Best Ways to Earn Yield on Base
Rift Research
Last updated
TLDR: Yield on Base is not one product. Pick the yield product first, then swap into the asset on Base. Rift is an aggregator with best price execution. It includes CCTP, Across and other inbound venues, adds 0 fee, and selects the best route onto Base automatically.
A ranked APY table on this page would go stale inside a quarter. Use the categories below, then a live board, then the protocol UI. This is not financial advice. Do your own research. Inclusion of a board or a protocol is not a recommendation to deposit.
Yield types
| Type | What you earn | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Lending (Aave and similar) | Variable borrow demand | Smart contract + opportunity cost |
| DEX LP | Fees + incentives | Impermanent loss |
| Restaking / points | Points or token incentives | Lockups, program ending |
| Vaults | Decently High Yield | Vault manager risk |
Where to check live yields
Two popular boards for current Base rates:
| Board | What it is | Link |
|---|---|---|
| DefiLlama Yields | Open DeFi analytics. Filter the yield dashboard to Base. | defillama.com/yields |
| vaults.fyi | Live vault APYs indexed from onchain state across 80+ protocols, including Base. | app.vaults.fyi · docs |
Rates, TVL and incentives move. Confirm the contract, the asset, and the risk on the protocol itself before you send.
How to deposit
Funds on another chain have to be sent onto Base first, then deposited into the lending market, vault or LP you picked.
| Path | Best when |
|---|---|
| CCTP | Native USDC between Circle domains. No protocol fee on standard transfers. docs |
| Canonical Base bridge | ETH or ERC-20s from Ethereum on the official Base rail. docs.base.org |
| Across | Fast USDC or ETH on major EVM. docs |
| Relay | Fast small sends across many networks. docs |
| LI.FI | Swap and send in one widget or API. docs |
| Rift | You do not want to pick the rail. Those venues included, 0 added fee |
Use Rift when the source token and the Base deposit asset should be one quote. Rift is an aggregator with best price execution. It includes CCTP, Across and the other inbound venues on Ethereum, Arbitrum and Base. If CCTP wins a USDC send, Rift gives you CCTP with 0 added fee. If Across wins, you get Across.
A worse inbound rate is a direct cut to the yield. Best price execution on the send is part of the deposit.