Protocol Comparison

Side-by-side comparison of all Stacks DeFi protocols with live APY, TVL, and risk data from DefiLlama

Overview

Protocol Comparison provides a comprehensive, sortable table of every major Stacks DeFi protocol. Compare yields, TVL, risk levels, and audit status across lending platforms, DEXs, yield aggregators, and stacking protocols—all with live data from DefiLlama updated every 5 minutes.

Key Features

Live Data Feeds

APY and TVL from DefiLlama refresh every 5 minutes

Multi-Dimensional Sorting

Sort by APY, TVL, risk, protocol name, or any column

Advanced Filtering

Filter by risk level (Low/Medium/High) and protocol type

Audit Status

See which protocols have been security audited

Protocol Table

Columns Explained

Column	Description	Format	Sortable
Protocol	Name with logo	Text + Image	Yes
APY	Annual Percentage Yield	12.5%	Yes
TVL	Total Value Locked	$45.2M	Yes
Risk	Safety rating	Badge (Low/Med/High)	Yes
Type	Protocol category	Lending/DEX/Yield/Stacking	No
Asset	Accepted tokens	STX, sBTC, xBTC	No
Audited	Security audit status	✓ or ✗	No
Min Dep.	Minimum deposit required	None, 100 STX	No

Row Interactions

Click any row to open the protocol’s website in a new tab. Hover effects highlight the entire row for easy selection.

// Row click handler
onClick={() => window.open(protocol.url, '_blank')}

Sorting & Filtering

Sorting Logic

1. Click Column Header

   Click any column with a sort icon (↕) to sort by that field

2. Toggle Direction

   • First click: Sort descending (highest first)
   • Second click: Sort ascending (lowest first)
   • Visual indicator: ↓ (desc) or ↑ (asc) in orange
3. Multi-Column Comparison

   Sort by APY to find highest yields, then filter by Low risk to see safest high-yield options

Default sort: APY descending (highest yields first)

Risk Filtering

Filter by risk tolerance:

Low Risk

Characteristics:

• Audited smart contracts
• Established protocols (StackingDAO, ALEX)
• TVL > $10M
• APY: 5-10%

Best for: Conservative investors, beginners, large positions

Medium Risk

Characteristics:

• Some audit coverage
• Growing protocols (Velar, Zest)
• TVL: $1M-$10M
• APY: 10-15%

Best for: Balanced portfolios, experienced users

High Risk

Characteristics:

• New or unaudited
• Experimental features
• TVL < $1M
• APY: 15%+

Best for: Risk-tolerant, small allocation, experienced DeFi users

Type Filtering

Filter by protocol category:

• Lending - Lend assets to earn interest (e.g., Zest Protocol)
• DEX - Decentralized exchanges with LP rewards (e.g., Velar)
• Yield - Yield aggregators and vaults (e.g., ALEX)
• Stacking - STX stacking services (e.g., StackingDAO)

Strategy: Filter by “Stacking” + “Low Risk” to find safest native yield options. Then compare with “Lending” + “Medium Risk” for higher yields.

Data Sources

DefiLlama Integration

Live data fetched from DefiLlama API:

import { fetchAllProtocolData } from '../services/defiLlamaService';

const { protocols, loading, lastUpdated } = useProtocolData();

// Auto-refreshes every 5 minutes
useEffect(() => {
  const interval = setInterval(load, 5 * 60 * 1000);
  return () => clearInterval(interval);
}, []);

Data Structure

const protocol = {
  id: 'stackingdao',
  name: 'StackingDAO',
  logo: 'https://...',
  url: 'https://stackingdao.com',
  type: 'Stacking',
  asset: 'STX',
  risk: 'Low',
  audited: true,
  minDeposit: 'None',
  
  // Live data from DefiLlama
  apy: 9.5,              // Current APY
  apyDisplay: '9.5%',    // Formatted string
  tvl: '$45.2M',         // Formatted TVL
  tvlRaw: 45200000,      // Raw number for sorting
  
  // Metadata
  color: '#F7931A',      // Brand color
  apySource: 'defillama' // 'defillama' or 'fallback'
};

Fallback Data

If DefiLlama doesn’t have current APY for a protocol, Staxiq uses the protocol’s last published rate marked with a ~ symbol.

Example: ~9.5% indicates fallback data

Summary Statistics

Four key metrics displayed below the table:

┌────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┐
│ Highest APY    │ Largest TVL    │ Protocols      │ Audited        │
│ 15.2%          │ $45.2M         │ 12             │ 8/12           │
│ Zest Protocol  │ StackingDAO    │ On Stacks      │ Protocols      │
└────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┘

Calculations

// Highest APY
const topApy = protocols
  .filter(p => p.apy)
  .reduce((a, b) => a.apy > b.apy ? a : b);

// Largest TVL
const topTvl = protocols
  .filter(p => p.tvlRaw)
  .reduce((a, b) => (a.tvlRaw ?? 0) > (b.tvlRaw ?? 0) ? a : b, {});

// Audit count
const audited = protocols.filter(p => p.audited).length;

Use Cases

1. Finding Best Yield

1. Sort by APY

   Click APY column header to sort descending

2. Filter by Risk

   Select your risk tolerance (start with “Low” or “Medium”)

3. Check Audit Status

   Look for ✓ in Audited column

4. Compare TVL

   Higher TVL = more liquidity and battle-tested contracts

5. Verify Minimum

   Check Min Deposit to ensure you meet requirements

Example result: Velar Finance (12% APY, Medium Risk, Audited, $8.5M TVL, No minimum)

2. Diversifying Portfolio

1. Filter by Type

   Select “All” to see all protocol types

2. Pick 3-4 Protocols

   Choose different types:

   • 1x Stacking (Low risk base)
   • 1x Lending (Medium risk)
   • 1x DEX (Medium/High for growth)
   • 1x Yield (Optimization)
3. Use Yield Calculator

   Model returns for each protocol with your planned allocation

4. Verify Assets

   Ensure you have the required assets (STX, sBTC, xBTC)

3. Risk Assessment

1. Sort by Risk

   Click Risk column to group by risk level

2. Compare Within Tier

   Within “Medium Risk” group, sort by APY or TVL

3. Check Audit Status

   Audited protocols reduce smart contract risk

4. Research TVL

   TVL > $5M indicates strong community trust

Code Reference

Key implementation files:

• Page: src/pages/CompareProtocols.jsx - Main table UI
• Hook: src/hooks/useProtocolData.js - Data fetching and caching
• Service: src/services/defiLlamaService.js - DefiLlama API integration
• Sorting: src/pages/CompareProtocols.jsx:60-73 - Multi-column sort logic

Advanced Features

Responsive Table

Table adapts to screen size:

<div className="overflow-x-auto -mx-4 px-4 md:mx-0 md:px-0">
  <div style={{ minWidth: '700px' }}>
    {/* Table content */}
  </div>
</div>

• Mobile: Horizontal scroll enabled
• Tablet+: Full table fits viewport
• Desktop: Expanded columns with more padding

Loading States

While fetching live data:

• APY shows … spinner
• TVL shows … spinner
• Filter area displays: ⏳ Fetching live data…
• Existing data remains visible during refresh

Hover Effects

onMouseEnter={e => e.currentTarget.style.background = hoverColor}
onMouseLeave={e => e.currentTarget.style.background = originalColor}

• Row background lightens on hover
• Cursor changes to pointer
• Entire row is clickable
• Visual feedback confirms interactivity

Protocol Logos

Logos fallback to initials if image fails:

function ProtocolLogo({ logo, name, color }) {
  const [err, setErr] = useState(false);
  
  if (err) {
    return (
      <div style={{ background: `${color}33`, color }}>
        {name[0]} {/* First letter */}
      </div>
    );
  }
  
  return (
    <img 
      src={logo} 
      onError={() => setErr(true)} 
    />
  );
}

Troubleshooting

APY shows ”—” for all protocols:

• DefiLlama API may be down—check status at defillama.com
• Network connection issue—refresh page
• Some protocols don’t report APY to aggregators

Table not sorting correctly:

• Click column header again to toggle direction
• Check if filter is applied—may be hiding some rows
• APY/TVL sort uses raw numbers, not formatted strings

Protocol link doesn’t work:

• Some protocols use testnet URLs during development
• Check browser’s pop-up blocker settings
• Try right-click → “Open in new tab”

Data seems outdated:

• Data refreshes every 5 minutes automatically
• Check ”🟢 Live · [time]” badge for last update
• Hard refresh page (Ctrl+Shift+R) to force update

Best Practices

Compare Before Investing

Spend 5-10 minutes comparing protocols before committing funds

Diversify by Risk

Mix Low/Medium/High risk protocols—don’t chase highest APY only

Verify Externally

Click protocol links to verify audit reports and documentation

Monitor TVL Trends

Growing TVL indicates healthy protocol—check monthly

DefiLlama Attribution

Data sourced from DefiLlama - The leading DeFi data aggregator. TVL and APY update hourly on DefiLlama’s backend.

Next Steps

Yield Calculator

Model returns for protocols you’re interested in

AI Copilot

Get AI-powered allocation strategy across protocols