Guide
How to grow your protocol's stablecoin TVL
The fastest verifiable way to grow stablecoin TVL is a time-boxed boost campaign: put a reward budget on top of your vault's native yield, distribute it to real depositors with wallet-level on-chain attribution, and let users claim from a Merkle distributor contract. Sized right — budget = TVL × target boost × days ÷ 365 — a five-figure budget moves seven-figure TVL in days, not months. Points defer the payout and attract farmers; listings bring visibility but not deposits; a boost pays verified depositors now.
Five ways to grow TVL, compared
| Path | Speed to TVL | Depositor quality | Verifiability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boost campaign | Days — deposits start at the opening bell | Real wallets earning verified yield; ~24% of TVL stays after campaigns end | Wallet-level on-chain attribution + Merkle payouts |
| Launchpool (new pool / new chain) | Days–weeks — bootstraps from zero | Bridged-in depositors committing to a new ecosystem | Same on-chain attribution; weekly reward ops |
| Points program | Weeks–months — payout deferred to TGE | Mixed: airdrop farmers dominate late stages | Off-chain scores; hard to audit |
| Incentive markets (Royco, Merkl…) | Weeks — depends on marketplace traffic | Yield-driven, mercenary at the margin | On-chain, but attribution split across venues |
| CEX earn listing | Weeks–months — BD and listing cycles | Custodial users; deposits stay on the exchange | Opaque; no on-chain proof |
These stack: many partners run a boost first for verifiable momentum, then layer points or marketplace incentives on top.
What the reward is actually paid for
A boost pays for an on-chain action — depositing into your vault — not for holding a stablecoin. Funds move from the user's wallet into your protocol's own yield-bearing contract; the boost is layered on top of whatever that vault natively earns, and users claim it directly from a distributor contract.
- The rewarded event is a deposit into your vault, attributed wallet-by-wallet on-chain.
- Barker never holds principal — it goes straight from the user's wallet into your contract.
- Idle balances earn nothing: a wallet that never deposits is never in the reward set.
If your counsel draws a line between rewarding activity and rewarding balances, this is the side of the line the mechanism sits on. We describe the mechanism; how it maps to your jurisdiction is your counsel's call.
Boost economics: the only formula you need
A boost budget buys APY uplift over a fixed window. The implied boost APY is simply the budget annualized over the TVL it rewards. Barker streams the budget daily (users receive 90%, per the published rate card) with time-weighted anti-sybil attribution, so late or wash deposits can't game the pool.
implied boost APY = budget × 365 ÷ (target TVL × days)
Example: $8,000 over 14 days on $2M target TVL ≈ +9.4% net boost for users — on top of your vault's base yield.
Boost calculator
Estimate the APY uplift a reward budget buys.
Estimates only. Users receive 90% of budget per the published rate card; final terms are set on the launchpool portal. This is math, not a quote.
It works — verified on-chain
FAQ
How much does a TVL boost campaign cost?
It's set by the formula, not a rate card: budget = target TVL × desired boost × days ÷ 365. Lifting $2M by ten points for two weeks computes to roughly $7–8K of rewards. Platform fees follow the published rate card on the launchpool portal; individual campaign terms are confidential.
Boost campaign vs points program — which grows TVL better?
Boosts pay verified depositors in real assets now, so deposits arrive within hours and are auditable on-chain. Points defer payout to a future token, attract farmers in late stages, and are hard to audit. Many teams run a boost for verifiable momentum first, then add points.
How long should a campaign run?
10–14 days is the observed sweet spot: long enough to compound social proof, short enough to keep the daily reward pool meaningful. Barker campaigns ran 10 days (Saturn, Ethereum) and 14 days (TopNod, Pharos), with ~24% of TVL retained after campaigns ended.
How do I verify the TVL a campaign brings is real?
Every deposit is attributed wallet-by-wallet on-chain; anti-sybil accounting uses time-weighted min(deposit, live balance), and rewards stream through a Merkle distributor contract anyone can inspect. Partners get a live dashboard of attributed TVL, flows, and payouts.
Can this bootstrap a brand-new chain with no DeFi TVL?
Yes — that's the TopNod case: a 14-day launchpool on Pharos attributed ≈$517K on day one, with bridge routing guidance for users coming from other ecosystems, and the pool came to hold ≈95% of the chain's entire DeFi TVL.
Does Barker take custody of user funds?
No. Deposits go straight from user wallets into your protocol's own vault; Barker never holds principal. Rewards are claimed by users directly from the distributor contract.
What is a stablecoin TVL boost?
It's a time-boxed campaign that raises the effective APY on a stablecoin vault by paying rewards on top of its native yield, so deposits land inside a defined window instead of trickling in. On Barker the budget streams daily to verified depositors with wallet-level on-chain attribution, and the campaign page stays public after it ends so the numbers can still be checked.
Run your own campaign
Design a boost campaign or launchpool in minutes — self-serve — or talk to us about target TVL, timing, and chain.