Detailed Instructions

First, you must connect a non-custodial Web3 wallet like MetaMask, WalletConnect, or Coinbase Wallet to the yield aggregator's platform (e.g., Beefy Finance, Yearn Finance). Ensure your wallet is on the correct blockchain network, such as Ethereum Mainnet, Arbitrum, or Polygon. You will need the native gas token (like ETH or MATIC) to pay for transaction fees. Fund your wallet with the asset you wish to deposit into the vault. For example, if you want to deposit into a USDC vault, you must first acquire USDC. A common method is to use a decentralized exchange (DEX) like Uniswap.

• Sub-step 1: Navigate to the aggregator's website and click 'Connect Wallet'.
• Sub-step 2: Select your wallet provider and authorize the connection in your wallet pop-up.
• Sub-step 3: Use a bridge or DEX to swap for the desired vault deposit asset if you don't already hold it.
• Sub-step 4: Confirm you have a small balance of the chain's native token for gas (e.g., >0.01 ETH).

Tip: Always double-check the website URL to avoid phishing sites. Bookmark the official site.

Detailed Instructions

Browse the platform's list of available auto-compounding vaults. Each vault corresponds to a specific DeFi strategy, such as providing liquidity to a DEX pool (e.g., a USDC/ETH pool on Uniswap V3) or lending assets on a protocol like Aave. Key metrics to analyze include the Current APY (which includes compounded rewards), the Total Value Locked (TVL) as a measure of popularity and security, the underlying protocol (e.g., Curve, Aave, PancakeSwap), and the vault contract address. For security, always verify the contract address on a block explorer.

• Sub-step 1: Filter vaults by asset (e.g., stablecoins, ETH, LP tokens) and blockchain network.
• Sub-step 2: Examine the vault's strategy description to understand the source of yield and associated risks (e.g., impermanent loss, smart contract risk).
• Sub-step 3: Check the vault's performance history and fee structure (typically a small performance fee, e.g., 0.1%-5%).
• Sub-step 4: Copy the vault's contract address (e.g., 0x5B3b5A3f8c0F8C43a5b4F89A7C3B5F8c0F8C43a5) to review on Etherscan.

Tip: Higher APY often correlates with higher risk. Start with well-established vaults with high TVL for your first deposit.

Detailed Instructions

This is a two-transaction process. First, you must approve the vault's smart contract to spend the specific amount of tokens you hold. This is a standard ERC-20 allowance operation. After approval, you execute the deposit transaction. The vault will mint and send you vault tokens (e.g., mooUSDC) representing your share of the pool. The number of tokens received is based on the vault's share price. Always check the gas fees and set an appropriate gas limit.

• Sub-step 1: On the vault page, click 'Deposit' and enter the amount (e.g., 1000 USDC).
• Sub-step 2: Your wallet will prompt you to sign an 'Approve' transaction. Confirm it.
• Sub-step 3: After approval confirms, your wallet will prompt for the 'Deposit' transaction. Confirm it.

javascriptCopy
// Example interaction via Ethers.js
// 1. Approve
await tokenContract.approve(vaultAddress, amount);
// 2. Deposit
await vaultContract.deposit(amount);

Tip: You can save gas on future deposits by approving a maximum amount (type(uint256).max) once, but understand the security implications.

Detailed Instructions

Your deposit now automatically earns yield. The auto-compounder periodically harvests rewards (e.g., trading fees, lending interest, liquidity provider tokens), sells them for more of the base asset, and reinvests them, increasing the vault's share price. Your vault token balance remains constant, but its value in the underlying asset increases. You can monitor your position on the platform's dashboard. To exit, you initiate a withdrawal, which burns your vault tokens and returns the underlying assets to your wallet. The amount received equals your share of the total vault, which has grown due to compounding.

• Sub-step 1: Regularly check the vault's APY and your estimated balance on the platform.
• Sub-step 2: To withdraw, navigate to the vault, click 'Withdraw', select the amount (e.g., 100%), and confirm the transaction.
• Sub-step 3: Your wallet will prompt you to sign the withdrawal. Confirm and wait for the transaction to complete.
• Sub-step 4: Verify the receipt of the underlying asset (e.g., USDC) in your wallet balance.

bashCopy
# Example command to check a vault's share price via cast (Foundry)
cast call 0x5B3b5A3f8c0F8C43a5b4F89A7C3B5F8c0F8C43a5 "getPricePerFullShare()" --rpc-url https://eth.llamarpc.com

Tip: Withdrawals may be subject to a withdrawal fee (often 0%) and always require gas. Consider gas costs relative to your withdrawal amount.

Detailed Instructions

Before interacting with any protocol, you must define your investment horizon and risk appetite. Are you seeking stable, low-risk yield from blue-chip assets, or are you comfortable with higher volatility for potentially greater returns from newer tokens? This decision will guide your choice of aggregator and the underlying vaults. Next, determine your capital allocation strategy—will you deposit a lump sum or use dollar-cost averaging? Finally, assess the smart contract risk you're willing to accept; newer, unaudited protocols offer higher APYs but carry significantly more danger.

• Sub-step 1: Asset Selection: Decide which base assets (e.g., ETH, USDC, WBTC) you wish to deploy.
• Sub-step 2: Yield Strategy: Choose between strategies like stablecoin lending, liquidity provision, or staking derivatives.
• Sub-step 3: Risk Parameters: Set clear limits on acceptable protocol age, audit status, and TVL (Total Value Locked). A common minimum is $50M TVL and at least two major audit reports.

Tip: Use a risk framework matrix to score protocols. For example, assign points for audits (1-3), TVL tier (1-3), and team transparency (1-2). Only consider protocols with a total score above 6.

Detailed Instructions

Begin by researching major yield aggregators like Yearn Finance, Beefy Finance, and Autofarm. For each platform, investigate the specific vault strategies they employ. A vault labeled "USDC Curve TriCrypto" uses a different underlying protocol than a "USDC Aave" vault. Crucially, examine the fee structure, which typically includes a management fee (e.g., 2% of yield) and a performance fee (e.g., 10-20% of profits). Also, verify the auto-compounding frequency; more frequent compounding (daily vs. weekly) can significantly impact APY through the power of compound interest. Use blockchain explorers and analytics sites like DeFi Llama to check the platform's TVL history and audit reports.

• Sub-step 1: Strategy Analysis: On Beefy Finance, inspect a vault's page to see its "Strategy" description and the contracts it interacts with.
• Sub-step 2: Fee Calculation: For a vault showing 15% APY with a 0.5% management fee and 10% performance fee, calculate your net yield.
• Sub-step 3: Security Check: Confirm audit links on the project's official documentation site. For example, Yearn's audits are listed at docs.yearn.finance.

Tip: Compare the published APY with the actual APR (Annual Percentage Rate) to understand the compounding effect. Use the formula: APY = (1 + (APR / n))^n - 1, where n is compounding periods per year.

Detailed Instructions

This step involves a technical review of the smart contract architecture. Start by locating the vault's contract address on Etherscan or a similar explorer. For instance, Yearn's yvUSDC vault address is 0x5f18C75AbDAe578b483E5F43f12a39cF75b973a9. Check the "Contract" tab to verify it's a proxy contract pointing to a verified logic contract. Review the audit reports from firms like OpenZeppelin or Trail of Bits for critical findings. Next, assess economic security by examining the protocol's treasury and insurance funds. Some aggregators have built-in hack mitigation strategies or partner with Nexus Mutual for coverage. Also, evaluate the governance model; decentralized governance via tokens like YFI or BIFI can be a positive sign of community oversight.

• Sub-step 1: Contract Verification: On Etherscan, input the vault address and check the "Read Contract" and "Write Contract" tabs to understand its functions.
• Sub-step 2: Audit Cross-Reference: Ensure the audited code commit hash matches the deployed contract's code.
• Sub-step 3: Economic Metrics: Check the protocol's own tokenomics. Is the native token used to capture fees or provide insurance? What is the vesting schedule for team tokens?

Tip: Use a tool like Tenderly to simulate transactions with the vault contract before committing real funds. You can simulate a deposit call to see the exact token flow and potential errors.

Detailed Instructions

After selecting a vault, the execution phase begins. First, ensure you have the correct base token in your Web3 wallet (e.g., MetaMask). You will need to approve the vault contract to spend your tokens before depositing. This is a two-transaction process: approve, then deposit. Always verify the contract address you are interacting with to avoid address poisoning scams. Once deposited, track your share tokens (e.g., yvUSDC or mooUSDC), which represent your stake in the vault. Set up monitoring for the vault's APY/APR fluctuations and the health of the underlying strategy. Significant drops in TVL or changes in strategy on the aggregator's GitHub can be early warning signs.

• Sub-step 1: Approval Transaction: Using Etherscan's "Write Contract" feature, connect your wallet and call the approve function for the vault's deposit contract.

codeCopy
// Example call data for approving a USDC vault
contract.approve(spender: '0x5f18C75AbDAe578b483E5F43f12a39cF75b973a9', amount: 1000000000)

• Sub-step 2: Deposit Transaction: Call the vault's deposit function with the amount of underlying tokens.
• Sub-step 3: Monitoring Setup: Use a portfolio tracker like DeBank or Zapper, or set up custom alerts for on-chain events related to your vault contract.

Tip: Start with a small, test deposit (e.g., $50) to confirm the entire flow works as expected before committing a larger sum. Record the transaction hashes for your records.

Detailed Instructions

Active management is crucial for maintaining optimal returns and managing risk. Schedule a bi-weekly or monthly review of your vault positions. Compare the net APY after fees against competing vaults on other aggregators. Be aware of gas fee optimization; harvesting rewards or compounding on Ethereum Mainnet can be expensive, so consider using aggregators on Layer 2s or alternative chains like Arbitrum or Polygon for smaller portfolios. Monitor the aggregator's governance forums (e.g., Yearn's forum) for upcoming votes on fee changes or strategy adjustments. If a vault's strategy is being deprecated or its APY consistently underperforms the market average by more than 2-3%, prepare an exit strategy.

• Sub-step 1: Performance Review: Use the aggregator's analytics page or a third-party dashboard to track your realized yield versus the advertised APY.
• Sub-step 2: Gas Cost Analysis: Before harvesting, estimate the gas cost vs. the reward value. For small amounts, it may be better to wait.
• Sub-step 3: Rebalancing Action: If exiting, you will call the vault's withdraw function. You may need to withdraw to the underlying asset first, then bridge or swap to move capital to a new opportunity.

Tip: Consider using a "layer" strategy. Keep a core, low-risk position in a battle-tested vault (e.g., Yearn's USDC vault) and allocate a smaller portion to higher-risk, higher-yield experimental vaults for diversification.