PENDLE benefits from multiple positive factors: dual drivers of institutional ETPs and AI points.
Key points
The Pendle protocol is entering a pivotal period with multiple positive factors converging. The first Pendle ETP, launched by 21Shares on the Swiss exchange SIX, officially began trading on October 23rd, marking a significant breakthrough for DeFi yield protocols into traditional finance. Simultaneously, the protocol, through the "Proxy DeFi" feature launched by partners such as INFINIT Labs, has implemented AI-driven automated yield strategies. On-chain data shows a TVL of $4.58 billion and a 30-day trading volume of $2.58 billion, indicating extremely bullish community sentiment.
Breakthrough progress in institutional ETPs
21Shares Pendle ETP officially launched
The first Pendle ETP was successfully launched : 21Shares launched the world's first Pendle ETP product (ticker symbol: APEN, ISIN: CH1495416997) on the Swiss SIX exchange on October 23, 2025. This physically backed ETP tracks the CPEDLEE index, is denominated in USD, has a management fee of 2.5%, and market makers include Flow Traders and Virtu Financial Ireland.
Official Confirmation and Market Reaction : Pendle's official communications (Print #87) and Head of Growth Ken Chia both confirmed the successful launch of the ETP on social media . As of early November, the ETP was trading at approximately €14.83 on the German MarketWatch platform, mirroring Pendle's spot price.
Institutional recognition has significantly improved.
Bloomberg Inclusion : Pendle was officially included in the Bloomberg Galaxy DeFi Index on November 24th, further gaining recognition and benchmark allocation from traditional financial institutions. This milestone event, synergistically linked to the launch of the ETP, provides European investors with regulated Pendle exposure. (cryptopolitan)
Galaxy Digital's Capital Deployment : Institutional investors such as Galaxy Digital have begun to incorporate Pendle's fixed-income products into their yield strategy portfolios, reflecting the growing importance that institutions place on the on-chain yield market.
AI-driven DeFi integration innovation
DeFi proxy feature launched
INFINIT Labs Partners : Pendle launched its "Proxy DeFi" feature in October, automating complex yield strategies through AI proxies, including PT/YT trading, cyclical strategies, and rebalancing operations. Key partners include INFINIT Labs (Plasma), Giza (Pulse), Symphony, and Artificial Financial Intelligence ( AFI ).
User Experience Simplification : The AI agent coordinates Pendle's PT and LP tokens, simplifying complex yield tokenization strategies and unlocking new profit paths for retail users. This innovative feature is expected to bring approximately 20% new TVL to the protocol. x.com
Points Farm Ecology
Multi-protocol points integration : While Pendle itself does not offer a native AI points system, it provides leveraged airdrop rewards to users through YT positions by participating in external points farms such as Neutrl, GAIB, and Re Points. These points are not based on AI technology but focus on yield speculation and airdrop incentives.
Community sentiment and market reaction
Extremely bullish community atmosphere
Dominant Narrative : Community discussions focused on two main themes: institutional adoption and enhanced yield through innovation. Institutional ETPs were seen as a significant milestone in bridging DeFi with traditional finance, while AI-driven functionalities were hailed as game-changers, lowering the barrier to yield tokenization.
Influencer perspectives :
- In its weekly summary, @TheDeFinvestor emphasized that institutional use of Galaxy is a key development for the maturation of DeFi.
- @Eli5defi provided a detailed analysis of Pendle YT's points farm strategy, suggesting users leverage AI-coordinated positions to earn multi-protocol rewards.
- @Infinit_Labs promotes the integration of AI agents as an evolution towards Pendle yield tokenization.
Strong price performance
Recent gains : The price of the PENDLE token rose 12% to around $2.45 in late November, and is currently trading at $2.74, with a market capitalization of $448 million and a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $100 million. Notable investor Arthur Hayes has purchased a total of 218,000 PENDLE tokens (approximately $536,000), indicating continued inflows of institutional funds.
On-chain data performance
Strong growth in core indicators
| Indicator Categories | numerical values | Time range | growth trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| TVL | $4.58 billion | As of November 27 | A 4.0% increase compared to the beginning of the year. |
| 30-day expense income | $3.746 million | October 28th - November 27th | 24-hour fees surged by 1,373%. |
| 30-day trading volume | $2.58 billion | October 28th - November 27th | 24-hour trading volume: $93.45 million |
| Annualized income | US$45.7 million | Based on 30-day data | Enhanced sustainability of the agreement |
TVL Growth Trajectory Analysis
Pendle experienced explosive growth in the first half of 2025, with TVL increasing from $4.4 billion at the beginning of the year to a peak of $10.6 billion in September (+141%), primarily driven by multi-chain scaling and the LST/Restaking trend. Although there was a pullback in October and November, the fundamentals remained strong.
Fee revenue and transaction activity
Total revenue over the past 30 days was $3.746 million, with a peak of $1.213 million on November 21st. 24-hour revenue increased by 1,373%, reflecting a sharp rebound in user activity.
DEX trading volume totaled $2.58 billion over 30 days, with a single-day trading volume of $330 million on November 4, indicating active trading and liquidity supply for PT/YT tokens.
in conclusion
Pendle is at a critical juncture in its transformation from a retail yield trading platform to an institutional-grade DeFi infrastructure. The successful launch of 21Shares ETP provides European institutional investors with regulated DeFi yield exposure, while AI-driven proxy functionality significantly lowers the barrier to entry for complex yield strategies.
On-chain data shows a strong protocol fundamentals, with a TVL of $4.58 billion, annualized revenue of $45.7 million, and recent explosive growth in fee revenue, all providing solid support for multiple positive factors. Community sentiment is extremely bullish, and institutional capital continues to flow in, suggesting Pendle is poised to continue leading the RWA and fixed-income DeFi sectors.
In the current DeFi recovery cycle, Pendle's dual-drive strategy of institutional ETPs and AI credits has opened up a new growth path for the protocol, and its TVL recovery and institutional adoption progress are worth paying close attention to.