Grvt, a privacy-focused decentralized exchange built on its own zero-knowledge appchain using the ZKsync stack, has announced an integration with decentralized lending protocol Aave that allows traders to earn yield on posted collateral while maintaining open trading positions.
The company said the feature introduces “composable yield” to perpetual futures trading.
Through the integration, eligible collateral deposited for margin trading can generate returns linked to Aave’s lending markets without interrupting active positions.
Grvt stated that, based on its internal review of publicly disclosed integrations as of February 2026, this is the first instance of a perpetual futures decentralized exchange embedding an external yield source directly into trading collateral while keeping trading live under normal operating conditions.
Collateral designed to remain productive
In traditional perpetual trading, users typically post collateral that remains idle to satisfy margin requirements.
Grvt’s system seeks to change that structure through a mechanism called ONE Balance, its yield engine designed to connect trading collateral to external on-chain yield sources.
Under the new model, collateral can continue to support leveraged trading positions while simultaneously earning protocol-native returns.
The company said yields could reach up to 11%, depending on prevailing on-chain market conditions.
The integration remains fully on-chain and trustless under standard operating conditions, according to Grvt.
The objective is to reduce the opportunity cost of maintaining margin balances and allow traders to pursue market exposure and yield from a single account.
“Most platforms focus on one dimension of capital: utility. By listing more markets, they give you more places to put your money to work,” said Hong, chief executive officer of Grvt. “We are focused on the second, equally critical dimension: productivity. By embedding Aave’s yield-bearing infrastructure directly into our trading engine, we are fundamentally increasing the intrinsic value of every dollar deposited on Grvt.”
Aave provides lending liquidity layer
Aave, described as the largest decentralized lending network, serves as the yield source for the integration.
The protocol’s lending markets supply the liquidity used to generate returns on collateral, while TokenLogic — a financial architect within the Aave ecosystem — manages capital optimization behind the scenes.
From a user perspective, collateral can remain on the exchange for trading while simultaneously earning yield through Aave-linked lending activity.
The company said this structure aligns returns with real-time on-chain market conditions and removes the need to move funds between platforms.
“Stablecoins that aren’t earning yield are an opportunity cost for traders. Aave has the deepest liquidity and most consistent rates in DeFi, and its yields have become the industry’s benchmark. This integration lets Grvt users earn on their collateral while they trade, a major capital efficiency improvement,” said Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave Labs.
The integration also extends Aave’s lending markets to derivatives traders on decentralized exchanges and broadens the use of on-chain credit infrastructure within DeFi trading platforms.
Broader fintech ambitions
Alongside the integration, Grvt released a redesigned mobile trading application with improved navigation, clearer portfolio visibility and enhanced risk-management tools aimed at active traders.
The company said the partnership forms part of a wider roadmap to expand beyond perpetual futures trading toward a broader on-chain brokerage model.
The vision is to combine trading, earning and investing into a single system where capital remains continuously productive.
Grvt argues that infrastructure such as ZK-rollups enables financial services to operate at internet scale, while protocols like Aave demonstrate transparent lending markets.
By combining both, the platform aims to build a unified trading environment in which self-custody remains standard and collateral no longer sits idle.
The firm described the long-term objective as a migration toward on-chain financial rails where trading and yield generation occur simultaneously as default user behavior.
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