The road to integration of lending, stablecoins and RWA: from isolated island protocols to collaborative ecosystems

From Single Combat to Protocol Matrix: Analyzing the Triple Fusion of Lending, Stablecoins, and RWA Over the past month, the DeFi field seems to have undergone a structural change. Unlike previous individual efforts, some top protocols are moving towards "grouping" through cooperation, integration, and even direct interest binding. In this article, we will explore the most representative "grouping actions" from the perspectives of lending and trading integration, stablecoin landscape evolution, and RWA fusion, and analyze the logical changes and potential impacts behind them. Lending + Trading: Interest Binding Between Protocols The cooperation between DeFi protocols is moving from surface-level asset integration to deeper structural fusion. The recent collaboration between Uniswap and Aave is a representative of this trend. Uniswap V4's core upgrade is not about saving gas, but introducing the Hook mechanism. It allows developers to insert custom logic at key points in liquidity pools, enabling whitelist control, dynamic fees, customized price curves, and even embedded game rules. This transforms Uniswap from a trading protocol to a more open liquidity infrastructure. Based on this, Aave plans to support Uniswap V4's LP Token as collateral for lending and return part of the GHO stablecoin interest to Uniswap DAO. The two have formed a substantial binding in assets, functions, and yields. This cooperation enhances LP fund utilization efficiency and provides a more realistic template for complementary relationships between protocols. From market data, this "grouping effect" is releasing positive signals. Since May, Aave's TVL rose from $19.708 billion to $23.347 billion, an increase of over 18%. Uniswap's TVL also grew by about 11%, from $4.178 billion to $4.65 billion. Their simultaneous strengthening may not be a coincidence. Stablecoins: A New Stage of Differentiation and Specialization The stablecoin track competition is no longer limited to "who is more decentralized" or "who offers higher yields". More protocols are pushing stablecoin products towards professional uses and structural layering. Taking Ethena as an example, the most active stablecoin in its ecosystem is USDe, deeply integrated with Aave and supporting up to 90% lending collateralization rate. However, since May, USDe's TVL has declined from $5.725 billion to $4.993 billion, a drop of nearly 13%. Behind this, Ethena is launching another more conservative new product, USDtb. USDtb is a non-yielding but fully collateralized stablecoin, with assets composed of BlackRock's tokenized money market fund (BUIDL) and USDC. Currently, its on-chain supply exceeds $1.44 billion, with a collateralization rate of 99.4%. Unlike USDe's strategic hedging, USDtb is more like an "on-chain dollar", providing institutions with a reliable, non-volatile stable anchor. The stablecoin landscape's other variable is USDT₀. This stablecoin launched by Tether in collaboration with LayerZero, based on the OFT protocol, has already expanded to multiple chains like Arbitrum, Unichain, and Hyperliquid. This stablecoin competition is no longer a single-dimensional efficiency battle, but has evolved into a structured, scenario-based product ecosystem. RWA: On-Chain Horizontal Integration of Real-World Assets RWA, once viewed as a "traditional finance appendage", is now becoming a strategic collaboration entry point for DeFi giants. In recent months, multiple protocols and organizations have formed a clear grouping trend around tokenized US Treasury bonds. The most representative case is Arbitrum DAO. On May 8th, the community passed a proposal to allocate 35 million ARB to three RWA issuance platforms: Franklin Templeton, Spiko, and WisdomTree. Aave's RWA platform Horizon takes a "use case priority" approach. The main assets on Horizon are tokenized money market funds (MMFs), which institutions can use as collateral to borrow GHO or USDC. Whether DAOs, lending platforms, or infrastructure providers, RWA is now seen as a key path to achieving real yields, connecting with traditional finance, and enhancing user confidence. DeFi is Not Huddling for Warmth, But Evolving Through Horizontal Integration These changes are not simply functional expansions, but upgrades in collaboration methods between protocols. They herald that the next stage of DeFi will move from isolated single-point tools to a mutually nested, mutually bound financial network system. For ordinary investors, the focus may not be on whose TVL is higher, but on which combination structures are more stable, efficient, and able to navigate volatility cycles. Grouping does not equal price increase, but may be the foundation for the next growth phase.