Ever thought you'd get paid to borrow money? That's DeFi flipping traditional finance on its head.

In the old world, loans mean interest payments. But certain DeFi protocols are now offering negative APYs—meaning borrowers actually earn while taking out loans.

Take these live examples:

One lending platform gives you -1.9% APY when borrowing USDG with jitoSOL as collateral. Another offers -1.4% APY for USDG loans backed by ONyc.

Negative rates? Sounds wild, but it's happening. The mechanism involves incentive token emissions offsetting borrowing costs, sometimes even pushing your net rate below zero.

This isn't some glitch—it's how liquidity gets bootstrapped in emerging markets. Protocols subsidize borrowers to attract TVL, hoping the ecosystem gains traction before incentives taper off.

Of course, there's no free lunch. You're exposed to smart contract risk, collateral volatility, and the reality that these rates won't last forever once token emissions slow down.

Still, it's a fascinating glimpse into how decentralized markets experiment with capital efficiency. Traditional banks would never pay you to take a loan—but in crypto, the rulebook gets rewritten daily.