Why risk a smart contract exploit when safe US Treasuries pay better crypto yields?

The Federal Reserve's decision to raise its target range to 3.75%-4.00% on Sept. 16 has pushed one-year Treasury yields to 4.45%, creating a challenging benchmark for crypto lending protocols. Data from Coin Metrics indicates that USDC lenders on Aave frequently underperformed compared to Treasury yields throughout 2026. While some platforms like Morpho offer higher yields, they often come with significantly increased volatility. Industry experts, including Sentora CEO Anthony DeMartino, suggest that traditional benchmarks like SOFR may not accurately reflect on-chain credit dynamics, advocating for alternative metrics like CDOR.