Two Aave stablecoin backstops shrank $12.4 million as reward rates rose

Aave’s two tracked Ethereum V3 stablecoin backstops shrank by $12.4 million between Sept. 17 and Oct. 17 even as their extra reward rates increased. Together, the USDC and USDT positions held $116.09 million at the later observation, down 9.67% from $128.52 million.The positions belong to Umbrella, Aave’s system for using staked assets to absorb lending deficits. Participants keep earning underlying lending yield and receive additional rewards for accepting the possibility that their stakes will be used to cover losses.The figures measure dollar-valued stakes. Their movement includes asset valuation as well as changes in the amount deposited, so a decline in the balance alone cannot identify withdrawals or losses.Multiplying each position’s tracked dollar value by its displayed extra reward rate implies approximately $1.994 million annualized at both endpoints. A richer percentage rate coincided with less tracked protection capital, while that indicative aggregate reward amount barely moved.DefiLlama’s USDC history records a decline from $58,739,617 to $53,437,993. Its USDT history shows a fall from $69,783,937 to $62,655,694. Those are reductions of $5.30 million and $7.13 million...