Best DeFi strategies on TON in 2026: risk-adjusted

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 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.

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.

1. Stake 100 TON → 100 stTON.
2. Deposit stTON to EVAA as collateral.
3. Borrow 50 USDT against it (LTV 50%).
4. Swap 50 USDT for TON on STON.fi (~30 TON at price).
5. Stake 30 TON → 30 stTON.
6. 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).

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.

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