CoinDesk
Kraken launched Bitcoin Vault, a new product inside Kraken Earn that lets long-term BTC holders generate bitcoin-denominated rewards while keeping exposure to spot price action. The product is powered by DeFi infrastructure provider Veda and operated by Sentora, with customer assets deployed across onchain lending and yield protocols including Aave, Morpho and Tydro.
The launch lands as Kraken's broader DeFi Earn offering has grown to more than $240 million in assets under management since launching in January, which the company attributed to organic customer adoption rather than token incentives. Onboarding is integrated directly into the Kraken and Krak apps, and Bitcoin Vault is live in eligible jurisdictions.
Why it matters
The product is the clearest signal yet that major centralized exchanges are rebuilding yield products on top of transparent onchain infrastructure rather than the opaque balance-sheet lending models that collapsed in 2022. By routing customer BTC through Veda and Sentora into established protocols like Aave and Morpho, Kraken is leaning on overcollateralized onchain markets and publicly auditable vault strategies as the trust layer — a deliberate architectural choice to differentiate from the centralized lending failures of the last cycle.
John Zettler, GM of Payward Services and head of Kraken Earn Products, framed the launch around long-term holder demand: bitcoin-denominated rewards appeal to users who want yield on assets they already plan to hold, without forcing them to manage DeFi interactions directly. The vault structure abstracts protocol selection, allocation, and rebalancing into a single product accessible from a Kraken account — a usability layer the exchange is betting broadens the addressable market for onchain yield.
Market impact
The $240M AUM milestone inside four months of DeFi Earn's launch points to real wallet share migrating from spot-only holding into yield-bearing BTC exposure.
Frequently asked questions
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What is Kraken's Bitcoin Vault and how does it generate yield?
Bitcoin Vault is a new product inside Kraken Earn that lets users earn bitcoin-denominated rewards while keeping exposure to BTC's spot price. It is powered by DeFi infrastructure provider Veda and operated by Sentora, with customer assets deployed across onchain lending and yield protocols including Aave, Morpho and…
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Who manages the underlying strategies for Kraken's Bitcoin Vault?
Bitcoin Vault is powered by DeFi infrastructure provider Veda and operated by Sentora. Kraken handles the customer-facing layer, while the onchain allocation runs through established protocols such as Aave, Morpho and Tydro.
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How large is Kraken's broader DeFi Earn offering now?
Kraken said its broader DeFi Earn offering has grown to more than $240 million in assets under management since launching in January. The firm attributed the growth to organic customer adoption rather than token incentives.
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Who is the product aimed at?
According to John Zettler, GM of Payward Services and head of Kraken Earn Products, Bitcoin Vault is built for long-term bitcoin holders who want simple, safe ways to earn on the BTC they already plan to hold, without managing DeFi interactions directly.
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How is this different from the centralized lending products that collapsed in 2022?
Unlike opaque centralized lending books that failed during the 2022 downturn, Bitcoin Vault routes customer assets through transparent onchain infrastructure and overcollateralized lending markets. The vault structure is designed to make the underlying strategies publicly auditable rather than dependent on the…
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