TL;DR. TON DeFi offers four core strategy classes: passive staking (~4–5% net APY, low risk), LP farming on STON.fi/DeDust (volatile 10–50%+ APY, medium-high risk via IL and contracts), lending on EVAA (5–12% APY, medium risk), and leverage strategies (loop staking, liquidity-leveraged farming — potentially 15–25% net, high risk). There is no “best strategy” — only the best for your risk tolerance, capital size, and horizon. This piece is a map, not financial advice.
Strategy map by risk
| Strategy | Headline APY | Realistic risk-adjusted | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staking via Tonstakers/bemo | 4–5% | 4–5% | Smart contract, slashing |
| Whales Pool (classic) | 3.5–4.2% | 3.5–4.2% | Slashing |
| LP TON-USDT on STON.fi | 8–20% (with farm) | 5–10% after IL | Impermanent loss + SC |
| LP TON-jetton on STON.fi | 20–80% | -5 to +20% | IL can outweigh APR |
| LP stTON-TON on DeDust (stable) | 4–8% | 4–7% | SC, near-zero IL |
| Lending USDT on EVAA | 6–12% | 6–12% | SC, oracle, borrower |
| Loop staking (stTON → USDT → TON → stTON) | 10–15% | 10–14% | SC, liquidation, oracle |
| Storm Trade leverage | n/a | n/a (speculation) | Full margin loss |
| DAOlama lending | 5–10% | 5–9% | Default → you get NFT |
Strategy 1: passive staking
The most basic and easy to understand. TON → pool (Tonstakers, bemo, Hipo, or Whales Pool) → automatic accrual. Deep dive in the staking comparison.
When staking is your strategy:
- HODL horizon of 6+ months.
- You do not want to actively monitor.
- You want to offset TON inflation (~0.6% annual emission) and capture a small premium.
What you do not get:
- Double-digit APY.
- Real protection against a TON price drop in dollar terms.
Strategy 2: LP farming on a DEX
Provide liquidity into a TON-USDT or TON-jetton pool, earn fees + (optionally) STON or DUST farming tokens. Already an active strategy — needs monitoring.
Volatile pairs (TON-USDT, TON-NOT etc.)
Profit = trading fees + farming incentives − IL.
STON.fi TON-USDT pair in May 2026:
- Pool base fee: ~12% APR from volume.
- STON farming: +8–20% APR (volatile).
- Marketing total APR: 20–32%.
- Realistic IL at ±30% TON move per quarter: -2 to -4%.
- Net effective: ~15–25% APY under average volatility.
Stable pairs (USDT-USDC, stTON-TON)
DeDust stable pool, 0.04% fee by design.
- Base APR: 4–8% from trading fees.
- Farming usually absent or minimal.
- IL: near zero while peg holds.
- Net: 4–7% APY, very low IL risk, smart-contract risk still present.
!Impermanent loss — actual money
IL is not “theoretical”. Put $1000 into TON-USDT at TON=$5, TON goes to $10, your LP ends at ~$1414, while just holding would have yielded $1500. The $86 difference is IL. A marketing APR of 30% does not mean +30% in dollars — it is +30% on the LP token, which itself may be smaller than the hold strategy.
Deep dive: yield farming on TON.
Strategy 3: lending on EVAA Protocol
EVAA is the largest TON lending protocol (Aave/Compound shape). Deposit USDT/TON/stTON, earn interest from borrowers. Or borrow against your own crypto collateral.
Base case “supply USDT, earn interest”:
- APY 6–12% depending on pool utilisation.
- No IL.
- Withdraw any time (if pool has liquidity).
Borrow case:
- Deposit TON or stTON as collateral.
- Borrow USDT at conservative LTV (typically 30–50%).
- Deploy USDT into another strategy.
- Repay to release collateral.
Deep dive: EVAA Protocol.
Strategy 4: loop staking (advanced)
A loop is a leverage strategy with minimal volatility exposure.
- Stake 100 TON → 100 stTON.
- Deposit stTON to EVAA as collateral.
- Borrow 50 USDT against it (LTV 50%).
- Swap 50 USDT for TON on STON.fi (~30 TON at price).
- Stake 30 TON → 30 stTON.
- Optionally repeat at smaller leverage.
Net effect: 130 stTON working on 100 TON of capital. ~7–10% net annualised (after the USDT borrow rate).
Main loop risks:
- LTV rises if stTON depreciates → liquidation.
- USDT borrow rate on EVAA may rise and eat the staking yield.
- Smart-contract risk multiplies by protocol count (Tonstakers + EVAA + STON.fi = three failure points).
!Loops are not for beginners
If you do not understand LTV, liquidation threshold, and funding rate, a loop will liquidate you in a couple of days during TON volatility. Read the EVAA docs and practise on a tiny amount first.
Strategy 5: NFT lending as a lender
Through DAOlama you can become a lender — fund NFT-loan pools, earn 5–10% APR from borrowers.
Pros:
- Steady return higher than a bank deposit.
- On default you get the NFT (also a risk).
Cons:
- On default you hold an NFT that must be sold — takes time.
- Pool liquidity: instant withdrawal not always possible.
Deep dive: DAOlama strategies.
Portfolio allocations: examples
Conservative (>1y horizon, ~$10K):
- 70% — staking (Tonstakers 50% + bemo 20%).
- 20% — USDT lending on EVAA.
- 10% — reserve in cold storage.
Expected return: ~5–6% net APY. Smart-contract risk present but spread across 2 LSTs + lending.
Balanced (~$10K):
- 40% — staking.
- 20% — LP stTON-TON stable pool on DeDust.
- 20% — USDT lending on EVAA.
- 10% — LP TON-USDT volatile on STON.fi.
- 10% — reserve.
Expected: ~7–10% net APY. More active management.
Aggressive (~$10K, for experienced users):
- 30% — staking (Tonstakers, used as collateral downstream).
- 30% — loop via EVAA.
- 20% — incentivised LP volatile on STON.fi.
- 10% — DAOlama as lender.
- 10% — reserve.
Expected: ~12–18% net APY in ideal conditions. Realistic 8–14% after fees and IL. Non-zero liquidation risk.
Antipatterns (what does not work)
- “I’ll buy a token with a 200% APY farm on a new DEX” — usually a trap. APR of 100%+ is funded by an incentive token that dumps at unlock. Net return is typically negative.
- “I’ll put everything in one strategy to maximise” — concentration = risk. Splitting across 3+ protocols costs a small fraction of APY and hedges against a single black swan.
- “I’ll take x10 leverage on Storm Trade, I just know TON will pump” — that is not a strategy, that is a casino. At x10, a 10% adverse move kills the position.
iDeFi marketing is not financial advice
Lending dashboards, aggregators, LP farms display “potential APY” — that is marketing, not a guarantee. Real return depends on pool utilisation, trading volumes, incentive-token price, and external factors. Cross-check on DeFiLlama for historical numbers before entering.
Pre-launch checklist
- Risk profile and horizon defined.
- You know how APY is computed for this specific strategy (not just the headline).
- You understand which contracts your funds pass through.
- You accept smart-contract risk (never deploy more than you can lose).
- Capital split across 2–3 protocols.
- Exit plan defined in advance.
- Tax records kept if your jurisdiction requires them.
Sources
- DeFiLlama: TON ecosystem
- DeFiLlama yield: stonfi.io, evaa.finance
- TON Foundation DeFi metrics
- tonscan.org — contract verification
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