This post presents a simple idea, of which i’d like to gauge sentiment and gather feedback.
The idea: A cbBTC vault that earn’s yield
How?: A popular trade among crypto investors is the cash and carry trade. This is done by holding spot BTC and opening an equal value short position on BTC futures or perpetual swaps.
By holding a long BTC (via the deposit) and a short BTC (via the perp), the vault is hedged (delta-neutral) – if BTC price rises or falls, the gains/losses on the spot and short cancel out. What remains is the net yield from the futures basis, providing a way for users to hold their BTC and earn a yield on top. (denominated in BTC or USD).
I am of the mind that Lazy Summer automation could achieve this using all onchain options, for example Hyperliquid.
Where does the yield come from?
The primary yield comes from funding payments and futures basis. Historically, during normal or bullish market conditions, BTC perpetual swaps often have positive funding rates, meaning longs pay shorts an annualized rate that can range from a few percent up to double-digits in overheated markets. In times of a negative yield, the position can be unwound and automatically deposited into a modest Morpho strategy.
Feedback
Perhaps this is outside the scope of Lazy Summer for now, but I wanted to get a gauge on how the protocol might think about introducing Bitcoin yield into the list of benefits for users.
BTC is crypto’s anchor asset ,and yet there are very few accessible ways to earn yield on it onchain without taking directional risk. A delta-neutral vault (long spot, short perp) that automates the classic cash & carry trade feels like a natural extension for Lazy Summer Protocol.
For a lot of people BTC is a gateway drug. Many new and institutional users hold BTC but are yield-starved. Offering them a low-risk way to earn a few % could drive real sticky inflows. It seems like the yield is real. Funding rates for BTC perps during bullish periods have historically reached 8–15% APY, and even neutral markets offer 3–5% on platforms like Hyperliquid or dYdX.
Maybe I am not right here, but this doesn’t seem to require a major shift. It could be a LazyVault_XYZRisk_BTC same safety principles, new asset flavor (delta-neutral strategies).
Routing to Morpho, Euler, Fluid, or Gearbox in down markets is a smart fallback. This could be a low-friction, high-conviction experiment for Q3?
A BTC vault in any form would be a great addition to Summer’s existing fleets. Over time, people will naturally want exposure to more risk-on assets such as BTC. This will be even more tempting if they are able to earn even a modest yield. Existing Lazy Summer features like vault switch can make this back and forth even more seamless.
Agreed with @jensei that this could be a great potential experiment for Q3. An interesting way to handle the BTC fleet would be including the cash and carry trade as a single ark, and continue to onboard more arks from Morpho, Euler etc.
A market-neutral BTC yield is a clear winner for attracting new users and TVL. But the operational security of automating it via a third-party derivatives platform will be the most critical piece to get right (execution). This is a very exciting direction to explore for Q3.
