Frequently Asked Questions
about Upshift Finance

Upshift Finance is a DeFi yield protocol that democratizes access to institutional-grade lending and high-yield investment strategies. Powered by August — DeFi prime services infrastructure processing over $7B in monthly volume — Upshift Finance enables everyday users to deposit assets into curated vaults and earn competitive returns.

Vaults on Upshift Finance allocate capital across a range of strategies including basis trades, institutional lending, liquidity provision, and lending optimization. Each vault is managed by a vetted strategist and is fully transparent on-chain.

When you deposit into a Upshift Finance vault, you receive a receipt token (e.g., coreUSDC) representing your share of the vault. Your assets work automatically — no active management required from your side.

Getting started on Upshift Finance is straightforward:

• Visit app.upshift-finances.net and connect your Web3 wallet (MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet, etc.).
• Browse the available vaults on the Discover page.
• Select a vault that matches your risk appetite and preferred asset (USDC, rsETH, USDe, FXRP, etc.).
• Approve the token spend and deposit your chosen amount.
• You will receive vault receipt tokens representing your position. Yield accrues automatically in the share price.

Deposits of over $500k on Upshift Finance can borrow against their position through the August platform. Reach out to the August team for institutional access.

Upshift Finance supports all major EVM-compatible wallets, including:

• MetaMask — the most widely used browser extension wallet
• WalletConnect — connects hundreds of mobile and desktop wallets
• Coinbase Wallet — easy onboarding for new users
• Brave Wallet — built into the Brave browser
• TronLink — for TRON network users

For Solana-based vaults (coming soon), Upshift Finance will support Phantom and other Solana wallets. Make sure your wallet is set to the correct network before connecting — Ethereum Mainnet, HyperEVM, Flare Mainnet, or Monad, depending on the vault you wish to use.

Upshift Finance offers several categories of vaults to match different strategies and risk profiles:

• Core Vaults — Flagship vaults like Upshift Core USDC that diversify across multiple sub-strategies including basis trades and institutional lending. Ideal for stablecoin holders seeking optimized, diversified yield.
• DeFi Yield Vaults — Vaults focused on DeFi-native strategies such as liquidity provision, lending optimization (Morpho, Euler, Pendle), and protocol incentives.
• Lending Vaults — Direct institutional lending vaults with fixed or floating APYs, backed by real collateral.
• Pre-deposit Vaults — Early-access vaults where users can queue deposits before strategies go live, often earning bonus points.
• Sui DeFi Vaults — Vaults operating on the Sui network, accessible via partner platforms like Ember.

Each vault on Upshift Finance shows its Total APY, TVL, strategist, composability integrations, and reward programs so you can make an informed decision.

APY on Upshift Finance vaults is expressed as the annualized percentage yield based on the change in share price over a recent time window — typically 7 days or 30 days. It reflects actual on-chain returns generated by the strategy.

New vaults that haven't accumulated enough historical data display a Target APY, which is the strategist's projected yield based on their model and current market conditions.

Total APY displayed on Upshift Finance includes both base yield and any liquid token incentives. Upshift Points (earned as reward multipliers) are not included in the APY figure — they are tracked separately in your portfolio and in the Points leaderboard.

Note that APY is historical and variable — it can increase or decrease based on market conditions, strategy performance, and protocol utilization rates.

Upshift Finance Points are a loyalty rewards system that tracks your contribution to the protocol. You earn Upshift Points by depositing into vaults, and different vaults have different multipliers (e.g., 5x, 10x, 12x).

Points are important for several reasons:

• They determine your rank on the Leaderboard, where top depositors earn additional rewards.
• Points will factor into future token distributions and governance participation for Upshift Finance.
• Referring new users via the Referrals program earns you bonus points on their deposits.

In addition to Upshift Points, many vaults also reward depositors with third-party points from partner protocols — such as Ethena Points, Kernel Points, Firelight Points, Hyperbeat Points, and more. These are tracked and displayed on each vault's page.

Monitor your total Points balance and rank at any time on the Points dashboard or the Leaderboard.

Upshift Finance is built on audited smart contracts and powered by August's battle-tested prime services infrastructure. The protocol takes security seriously, but as with all DeFi protocols, there are inherent risks users should be aware of:

• Smart contract risk — Despite audits, vulnerabilities may exist in the underlying contracts.
• Strategy risk — Vaults rely on strategist decisions; poor strategy execution can lead to underperformance or losses.
• Liquidity risk — Some vaults may have withdrawal queues or caps that temporarily limit liquidity.
• Market risk — Yield-bearing assets can fluctuate in value. Non-stablecoin vaults carry additional price exposure.
• Counterparty risk — Lending vaults involve institutional borrowers; while vetted, defaults are possible.

Always deposit only what you can afford to risk. Review the vault documentation and strategist background before depositing. Upshift Finance provides full transparency on vault allocations, strategists, and receipt tokens.

Withdrawals on Upshift Finance work by redeeming your vault receipt tokens for the underlying asset. The process is typically instant or near-instant for vaults with sufficient idle liquidity.

For some vault types, particularly lending vaults or those with deposit caps, withdrawals may be subject to a queue or redemption period — especially if all capital is deployed. In such cases, Upshift Finance will display the expected withdrawal timeline on the vault page.

To withdraw:

• Navigate to your Portfolio on Upshift Finance.
• Select the vault position you wish to exit.
• Enter the amount to withdraw (in vault receipt tokens or underlying asset).
• Confirm the transaction in your wallet.

Your underlying assets plus any accrued yield will be returned to your wallet. Note that gas fees apply for all on-chain transactions.

Upshift Finance vault receipt tokens are composable ERC-20 tokens, meaning they can be used across the broader DeFi ecosystem. Currently, Upshift Finance's flagship Upshift Core USDC vault (coreUSDC) is integrated with:

• Pendle — Trade yield (YT) and principal (PT) tokens derived from Upshift Finance vault receipts. Earn up to 20x with YT and 15% on PT via the CoreUSDC Pendle pool.
• August — Institutional borrowers can use Upshift Finance vault positions as collateral to borrow capital through the August prime services platform. Upshift deposits over $500k are eligible.

Future integrations planned for Upshift Finance include additional lending protocols, DEX liquidity pools, and cross-chain bridges to expand the utility of vault receipt tokens even further.

The composability column on the Discover Vaults table shows which protocols each vault is currently integrated with.

Upshift Finance is a multi-chain yield protocol. Currently supported networks include:

• Ethereum Mainnet — Home to flagship stablecoin and ETH vaults including Upshift Core USDC, Kelp Gain, and more.
• HyperEVM — Host to vaults like HLPe and Hyperbeat Ultra HYPE and uBTC, leveraging Hyperliquid's high-performance infrastructure.
• Flare Mainnet — Enables the Flare XRP Yield Vault, bringing yield to FXRP holders.
• Monad — Powers the earnAUSD vault, the primary liquid yield token on Monad.
• Sui — Accessible through the Ember integration for the SUI Vault.

Always ensure your wallet is connected to the correct network before depositing into a Upshift Finance vault. The network is displayed alongside each vault's deposit token on the Discover page.

Upshift Finance keeps its fee structure transparent and competitive. Fees vary by vault and strategist, and are typically taken as a percentage of yield generated (performance fee) rather than on the principal deposited.

Standard fee structure for most Upshift Finance vaults:

• Performance fee — A portion of generated yield is taken as a fee, typically 10–20% of profits. This is already accounted for in the displayed APY.
• No deposit fee — Upshift Finance does not charge fees for depositing assets into vaults.
• No withdrawal fee — Withdrawals are free on Upshift Finance's side (standard network gas fees still apply).
• Management fee — Some vaults may charge a small annual management fee; check individual vault documentation for details.

The APY displayed on Upshift Finance is always the net APY after fees, so what you see is what you get.

Upshift Finance has a referral program that lets you earn bonus Upshift Points when you invite others to the protocol. Here's how it works:

• Navigate to the Referrals page in the Upshift Finance app.
• Generate your unique referral link.
• Share your link with friends, colleagues, or your community.
• When someone deposits through your referral link, you earn a percentage of their Upshift Points as bonus points.

There is no cap on how many people you can refer or how many points you can earn through referrals. The more active your referrals are, the more points you accumulate — boosting your position on the Upshift Finance Leaderboard.

Referral rewards are tracked transparently on-chain and credited to your account automatically. View your referral stats and earnings on the Referrals dashboard.

The Upshift Finance Leaderboard ranks all depositors by their total accumulated Upshift Points. It is updated in real-time and reflects both vault deposits and referral bonuses.

Why the Leaderboard matters for Upshift Finance users:

• Future token allocation — Points are expected to influence how future Upshift Finance governance tokens or protocol rewards are distributed.
• Community status — Top ranked users gain visibility and recognition within the Upshift Finance ecosystem.
• Incentive campaigns — Upshift Finance periodically runs bonus campaigns where top leaderboard positions earn special rewards.

To maximize your Leaderboard rank: deposit into high-multiplier vaults, maintain positions over time, and actively refer new users to Upshift Finance.