How the Alpha Scanner Works

The DeFi Alpha Scanner finds statistical outliers, pools that significantly outperform their market baseline while maintaining strong safety profiles.

The Calculation Method

1. Market Baseline: We calculate the global volume-weighted average APY for each stablecoin (e.g., DAI, USDT, DAI) across all protocols and chains. This establishes the "fair value" yield.

2. Premium: The premium percentage shows how much higher a pool's APY is versus its market baseline. For example, a +48% premium means the pool pays 48% more than the typical rate for that stablecoin.

3. Filtering Criteria: Only pools meeting both requirements appear: (a) Premium ≥20% above baseline, and (b) Safety Score ≥75.

4. Alpha Score: Pools are ranked by our proprietary Alpha Score, which rewards both high yield premiums and high safety scores. This prioritises the most attractive risk-adjusted opportunities.

Why These Opportunities Exist

DeFi markets are inefficient. Capital doesn't flow instantly, it takes time for liquidity providers to bridge assets between chains or discover new opportunities. When borrowing demand outpaces available supply on a particular network, yield premiums emerge.

These premiums typically compress as capital migrates to capture the excess yield, but the lag creates windows of opportunity. Currently, Ethereum shows concentration of high-premium pools, suggesting borrowing demand remains strong while liquidity has migrated to L2 networks.

How to Use This Data

High premiums on established protocols often indicate temporary supply/demand imbalances rather than hidden risks. Consider whether bridging capital to capture the excess yield justifies transaction costs for your position size. Monitor whether premiums persist (genuine alpha) or compress quickly (market equilibrating).