Pendle Finance bets big on RWAs and institutional DeFi for the second half of 2026

Pendle Finance unveiled its second-half 2026 roadmap on July 23, and the message is clear: real-world assets are the main course, not a side dish. The protocol is doubling down on RWA infrastructure, expanding listings, and actively courting issuers to grow its on-chain yield product suite. Pendle’s numbers suggest it has already built the plumbing to make this work, with total value locked nearly doubling from $6.9 billion to $13.4 billion and $45 billion in settled value for Principal Token holders during 2025. Boros hits $200M in open interest as Pendle expands beyond crypto-native yields The most concrete proof point in Pendle’s expansion story is Boros, its rates trading platform. As of July 22, Boros reported $200 million in open interest. Boros has also been branching into commodities and equities, extending Pendle’s rate speculation concept across asset classes. Pendle lets you split yield-bearing assets into their principal and yield components, then trade them separately. Boros extends that concept to rate speculation across asset classes. Institutional doors are opening, literally Pendle’s institutional play got a concrete boost on July 16, when Galaxy Curator launched o...