# DeFi Lenders Make Stablecoin Leverage Costlier

As stablecoin liquidity tightens, DeFi money markets will keep lowering utilization thresholds and steepening rate curves to protect withdrawals. That raises the carry cost of leveraged stablecoin loops, such as those built on Ethena's USDe, and forces recurring deleveraging of yield strategies built on cheap borrowing.

- Conviction: 35 / 100 (forming)
- Horizon: Emerging (watchlist)
- Tracking since: 2026-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Last updated: 2026-10-24T06:38:43.145Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/crypto/trends/defi-lenders-reprice-stablecoin-leverage
- Publisher: Polylog

## Recent evidence

- [confirms] Aave Lowers Its USDT Utilization Threshold to 92%, Raising Borrowing Costs Earlier to Protect Withdrawals (2026-10-24): Aave lowered its USDT utilization threshold to 92%. At 94% utilization the new curve charges about 7% a year instead of 4.5%, which directly pressures leveraged loops built on Ethena's USDe.