Income features the Income Tokens issued by Exponent. They offer fixed, predictable yields for assets like SOL, USDC and more, and are collateralized by assets deposited into . Similar to how people balance their crypto holdings between volatile assets and stablecoins, Income Tokens are a great way to balance variable yield positions with stable yield positions. Ideal for users looking for protection against yield downturns or wanting less active management of their positions.
An Exponent Income Token is essentially a future claim on an asset (principal) locked in a DeFi position for a defined period:
As the Income Token nears maturity, this discount typically narrows, reflecting the decreasing amount of future yield.At maturity, Income Tokens can be redeemed for the total value of the locked principal amount, realizing the fixed yield, as holders claim more units of the asset than they initially spent to purchase Income Tokens.
Income Tokens are not locked positions — they can be sold at market price through Exponent’s AMM at any point in time before maturity.
A new fixed-income primitive for Solana
Exponent’s fixed yield tokens introduce a new asset class to Solana DeFi that can fit into any DeFi portfolio:Fully fungible tokens
Bond-like characteristics
Fixed-term maturities
Predictable returns
- It gives up any variable yield (including points) accrued by the principal token deposited into the underlying protocol until maturity,
- Allowing traders on the other side to buy and receive the yield earned by the principal token.
Fixed Yield through Price Appreciation
An Income Token trades at a discount to the full value of the principal deposited in the underlying protocol, as all the future variable yield is sold off until maturity and the principal remains locked. This discount equals the market’s pricing of the remaining future yield and is represented as an Implied APY.Example: exchanging kySOL for PT-kySOL at 15% Implied APY
Example: exchanging kySOL for PT-kySOL at 15% Implied APY
When you exchange your productive asset (e.g. kySOL) for an Income Token (e.g. PT-kySOL) at a 15% fixed APY, you are effectively locking in a predetermined yield, signaling that you do not expect kySOL to generate a 15% or higher APY by the maturity date:
- If kySOL’s APY is below 15% at maturity, you will receive your fixed APY (denominated in SOL) along with additional kySOL.
- If kySOL’s APY exceeds 15% at maturity, you will receive fewer kySOL than you would have earned by holding kySOL directly. But you did not lose value on the principal invested — you simply earned less yield compared to holding kySOL without locking in a fixed return.
Get Started
1
Head to exponent.finance/income
2
Click on the Income Token you wish to invest into
To decide which token to choose, look at the underlying asset, maturity and underlying protocol to evaluate which product corresponds the best to your needs.
3
Once the card is opened, input the purchasing amount
The app will show you the projected fixed APY, taking into account your order and price impact associated with it.
4
Review your purchase
This is a buy order; make sure to select the slippage you are fine with and review the price impact. You can always split your order into smaller transactions if the price impact is important.
5
Click on Invest
Your funds will be swapped for Income Tokens.
6
Wait until maturity to realize the fixed yield
You can now see your position under the Manage Tab and wait until maturity to redeem the underlying asset and realize your fixed return.
Income Tokens are fully fungible SPL tokens that can be used across Solana as liquidity pairs on AMMs, collateral on lending platforms, and more.