What changed
AAPLCT's displayed APY fell by 9.93 percentage points from 10.27% to 0.34%, a decline of about 96.7%, while TVL decreased only about 0.47% from $38,186 to $38,006. The 2026-09-17 observation showed the APY split as 0.27% base + 10.00% reward; the 2026-09-21 DefiLlama direct pool view no longer displays that 10% reward component. METACT currently shows 0.52% APY and $10,605 TVL.
Why it matters
TAU's tokenized-stock carry structure combines underlying carry from stock-backed strategies with external incentives, and rewards can account for most of the headline APY. This observation shows that route-specific eligibility, reward treatment or provider refresh timing can materially change the displayed yield even when vault capital is stable, making it important to separate base carry from external rewards.
Evidence
- SIGNA ET STRUCTURA — TAU Stock Carry Vaults activate Morpho/Steakhouse carry on Base — AAPLCT was recorded at $38,186 TVL and 10.27% APY, split into 0.27% base APY + 10.00% reward APY.
- DefiLlama — AAPLCT Apple Carry Trade — AAPLCT displayed 0.34% Supply APY, $38,006 TVL and 56 holders.
- DefiLlama — METACT Meta Carry Trade — METACT displayed 0.52% Supply APY, $10,605 TVL and 31 holders.
Limitations
No official announcement from TAU Labs, IPOR or CURATED confirming the termination of the 10% USDC reward for AAPLCT or METACT was found in this observation. A public observation on 2026-09-16 described the extra 10% APR as CURATED-only, so the discrepancy could reflect reward expiry, route or eligibility differences, or a DefiLlama refresh/display difference. This brief therefore does not claim that the 10% incentive has ended across all routes. The carry structure also remains exposed to variable borrowing costs, liquidation and oracle risk, smart-contract risk, tokenized-stock issuer/custody/redemption/eligibility constraints, and the timing mismatch between 24/5 equity markets and 24/7 Base markets.
Disclosure
This is a public-market observation and does not constitute investment advice.