Beyond Yield

Upshift manages $300M+ in multi-strategy vaults across 35 chains, backed by August, the largest DeFi prime brokerage processing $7B in monthly volume. As TradFi institutions explore vault infrastructure in 2026, Upshift has built verification-first architecture that rejects self-reported NAV and prioritizes institutional-grade transparency.

In this episode, we sit down with founder Aya Kantorovich to break down why risk cannot be outsourced and what institutions actually need before deploying capital into DeFi vaults. Before founding Upshift, Aya built the sales and trading arm at FalconX, left a month before the FTX collapse, and raised Upshift's term sheet the week after.

TOPICS COVERED:

You Cannot Outsource Risk

Why verification infrastructure must come first, the fundamental problem with self-reported NAV, and how Upshift built transparency into the foundation. The core thesis behind scaling to $300M+ across 35 chains.

Risk Engine Architecture

Managing 800+ assets across 35 chains and 100+ protocols. How Upshift's risk engine evaluates protocol safety, why multi-chain infrastructure requires different verification approaches, and the technical complexity of institutional-grade vault curation.

Tokenized Assets and Due Diligence

What should and shouldn't be tokenized, the redeemability challenge for private credit onchain, and why RWAs require first-party verification rather than aggregated data. How tokenized equities and local markets create institutional demand.

Curator Vetting and NAV Transparency

The difference between two-party and three-party vault relationships, why self-reported NAV is unacceptable for institutional capital, and how Upshift evaluates curators. From $46M to $7.1B in curator TVL.

Institutional Requirements

What GAP accounting, Deloitte/KPMG audits, and compliance frameworks are still missing from DeFi infrastructure. Why institutions need verifiable infrastructure before they deploy capital, and how crypto will meet TradFi in the middle rather than the other way around.

Multi-Strategy Yield and Market Dynamics

How multi-strategy vaults deliver 2% higher yields with 40% less variability, the future of multi-chain vault infrastructure, and why 2026 is the year institutions flood into vaults. UX abstraction and who becomes the distribution layer.

ABOUT AYA KANTOROVICH:

Aya Kantorovich is the founder of Upshift, managing $300M+ in multi-strategy vaults across 35 chains. Before founding Upshift, she built the sales and trading desk at FalconX during the ICO era and through institutional adoption cycles. She left FalconX one month before the FTX collapse and raised Upshift's term sheet the week after.

Under her leadership, Upshift has built verification-first infrastructure that rejects self-reported NAV and prioritizes institutional transparency. Backed by August, the largest DeFi prime brokerage processing $7B in monthly volume, Upshift is positioned at the intersection of institutional capital and DeFi vault infrastructure.

ABOUT BEYOND YIELD:

Beyond Yield is a podcast series exploring the technical infrastructure powering DeFi's vault and lending economy. Each episode features protocol builders, risk managers, and ecosystem leaders breaking down the frameworks, trade-offs, and design decisions behind institutional-grade onchain capital allocation.

For teams building DeFi infrastructure, evaluating vault protocols, or deploying capital onchain, Beyond Yield provides technical insight into how the ecosystem's leading platforms actually operate.

RESOURCES:

• Upshift
• DIA
• The Ultimate DeFi Vault & Lending Map

Subscribe to Beyond Yield for conversations with the builders and risk managers designing DeFi's infrastructure layer.

Steakhouse Financial manages $1.7 billion in DeFi vaults with zero bad debt through multiple market crashes. As the largest risk curator by market share, Steakhouse has built systematic frameworks and transparent governance that set the institutional standard for vault curation.

In this episode, we sit down with founder Sébastien Derivaux to break down how institutional-grade risk management actually works in DeFi. Before founding Steakhouse, Sébastien led MakerDAO's $2.2 billion allocation into US Treasuries, establishing the framework for institutional-grade DeFi treasury management.

TOPICS COVERED:

Risk Assessment Methodology

The three-pillar framework Steakhouse uses to evaluate vault protocols: counterparty analysis, volatility modeling, and protocol security. How the firm assesses lending protocols, collateral quality, and smart contract risks at scale.

Governance & Depositor Control

Why depositors need veto power over curator decisions, how kill switches work in practice, and the governance mechanisms that prevent risk curator overreach in vault platforms.

Private Credit Onchain

The redeemability challenge for tokenized assets, why private credit requires different risk models than public markets, and how RWA protocols integrate into DeFi lending infrastructure.

Institutional Capital Requirements

What traditional finance institutions require before deploying capital onchain: custody standards, regulatory clarity, and the infrastructure gaps still preventing institutional adoption at scale.

Market Events & Lessons

How Steakhouse maintained zero losses during the Stream Finance collapse, Elixir depeg, and other market events. The early warning signals that trigger risk mitigation and the importance of protocol monitoring.

ABOUT SÉBASTIEN DERIVAUX:

Sébastien Derivaux is the founder of Steakhouse Financial, the largest DeFi risk curator by market share with $1.7B in assets under curation. Before founding Steakhouse, he led MakerDAO's Real-World Asset (RWA) strategy, allocating $2.2 billion into US Treasury investments and establishing the framework for institutional-grade DeFi treasury management.

Under his leadership, Steakhouse has built a systematic risk assessment framework that has maintained zero bad debt across multiple market cycles, positioning the firm as the institutional standard for vault curation in DeFi.

ABOUT BEYOND YIELD:

Beyond Yield is a podcast series exploring the technical infrastructure powering DeFi's vault and lending economy. Each episode features protocol builders, risk managers, and ecosystem leaders breaking down the frameworks, trade-offs, and design decisions behind institutional-grade onchain capital allocation.

For teams building DeFi infrastructure, evaluating vault protocols, or deploying capital onchain, Beyond Yield provides technical insight into how the ecosystem's leading platforms actually operate.

RESOURCES:

• DIA
• Steakhouse Financial
• The Ultimate DeFi Vault & Lending Map

Subscribe to Beyond Yield for conversations with the builders and risk managers designing DeFi's infrastructure layer.