities for our community, multiplying the benefits of $ynBNB and marking yet another chapter in our ongoing quest to deliver the absolute best DeFi experience.
While the market shifted its focus, YieldNest never took its eye off from innovation. The team envisioned something even bolder — DeFi reimagined from the ground up. With this MAX LRTs came to life. YieldNest combined all previous learnings and successes into singular, unified, and powerful assets.
The MAX LRTs showed our commitment to simplicity, risk-adjusted high yields, and community-focused innovation. They were more than just products; they represented a whole new and simple way to engage with DeFi.
Even then, the YieldNest vision wasn’t complete. To stay at the forefront of #DeFi’s evolving landscape, YieldNest embraced advanced artificial intelligence through the launch of our first SubDAO: Nest AI.
An autonomous AI agent dynamically scans market conditions, automatically proposing adaptive yield strategies to keep our community ahead. But AI wasn’t just used for yield optimization — it also powered our ecosystem’s security through a strategic integration with Hypernative Labs’s AI-driven machine learning, ensuring the highest possible safety standards for our growing community.
YieldNest’s pioneering spirit also led us to an ambitious expansion across multiple blockchains, further broadening access and opportunity. Driven by powerful interoperability solutions from LayerZero, YieldNest will soon venture onto new ecosystems, including Base, Hemi Network, Ink Chain, Arbitrum, and Sonic. Each new blockchain integration opens doors to fresh opportunities, new communities, and greater yield potential, which we hope will solidify YieldNest as a multichain powerhouse.
Today, as YieldNest stands with over $240M locked, countless integrations, and a passionate community, we look back at our journey with pride. From that first sleepless night at a Tokyo hackathon, through each challenge and innovation, the heart of YieldNest has always been our community — you. Every decision, every product, and every partnership has been crafted to serve you, simplifying complexity, amplifying security, and optimizing returns.
YieldNest’s story is your story, and together, this is only the beginning.
Join us as we continue to build the future of DeFi!
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