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Fireblocks Inc., the digital asset infrastructure firm that has processed over $10 trillion in transactions, unveiled a new lending product Tuesday aimed at solving one of institutional crypto’s most persistent inefficiencies: billions of dollars in stablecoin balances sitting dormant between settlement cycles.
The feature, called Earn, is now available in early access to Fireblocks’ more than 2,400 institutional clients and allows them to deploy idle stablecoin holdings directly into onchain lending strategies, without moving assets off the platform or onboarding with a separate provider.
Enterprise platform, @FireblocksHQ, has integrated Aave into their new Earn feature.
This will allow the 2,400+ institutions on Fireblocks to start earning Aave-powered yield on their stablecoin balances. pic.twitter.com/7uAceqJLFx
— Aave (@aave) April 15, 2026
The product introduces a Sentora-curated vault on Morpho alongside direct access to Aave‘s stablecoin lending markets, sitting within Fireblocks’ existing infrastructure so institutions can allocate capital without altering their custody and control environment.
The launch targets a structural gap that has grown alongside the stablecoin market itself. Fireblocks processed $6 trillion in stablecoin transfer volume in 2025, a 300% increase year-over-year, across its institutional client base. For most of those institutions, that capital sits idle between deployment cycles, settlement windows, and operational holds.
‘One of the biggest unlocks of onchain finance is the ability to put money to work every second, never letting it sit idle,’ said Michael Shaulov, Chief Executive and co-founder of Fireblocks.
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‘For the first time, institutions can put those balances to work through onchain lending strategies curated by established institutional names, inside the same platform, under the same controls they already run.’
A regulatory headwind looms
The launch comes amid regulatory uncertainty in the US. The proposed CLARITY Act, passed by the House in July 2025, would ban stablecoin yield offered by service providers, allowing only activity-based rewards tied to transactions. Backed by the banking sector, the rule aims to prevent deposit outflows, though the White House has downplayed its impact.
For Fireblocks, this distinction is key. Its Earn product routes funds into DeFi protocols like Aave and Morpho, where returns come from borrowers, not Fireblocks itself, potentially placing it outside the proposed ban. Whether regulators agree remains uncertain as the bill awaits Senate review.
Deep liquidity, variable returns
Earn launches with two integration points: a Sentora-curated vault on Morpho and direct access to Aave’s stablecoin lending markets. Both protocols rank among DeFi’s largest, with Aave holding $25.9 billion in total value locked and Morpho at $7.67 billion, according to DeFiLlama.
Aave represents roughly 60% of onchain lending market activity, providing access to deep stablecoin liquidity pools. Morpho operates a curator model that allows institutional-grade managers like Sentora to oversee risk parameters and collateral quality on behalf of depositors.
Fireblocks was explicit about the product’s risk profile. The company disclosed no target yields, noting returns depend entirely on underlying protocol performance and could potentially hit zero, a notable contrast to the fixed-rate promises that sank several centralized crypto lenders in 2022.
An infrastructure play, not just a product
The launch is the latest move in Fireblocks’ broader push to expand beyond custody into full-service institutional capital infrastructure. In January 2026, Fireblocks acquired crypto accounting platform TRES for $130 million, adding tax compliance infrastructure. Last October, Fireblocks Trust Company partnered with Galaxy and Bakkt on a custody framework under New York’s financial regulator.
However, Fireblocks faces growing competition. Rivals such as Aave Horizon, Coinbase Prime, Anchorage Digital, Nexo Institutional, and Spark Institutional Lending offer similar solutions focused on capital efficiency and yield generation. Fireblocks’ key differentiator, executives argue, lies in its deep integration, allowing clients to access lending services through existing approval workflows and compliance controls, without the need for additional onboarding.
Forecasts from Citigroup suggest the stablecoin market could expand to a $3.7 trillion market by the end of the decade. Despite this growth, many institutional holders have been unable to access yield opportunities due to operational and compliance barriers rather than technological limitations. Earn is Fireblocks’ bet that removing those barriers, for the largest institutions in crypto, is itself a multibillion-dollar opportunity.
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