Pendle, the world's largest crypto yield trading platform, has announced a major upgrade to its native token, introducing a new staked token called sPENDLE. Announced on January 20th, 2026, the upgrade is designed to unlock deeper liquidity, diversify revenue streams, and strengthen Pendle's position in the on-chain yield and rates segment.
The announcement follows a record-breaking 2025 performance for the protocol. Key metrics included an Average Total Value Locked (TVL) of ~$5.7 billion, representing a 76% year-over-year increase, with a peak TVL reaching ~$13.4 billion. The platform accrued ~$44.6 million in total fees (up 134% YoY), with holders' revenue hitting ~$34.9 million. Monthly notional trading volume averaged ~$54 billion on a 90-day trailing basis, with frequent daily nine-figure volumes.
The core of the upgrade involves several structural changes to the PENDLE tokenomics. Protocol revenue will now be used for PENDLE token buybacks, with the proceeds distributed to active sPENDLE holders. The new sPENDLE token features an improved liquidity model, offering a simple 14-day withdrawal period or an instant redemption option for a 5% fee. It is designed as a composable, fungible token that can be integrated with any decentralized application (dApp).
Furthermore, the previous manual voting system will be upgraded to an algorithmic emission model, targeting a 20-30% reduction in PENDLE emissions while improving allocation efficiency. Existing vePENDLE locks will be paused on January 29th, 2026. Holders at that time will receive a special multiplier (up to 4x) to their virtual sPENDLE balance based on their remaining lock duration, allowing them to gain outsized rewards during the transition.
"This upgrade is a structural improvement as we scale both Pendle and Boros," said TN Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of Pendle. "Our goal has always been to bring the efficiency and scale of traditional fixed income markets into DeFi. With this upgrade, Pendle becomes a more robust, sustainable, and institution-ready yield infrastructure."
The upgrade is also supported by the rapid growth of Boros, Pendle's on-chain venue for tokenizing perpetual funding rates. Four months after its launch, Boros achieved ~$6.9 billion in open interest and generated ~$301,000 in fees, demonstrating early product-market fit. Boros has listed assets like NVDAUSDC-Hyperliquid, allowing trading on the funding rate of the NVIDIA perpetual market, with plans for more equity perps like S&P500 and Tesla.
Pendle's strategic vision positions the upgrade as a step towards building global fixed-income infrastructure on-chain, aiming to bridge DeFi with traditional finance markets.
