Yield paid from cash flow a protocol actually earns (trading fees, lending spreads, real user activity) rather than subsidized by minting more of its own <a href="/en/glossary/governance-tokenomics/governance-token/">Governance Token</a> — asking whether a <a href="/en/glossary/defi-basics/stablecoin/">Stablecoin</a> yield is <a href="/en/glossary/rwa-fundamentals/real-yield-rwa/">Real Yield</a> is really just asking one question: where does this money actually come from?

Simultaneously buying a spot asset and shorting an equivalent notional of futures or perpetual contracts, so price moves on both sides cancel out — the return comes from the futures premium and perpetual <a href="/en/glossary/derivatives-and-leverage/funding-rate/">Funding Rate</a>, not from betting on the asset's direction. This is what most <a href="/en/glossary/algorithmic/delta-neutral/">Delta-Neutral</a> <a href="/en/glossary/defi-basics/stablecoin/">Stablecoin</a> yield mechanisms are actually doing under the hood.

<a href="https://crypto-bible.com/en/glossary/defi-basics/stablecoin/" target="_blank">Stablecoin</a> yield strategies are various methods for earning returns while holding stablecoins. The four common approaches are: depositing into DeFi lending protocols (like Aave), holding native yield-bearing stablecoins (like sUSDS, sUSDe), providing DEX liquidity (like Curve), and using centralized exchange fixed deposits or financial products. The yield logic and risk structure behind each method differ significantly — the highest annualized returns often mean the most complex mechanisms or highest risks.