알파카 파이낸스 (ALPACA)·
The four-year journey of Alpaca Finance has seen two complete cycles of the crypto industry — the highs of bull markets and the sobering lessons of downturns. We’ve witnessed the rise of groundbreaking protocols and the fall of once-promising ventures. While we had hoped to be delivering better news today, the reality before us calls for a more somber tone.
After extensive internal deliberation and a thorough evaluation of possible paths forward, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to begin sunsetting Alpaca Finance and all of its products. This choice wasn’t made lightly, but we believe it is the most responsible course of action to safeguard our community and ensure a graceful and secure wind-down.
Alpaca Finance’s leveraged yield farming had an immediate product-market fit at launch in early 2021, as DeFi was blossoming on the BNB Chain. Within months, Alpaca became one of the cornerstone protocols on the BNB Chain. Along the way, we introduced numerous innovations and improvements, continuously pushing the boundaries of what we could offer our users. However, the launch of concentrated liquidity AMMs fundamentally shifted the landscape. With inherent leverage already embedded in these new models, traditional leveraged yield farming became significantly less compelling and much more difficult to do profitably.
Still, we didn’t stop building. We innovated with new iterations — Automated Vaults (AVs), a stablecoin (AUSD), and even a decentralized perpetual exchange (Alperp). Yet, throughout this period, the broader market remained muted. Suppressed yields and declining activities made these products increasingly unviable.
More recently, we explored strategic paths forward, including serious M&A discussions with several other projects. Some conversations progressed meaningfully, but ultimately, as the market turned downward again in early 2025, these deals fell through.
Alpaca Finance was a fair launch project — no pre-mine, no VC funding — and our operational runway was always tied directly to protocol revenue. With TVL and yields declining, revenue followed suit. In truth, the team has been operating at a loss for over two years, even after significant downsizing of the team. Continuing under these conditions is simply not sustainable.
On top of that, the DeFi landscape has evolved dramatically. It’s more competitive, more saturated, and often favors large, capitalized players with new token supplies to give away. At this stage, we no longer see a viable opportunity within the team’s circle of competence that justifies further pursuit.
The recent delisting of ALPACA from Binance was another major blow. It not only limits token accessibility but also restricts our ability to deploy our remaining warchest effectively toward any new initiatives.
In order to facilitate an orderly and secure winddown process for users’ assets, which is our highest priority, we have determined the following sequences for each product. If you have funds in Alpaca Finance, please read this section carefully.
AF1.0 (The original LYF)
Automated Vaults (AV)
Alperp
AF2.0 (Money Market)
Buyback & Burn
Access to Alpaca Finance’s Front-End
Looking back, we’re incredibly proud of what Alpaca Finance achieved. From becoming a top protocol on BNB Chain, to helping define leveraged yield farming in DeFi’s early days, our journey was only made possible by the incredible support of our community.
To our users, thank you for believing in us, farming with us, and sticking with us through the highs and lows.
To our team, past and present — thank you for your relentless dedication, integrity, and heart. This chapter wouldn’t have existed without you.
While Alpaca is coming to its final chapter, we hope our work leaves a small mark on the evolution of DeFi, and that the ideas and lessons we shared will continue to live on in future projects.
If you have any questions on the wind-down process, feel free to reach out to us. Any important updates during the wind-down process will be shared via our official social channels.
From all of us at Alpaca Finance — thank you for walking this journey with us. It’s been an honor.
Alpaca Finance Wind-Down Announcement was originally published in Alpaca Finance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.