How Bitcompare verifies crypto yield data.
Bitcompare publishes live yield data for lending, staking, borrowing, stablecoins, and earn products. This methodology explains how rates are collected, classified, refreshed, attributed, and separated from sponsored placements.
Trust model
Five rules govern everything below. Read them before clicking into the detailed methodology pages.
- 01Every rate is attributed to a source.
- 02Rates are timestamped and refreshed on a recurring schedule.
- 03Base rates and max rates are treated separately.
- 04Sponsored placements are labelled and kept separate from organic rankings.
- 05Bitcompare is not a broker, custodian, counterparty, or financial adviser.
What's covered
Understanding rates
How we define APY and APR, the difference between max rate and base rate, and what conditions affect the rate a user actually earns.
Read methodologyHow we gather data
Where the rates come from, how often they refresh, how stale data is detected, and how we attribute every rate back to its source.
Read methodologyEditorial process
Topic selection, verification workflow, conflicts of interest, and our policy for corrections and updates.
Read methodologySponsored placements
How sponsored rate placements are separated from organic data, how clicks are tracked, and how we keep paid placements from biasing rankings.
Read methodologyRisk warning
Volatility, regulatory, smart-contract, and counterparty risks of using the platforms and products Bitcompare tracks.
Read methodology
How we define rates
A yield figure only means something once you know what kind of rate it is. We hold these distinctions apart so the same number is never compared across incompatible products:
- APY vs APR
- APY compounds; APR does not. We label which a figure represents instead of mixing them.
- Base rate vs max rate
- The base rate is available to everyone; the max rate requires conditions such as tiers, lock-ups, or native-token holdings.
- Fixed vs flexible
- Fixed terms lock funds for a set period; flexible terms allow withdrawal but can change at any time.
- Lending · staking · borrowing · stablecoin yield
- Each product type carries different mechanics and risk, so we classify and compare them within their own category.
- CeFi vs DeFi
- Custodial platform rates and on-chain protocol rates are sourced and risk-assessed differently.
- Promotional vs durable
- We flag time-limited or capped promotional rates so they are not mistaken for a platform’s ongoing rate.
Sponsored vs organic separation
Some platforms pay for prominent placement. Here is exactly what paid placement can and cannot do:
Paid placement can
- Buy visibility — a prominent, clearly labelled placement.
Paid placement cannot
- Change the organic rate value we display.
- Silently change organic ranking.
Sponsored units are always labelled, and advertiser and provider campaigns are subject to policy review. Read the sponsored-placement disclosure or see how advertising works.
Freshness and staleness rules
Rates change frequently, so each value carries explicit freshness state rather than an implied “current” status:
“Last confirmed”
The timestamp when the value was last verified against its source — not when the page was rendered.
When a source fails
If a source does not respond within the freshness window, the affected rate is flagged rather than shown as live.
When a rate is marked stale
A rate that cannot be re-confirmed past its freshness window is marked stale so the staleness is visible.
When a rate is removed
If a source goes dark or the product is withdrawn, the rate is removed rather than presented as current.
Median refresh scope
Any displayed “median refresh” describes the platform-wide cadence, not a guarantee for any individual rate.
For API and MCP users
The same standards apply when our data is consumed programmatically by applications and AI agents:
- API and MCP outputs should preserve freshness, source, and confidence fields where available.
- Agent answers should mention rate conditions and timestamps.
- Developers should not hide caveats such as region, lockup, tier, balance, or provider terms.
- MCP and AI answers should not present rates as financial advice.
Explore the Yield API, the MCP server, or the OpenAPI spec.
How we collect data
Every rate on Bitcompare is attributed back to a specific source — the platform's own public rate page, its API, or, for on-chain protocols, the contract data itself. We do not estimate or interpolate rates. When a rate cannot be verified against its source, it is removed rather than shown stale. Read the full data-collection methodology.
Editorial process
Editorial content — reviews, guides, and recommendations — is produced independently of commercial relationships. We document topic selection, our verification workflow, how we handle conflicts of interest, and our policy for issuing corrections and updates when something changes or is found to be wrong. Read the editorial process and corrections policy.
What we do not claim
Bitcompare covers crypto lending, staking, borrowing, stablecoin yield, and earn products across centralised platforms and on-chain protocols. To keep that coverage honest, we are explicit about its boundaries:
- Bitcompare does not cover every provider or product.
- Inclusion is not an endorsement.
- Rates may vary by region, tier, balance, lockup, eligibility, and provider terms.
- Users should confirm terms on the provider site before committing capital.
- Bitcompare does not hold funds or execute transactions.
Earning yield on crypto carries real risk. Read the full risk warning.