Spectra

Spectra (formerly APWine) is a permissionless interest-rate derivatives protocol: any yield-bearing asset can be split into principal and yield tokens to trade fixed and variable rates. Spectra is a permissionless yield tokenisation protocol, formerly APWine, that splits any ERC-4626 interest bearing token (IBT) into a Principal Token and a Yield Token with a specific expiry (Spectra dev docs). Anyone can deploy a market through the Factory and Registry contracts without permission, which is the main structural difference from curated venues (Spectra docs, Immunefi audit competition scope). PT redeems 1:1 for the underlying at maturity and the protocol runs a dedicated AMM for interest rates (Spectra site). Spectra is AMM-agnostic but "initially leverages battle-tested Curve AMM", and the Curve DAO receives 20 percent of all swap fees (Spectra risk documentation, Curve news). The token migrated from APW to SPECTRA under SIP-3, moving to a ve(3,3) model that routes 80 percent of pool revenue to voters (SIP-3).

Permissionless market creation for yield tokenization: anyone can list a new PT/YT market for an interest-bearing asset.

- Principal & Yield Token (PT / YT) tokenization: Users deposit an ERC-4626 interest-bearing token (IBT) or its underlying asset and receive two tokens: a Principal Token (PT), redeemable 1:1 for the underlying at maturity, and a Yield Token (YT), which captures all future yield until maturity. This 'yield tokenization' splits a yield-bearing position into a fixed-rate component (PT) and a variable-yield component (YT), enabling fixed rates, yield speculation, and hedging. - AMM pools (Curve-based): PTs trade against their underlying IBT in dedicated automated market maker pools. The price of the PT relative to the underlying implies a fixed yield-to-maturity. Spectra's pools are built on a Curve cryptoswap AMM design, letting users buy PTs at a discount (locking in a fixed rate) or provide liquidity to earn swap fees and incentives. - Permissionless pool creation: Anyone can create a new yield-tokenization market for any ERC-4626 vault at will, without protocol-team approval. This permissionless design lets the protocol list new yield-bearing assets (from lending markets, liquid staking, and stablecoin issuers) faster than curated competitors. - SPECTRA token & veSPECTRA governance: SPECTRA is the ecosystem and governance token (migrated from APW). Holders can lock SPECTRA as vote-escrowed veSPECTRA to participate in weekly gauge votes directing incentive emissions, earn a share of protocol fees plus a rebase. Governance, gauge voting, and reward claims run on the Base network.

- Spectra (SPECTRA): Token, Governance Token

- Smart Contract: Spectra tokenizes yield-bearing positions through PT/YT contracts, AMM pools, and a router. Its Code4rena audit surfaced a medium-severity finding on potential yield drainage via flash-loan exploitation of a vault-deflation attack, and another on ERC-5095 compliance; permissionless pool creation enlarges the attack surface since anyone can list arbitrary ERC-4626 vaults. - Reserve / Depeg: A Principal Token's fixed-rate guarantee depends on the underlying ERC-4626 vault redeeming 1:1 at maturity. If the underlying yield-bearing asset (a lending receipt, LST, or stablecoin) depegs or loses value, PT redemption value falls and holders can be under-collateralized despite holding the 'principal' leg. - Counterparty: Spectra is a yield layer sitting on top of external protocols (Aave, Lido, stablecoin issuers, etc.). A failure, exploit, or insolvency in any integrated underlying protocol flows directly through to the PTs/YTs minted against it, so users inherit the counterparty risk of every underlying vault they hold exposure to. - Governance: Emissions, gauge weights, and fee distribution are controlled by veSPECTRA voters, and the AMM/tokenomics were forked from Velodrome/Curve designs. Concentrated veSPECTRA holdings could steer incentives or fee parameters (e.g. changes made via SIP/SGP proposals) in ways that disadvantage ordinary LPs or PT/YT holders. - Network: Governance, gauge voting, and reward claims were migrated to the Base network (an L2). Base sequencer downtime, reorgs, or bridge issues could disrupt voting and reward claiming, and multi-chain deployment exposes users to the liveness and security assumptions of each chain the protocol operates on.

- Instrument shape: similar in that PT and YT are created per IBT with a specific expiry; one PT redeems for one unit of the underlying at maturity, and at a 5 percent rate a one-year YT trades for about $0.05; differs in that Principal strip and interest strip from a floating rate note - Underwriting: similar in that None whatsoever. "Anyone can create new markets at will, swap yield derivatives, or become a liquidity provider"; differs in that Closer to a self-listing exchange than to a dealer or an underwriter - Collateral: similar in that The ERC-4626 IBT itself. Spectra explicitly warns IBT share value can fall and that PT backing then decreases proportionally to maintain protocol solvency; differs in that A strip whose recovery depends entirely on the collateral pool, with no issuer credit support - Rate setting: similar in that Market pricing on a Curve-based AMM, with a migration to Curve NG and Curve Stableswap NG pools audited in April 2025; differs in that Secondary market price discovery for strips on a dealer platform - Settlement: similar in that Expiry driven. On 4 June 2026 the largest stXRP pool expired and roughly $4.88m rolled automatically into the newly launched fixed term instrument; differs in that Maturity roll from an expiring note into a new issue - Recourse on default: similar in that None from Spectra. The docs state Spectra "does not have control over the types of tokens that users decide to contribute to its pools" and place due diligence on the user; differs in that Caveat emptor listing venue, unlike a rated bond with issuer recourse - Regulation: similar in that A named regulated-jurisdiction operator, Perspective SAS in Paris, under French law, with Gaspard Peduzzi as director of publication; differs in that An EU-domiciled operating company rather than an offshore foundation