Hylo

Hylo (hylo.so) is a DeFi app on Solana. It is not the eye-drop or fitness brand of the same name. Hylo makes leveraged tokens: xSOL, xBTC and xHYPE. Each gives about 3x long exposure, with no margin calls and no forced sales. It also makes hyUSD, a dollar stablecoin backed by the same pools.

Each pool is split in two. One half backs hyUSD. The other half takes the price swings. To earn yield, you put hyUSD in the Earn Pool and get eHYUSD back. Hylo also has two staking tokens, hyloSOL and hyloSOL+. In October 2026 it calls itself "the home of leveraged tokens on Solana". Its V2 beta, live since late March 2026, added BTC and HYPE to what began as a SOL-only app.

How Hylo works: one pool, two tokens

Every Hylo pool follows one rule. What the pool holds equals the stablecoin owed plus the value of the leveraged token. Each stablecoin is worth $1, so every price move lands on the leveraged token. The xAsset docs give the price as:

xAsset price = (pool collateral value − stablecoin supply) / xAsset supply

When SOL rises, the surplus grows faster than SOL, so xSOL rises faster. When SOL falls, xSOL takes the loss first and hyUSD stays backed.

Each pool targets a collateral ratio of 150%, which Hylo says implies "structural leverage at 3x in normal conditions". Leverage is not fixed. It rises when collateral ratios fall and falls when they rise, and the protocol steers it back toward the target (see the risk section below).

In V2, each pool issues its own "virtual" stablecoin, and hyUSD is backed 1:1 by the sum of those virtual stablecoins across pools (multi-asset architecture). The pools as of October 2026:

• SOL pool: liquid staking tokens, specifically Jito JTO$0.363+3.1% jitoSOL and Hylo's own hyloSOL.
• BTC pool: Coinbase's cbBTC, a custodial wrapped bitcoin.
• HYPE pool: HYPE on Solana.
• USDC pool: USDC, which has no leveraged side and counts directly as stablecoin backing.

Pricing uses Sanctum CLOUD$0.044+1.7% for the true SOL value of each LST and Pyth Network PYTH$0.067+2.3% oracles for SOL, BTC, HYPE and USDC prices in dollars. Some older third-party write-ups say Hylo uses no external oracle, or that it accepts mSOL and bSOL. Neither matches the current docs.

Hylo leveraged tokens: xSOL, xBTC and xHYPE

The xAssets are Hylo's main product. You mint them with hyUSD or the pool's collateral, or buy them on secondary markets, and you hold them like any other token. There is no position to manage, no funding rate and no liquidation price. A minting and a redemption fee apply to each pool. The fees are flat and configurable, and Hylo can adjust them in extreme markets (xAssets).

• xSOL is the original, from Hylo's 2025 launch. In 2025 its effective leverage typically sat around 2x. V2 now targets 3x.
• xBTC gives leveraged exposure to bitcoin through the cbBTC pool. Because BTC earns no staking yield, xBTC holders pay a borrow rate that flows to the Earn Pool.
• xHYPE does the same for HYPE, with its own borrow rate.

Hylo says it plans xAssets for yield-bearing assets, tokenized equities and commodities. Crypto Briefing reported that V2 targets the leveraged-ETF market, which it put at roughly $180 billion in the US. None of the equity or commodity xAssets were live as of October 2026.

xAssets now trade outside Hylo's own app too. Moonshot verified xSOL, xBTC and xHYPE in September 2026, and xHYPE became a quote asset on StonkFun.

hyUSD stablecoin and eHYUSD yield

hyUSD is the dollar side of every pool. Above $1, traders profit by minting new hyUSD. Below $1, they profit by redeeming it for collateral. That trading pulls the price back to $1. Dynamic fees push new mints toward pools above the 150% target and redemptions toward pools below it (risk management).

eHYUSD is the Earn Pool token, and it replaced sHYUSD (same mint, per Hylo's on-chain addresses page). Deposit hyUSD and you get eHYUSD, which gains value against hyUSD every epoch. Its yield comes from two places (Earn Pool):

• staking rewards from the LSTs in the SOL pool;
• borrow rates paid by xBTC and xHYPE holders.

Because one Earn Pool collects from every collateral pool, its yield can run well above the yield of any single pool. Yield and borrow income are split between depositors and the treasury.

eHYUSD launched in July 2026 with a $15 million minting cap (our coverage). By late September 2026 the cap had been raised to $25 million, per Hylo. The rate moves a lot with market conditions, so check the live figure rather than any number quoted in a write-up.

Where to use hyUSD and eHYUSD in Solana DeFi

You can lend, loop, fix a rate or buy a tranche with Hylo assets. In September 2026 Hylo said seven Solana apps used them (Hylo). Some examples:

• Exponent tranches: eHYUSD is split into a senior, principal-protected "srEHYUSD" tranche and a junior, boosted "jrEHYUSD" tranche. The market size was raised to $7.5 million in September 2026.
• Loopscale loops: borrowing USDC against eHYUSD or srEHYUSD to loop the yield.
• Reflect Money tranches: Protected and Amplified eHYUSD tranches, which earn Hylo XP from October 2026.

DeFi Development Corp., a Nasdaq-listed company holding SOL in its treasury, announced in January 2026 that it would deploy treasury capital into Hylo to earn yield and take part in the points program.

hyloSOL and hyloSOL+ liquid staking

Hylo has two staking tokens. Both stake to one validator, run by Hylo with Sentinel and Phase Labs (liquid staking tokens):

• hyloSOL pays normal staking yield (Hylo quotes 5-7%) and earns baseline XP. It is being added to the SOL pool's backing alongside jitoSOL.
• hyloSOL+ tracks the SOL price but pays no yield. Its staking rewards go to hyloSOL and Hylo's growth programs, and in return it earns XP at five times the rate.

Hylo airdrop, XP points and token

Hylo has no token, and as of October 2026 it has not announced a token generation event or airdrop. What it runs is a seasonal XP points program (XP system). XP accrues daily per dollar held:

Referrers earn 10% of their referrals' XP, and new users with a referral code get a 5% boost. Hylo assets used on partner protocols can also earn XP. Many airdrop sites present XP as the route to a future token. That is speculation. Hylo's docs do not link XP to any token.

Who Hylo is for

• Long-term SOL, BTC or HYPE bulls who want leverage without liquidations. xAssets suit holders who would otherwise run a margin position and fear being wiped out by a sudden wick. They suit people with a directional view over weeks or months, not traders scalping intraday moves, who will find perps cheaper and more precise.
• Stablecoin holders chasing on-chain yield who accept protocol risk. eHYUSD fits those willing to hold a newer, crypto-backed stablecoin rather than USDC. It does not fit anyone who needs a guaranteed rate or certain principal.
• DeFi users who want structured yield. The tranche and loop markets on Exponent, Loopscale and Reflect let you pick principal protection or a boosted rate.
• Not a fit: anyone expecting a leveraged token to hold its value in a flat, choppy market, or anyone who needs a fully reserved, fiat-backed stablecoin.

Is Hylo safe? Risks and audits

Audits. Hylo lists three audits (audits page):

• OtterSec reviewed the v1.1 Exchange and Stability Pool programs. Hylo dates it February 2025, and the report file is dated May 2025. OtterSec found seven issues, including one involving EMA price deviation, all fixed before mainnet.
• Accretion reviewed v1.2 of the same programs in December 2025.
• Accretion reviewed V2's Exchange, Earn Pool and Router in July 2026. The scope included LST-to-USDC swaps, borrow-rate harvesting and minting against non-yielding collateral.

Upgradeable programs under a multisig. The Exchange program (HYEXCHtHkBagdStcJCp3xbbb9B7sdMdWXFNj6mdsG4hn) is upgradeable. Solana Explorer shows its upgrade authority is a Squads V4 multisig, which means the code can be changed if enough keyholders sign. Explorer did not show the approval threshold when we checked in October 2026. It also listed the program as not a verified build, with no security.txt. That rules out a single-key upgrade. Some AI summaries call Hylo's contracts "immutable", but the explorer shows otherwise.

Earn Pool depositors are the last line of defence. Hylo's stability tools escalate in order. If a pool's collateral ratio falls below 100%, the protocol burns Earn Pool hyUSD to retire unbacked supply (risk management). In plain terms, eHYUSD holders absorb losses that the leveraged side can't. That has happened in practice under V1's Stability Pool:

• In early February 2026, SOL fell from $104 to $66. The pool spent $5.5 million of hyUSD buying 78.6 million xSOL (Hylo).
• That left sHYUSD holding leveraged SOL rather than dollars for weeks (update).
• Hylo reported Q1 2026 TVL down 58% as SOL fell and users withdrew. hyUSD stayed overcollateralised, and sHYUSD's yield spiked to a record (Q1 recap).

The design worked, but "stable yield" briefly meant leveraged SOL exposure.

Stress record. Hylo says that during the 10 October 2025 liquidation cascade, hyUSD's collateral ratio stayed above 180% and xAssets saw no liquidations (Hylo). That claim comes from Hylo itself.

Other risks to weigh:

• Volatility decay. Hylo's docs warn that leveraged tokens "lose value over time in sideways markets". Even if SOL ends where it started, xSOL can end lower.
• Variable leverage. Effective leverage drifts with the collateral ratio, so 3x is a target, not a promise.
• Collateral dependencies. The pools rely on jitoSOL, hyloSOL, cbBTC (custodied by Coinbase), HYPE and USDC, and on Pyth and Sanctum pricing. A failure in any of these flows through to hyUSD.
• Concentration. Open interest is dominated by the SOL market, so a deep SOL drawdown is the main stress case.

Hylo vs perps and other alternatives

• Hylo xAssets vs perps (Drift Protocol DRIFT$0.013+0.3%, Jupiter JUP$0.260+4.6% Perps). Perps give precise, adjustable leverage and shorts, but carry funding payments and a liquidation price. xAssets are long-only and leverage floats, but there is no liquidation and nothing to manage. Perps suit active traders, and xAssets suit buy-and-hold leverage.
• eHYUSD vs fiat-backed stablecoins. USDC is redeemable for dollars held by its issuer and pays no native yield. eHYUSD pays a variable yield funded by staking and leverage demand, and it can take losses in a crash.
• hyloSOL vs other LSTs and native staking. hyloSOL is a normal LST with an XP kicker. If you only want staking yield, compare it with other pools on our stake pool comparison, or stake SOL directly with a validator. Disclosure: Solana Compass runs its own validator and liquid staking token, so we are a competitor here.

Hylo team, funding and history

• 2025: public launch with hyUSD, sHYUSD and xSOL. Within four months TVL passed $100 million, according to Crypto Briefing.
• August 2025: $1.5 million seed round led by Robot Ventures, with Colosseum, Solana Ventures and YTWO Ventures (Crypto Fundraising).
• January 2026: DeFi Development Corp. treasury partnership.
• Late March 2026: V2 beta, which added the multi-asset xAsset engine.
• July 2026: eHYUSD launch and the Accretion V2 audit.
• October 2026: Hylo reported more than $700 million in cumulative exchange volume (Hylo).

Hylo's individual founders are not documented in its official sources. Plish, from the Hylo team, discussed the protocol on Lightspeed.