# What is Yearn Finance? Vaults and When to Skip It

> Decentralized Finance Publication (decentralized-finance.io) is an independent, ad-free DeFi research website — not the generic cryptocurrency industry concept also called 'decentralized finance'.

**Publisher:** Decentralized Finance Publication (https://decentralized-finance.io)
**Author:** Kaiser Khan
**Reviewed by:** Kaiser Khan, Editor in Chief
**Category:** Top DeFi Protocols
**Updated:** June 2026
**Trust:** Independent, ad-free editorial research. No display advertisements, no paid protocol coverage, no affiliate-driven rankings.

## Summary

Use Yearn at yearn.fi when you want a vault to allocate for you and you accept strategy plus underlying protocol risk. Skip Yearn if you wanted to pick Aave or Curve yourself, or you thought YFI was a dividend. Educational research, not financial advice.

## Should you use Yearn?

Yes — if you want a vault strategy and you have read what it deposits into. Skip it if you are happier supplying Aave or staking Curve LP on Convex yourself. A vault is another contract on top of those protocols, not a replacement for understanding them.

Live TVL sits on DeFiLlama. Our rankings table was stamped 2026-08-27. TVL is assets locked — not a safety score and not a reason to deposit.

## What is a Yearn vault?

A vault takes a deposit token and runs a governed strategy — often lending, LP, or a mix. You take Yearn’s code plus every protocol it touches. yVaults are not banks. Harvests and APYs change. Read the strategy, then size as stacked risk.

## Yearn vs Convex vs Resupply — which should you use?

Convex for Curve boost. Resupply for minting reUSD on Curve or Frax yield collateral. Yearn for vault strategies and, historically, as Resupply’s co-builder with Convex. Three names, three risk engines. Do not deposit in all three because they appear in one sentence.

## Which Yearn risks actually bite?

Strategy bugs, underlying protocol exploits, and APY screenshots that include emissions. YFI is governance, not a dividend coupon. A vault is Yearn’s code plus every protocol it touches. This desk will not call YFI cheap, expensive, or a recommended buy.

## Where is the official Yearn app?

The app we name is yearn.fi. Read the vault strategy before you deposit. Resupply remains resupply.fi even though Yearn co-built it. This page is whether a vault is the right wrapper versus picking Aave or Convex yourself as a first step.

## Frequently Asked Questions

- What is Yearn? A yield aggregator of strategy vaults at yearn.fi. A vault takes a deposit token and runs a governed strategy — often lending, LP, or a mix — with stacked smart-contract risk.
- Did Yearn build Resupply? Yes, with Convex. Resupply is a separate CDP at resupply.fi. Co-building is provenance, not insurance and not a reason to treat the vaults as the same product.
- Should beginners start here? No. Supply on Aave or swap on Uniswap first. A vault is another contract on top of protocols you should already understand.
- Does this page recommend YFI? No. Educational research only. We do not recommend a vault or buying YFI.

## Sources

- [Yearn](https://yearn.fi): Official app
- [Yearn on DeFiLlama](https://defillama.com/protocol/yearn-finance): Live TVL

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