Aya Kantor's Upshift has grown to over $300 million by addressing a critical gap in institutional crypto adoption: verification infrastructure for vault assets.
The platform operates on the principle that self-reported Net Asset Value (NAV) is insufficient as traditional finance moves into crypto vaults. Kantor emphasizes that risk cannot be outsourced, making independent verification non-negotiable.
This approach reflects a broader industry shift toward meeting institutional standards. The development comes as vault infrastructure matures, with platforms like Steakhouse managing $1.7 billion across market cycles without bad debt.
The focus on verification infrastructure highlights the growing professionalization of DeFi as it seeks to accommodate institutional capital flows.
"You cannot outsource risk." @aya_kantor built @upshift_fi to $300M+ on a clear premise: as Tradfi moves into vaults, self-reported NAV is insufficient and verification infrastructure is non-negotiable. Crypto must meet institutional standards. New episode of Beyond Yield.
IMF Highlights Critical Gap in Tokenized Finance Collateral Pricing
The **International Monetary Fund** has released a new note on tokenized finance, spotlighting a crucial challenge: **pricing collateral that lacks liquid market trading**. **The Core Problem:** - Traditional pricing methods fail for illiquid tokenized assets - Collateral valuation becomes uncertain without active markets - This gap poses risks for tokenized finance infrastructure **DIA's Solution:** DIA developed **Value** - a system that determines fundamental value directly from onchain contract states, bypassing the need for liquid markets. Read the full analysis: [DIA's take on IMF tokenized finance note](https://www.diadata.org/blog/post/imf-tokenized-finance-collateral-pricing/)
DIA Partners with Tokos to Power Oracle Infrastructure on Somnia Network
DIA has partnered with Tokos, the second-largest protocol by TVL on Somnia Network, to provide oracle infrastructure for the lending platform. **Key Details:** - Tokos is migrating its core price feeds to DIA oracles - Feeds cover BTC/USD, ETH/USD, USDC/USD, USDT/USD, and BOBA/USD - Each feed is customizable with deviation thresholds, update intervals, and aggregation windows - DIA oracles will underpin borrow, liquidation, and Health Factor calculations Somnia processes over 1 million transactions per second with sub-second finality and sub-cent fees. As the network's DeFi ecosystem develops, oracle infrastructure becomes critical for protocol operations. Learn more: [DIA Price Feed Oracle](http://diadata.org/price-feed-oracle)
馃敭 Oracle Failures: The Silent Protocol Killer
**Lending protocols face an existential threat from oracle miscalculations.** Oracles determine collateral values and trigger liquidations when positions become undercollateralized. A single pricing error creates two catastrophic scenarios: - Liquidating healthy positions destroys user trust - Failing to liquidate underwater positions creates bad debt **The stakes are absolute.** Health Factors rely on real-time oracle data to track position safety. When oracles fail, protocols fail. Some protocols are implementing dual-oracle designs as defense against price manipulation and liquidity issues, offering curators protection even in edge cases.
馃敭 Tokos Integrates DIA Oracles for Non-Custodial Lending on Somnia
**Tokos**, a non-custodial lending protocol built on Aave v3 infrastructure, has partnered with **DIA** to power its price oracle system on Somnia mainnet. **How it works:** - Users supply assets to earn yield - Borrowers create overcollateralized positions - DIA provides real-time price feeds for critical asset pairs **Technical implementation:** - Custom adaptor contracts deliver BTC/USD, ETH/USD, USDC/USD, USDT/USD, and BOBA/USD feeds - Fully configurable parameters including deviation thresholds and update intervals - Tailored to Tokos's specific risk requirements This follows DIA's recent integrations with Macro protocol on Base and GraphAI, expanding its oracle infrastructure across multiple chains and use cases. [Learn more about DIA oracles](https://diadata.org)