The Ultimate DeFi Vault Map organizes the vault and risk curation ecosystem into six interconnected layers. Each layer is a separate page with a database of active protocols and an educational context explaining how that layer fits the broader system. They are ordered by how capital flows through the ecosystem: from the assets that enter the system, to the platforms that hold them, to the teams that manage risk, to the infrastructure that keeps everything running.
| Layer | What it covers | Why it matters |
| Asset Issuers and Strategy Managers | Protocols that create onchain assets (stablecoins, LSTs, RWAs, synthetics) and teams that design structured yield strategies using those assets | They determine which assets enter the system and how those assets are put to work |
| Vault and Lending Platforms | The base-layer infrastructure where capital is deposited, strategies are executed, and credit markets operate | Every yield strategy ultimately runs on top of a vault or lending platform |
| Risk Curators | Specialist teams that configure vault parameters: collateral lists, loan-to-value ratios, oracle selection, and capital allocation | They are the risk management layer between raw infrastructure and depositor capital |
| Infrastructure Providers | Oracles, bridges, automation networks, analytics tools, and protocol standards | They supply the data and execution layer that vaults and curators depend on to function safely |
| Liquidity and Capital Providers | Retail depositors, DAOs, institutional capital managers, and market makers who supply capital to the system | Without capital, every other layer is structurally inert |
| Yield Aggregators | Protocols that pool deposits and automatically route capital across vaults and lending markets to optimize net yield | They sit above the vault layer and act as distribution and optimization channels for curated strategies |
Each category page includes a searchable and filterable database of protocols, along with an educational context explaining how that layer works and how it connects to the others.
