Supra’s liquid staking tokens gain traction
I’ve been looking at Supra’s new iAssets system, and it seems they’ve found a way to make staking work differently. The concept is pretty straightforward, I think. You deposit assets like ETH, USDC, or WBTC into their vault, and you get back a wrapped version called iAssets. These iAssets keep earning you rewards while staying liquid.
What’s interesting is how they’ve managed to attract over $538,000 in total value locked already. That’s not huge by DeFi standards, but for a relatively new system that launched its bootstrap phase in mid-January 2026, it’s decent traction. There are 801 users participating, which suggests people are giving it a try.
How the system actually works
The process is simple enough. You go through SupraNova.ai, their bridging interface, deposit your assets, and get iAssets minted at a 1:1 ratio. Then you just hold them. The rewards come from block production on Supra’s network.
Early numbers show stablecoins like iUSDC earning around 6.5% to 6.75% APY as a base rate. That’s not spectacular, but it’s competitive for something that doesn’t lock up your funds. The real advantage comes when you start stacking yields.
You can take those iAssets and lend them on Supralend, their native lending protocol. Or use them as collateral to borrow other tokens. Each layer adds more yield potential. When you want out, you just burn the iAsset and get your original deposit back along with whatever rewards you’ve accumulated.
The technical foundation
This all runs on what Supra calls Proof of Efficient Liquidity. Basically, your deposited assets serve as collateral that supports network validation. The rewards from those operations flow back to iAsset holders.
Supra itself is a Layer-1 blockchain that launched mainnet in November 2024. They claim some impressive performance numbers—up to 500,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality. Testing happened across 300 nodes globally.
What makes Supra different, perhaps, is their vertical integration approach. They have native decentralized oracles that deliver price feeds with finality in 600 to 900 milliseconds. There’s verifiable randomness, cross-chain messaging, and automated DeFi execution built right in.
Recent developments and future potential
January 19 was a significant date. That’s when iAssets went live on Supralend. Now users can lend their iAssets to earn dual yields—the base lending APY plus the staking rewards from Proof of Efficient Liquidity. Or they can borrow against iAssets without losing their staking position.
Other integrations are coming online too. Atmos Protocol now offers boosted LP rewards for iAsset holders. The team seems focused on sustainable growth rather than chasing hype metrics, which I appreciate.
For regular crypto holders, this means stablecoins sitting in wallets can earn around 6.5% or more. Blue-chip holdings like ETH and WBTC can generate returns while staying available for other opportunities.
For the broader ecosystem, more usable collateral means more lending activity, more borrowing demand, and higher overall TVL. Validators and the network benefit too since the Proof of Efficient Liquidity system diversifies collateral sources beyond just native token staking.
It’s a practical solution to that classic DeFi problem: how to earn yield without sacrificing liquidity. Built on a high-performance L1 with native oracles and automation, the feature is seeing strong early traction. With Supralend integration now live, the path to compounding multiple yield sources is open.
Whether this approach will scale remains to be seen. But $538,000 TVL and 801 users in the first few weeks suggests people are at least curious. The controlled, sustainable approach the team emphasizes might help avoid some of the pitfalls that have tripped up other DeFi projects.
