Upshift Airdrop

Problem Solved

Upshift simplifies and democratizes access to high-quality DeFi yield strategies by offering non-custodial vaults managed by institutional curators. These vaults are built on August’s battle-tested infrastructure and support strategies across stablecoins and major crypto assets like ETH and BTC.

 The platform’s key proposition lies in curating complex, risk-adjusted yield strategies such as delta-neutral hedging, basis trading, and LP optimization—without requiring technical knowledge from users. Each vault is transparent, auditable, and secured by smart contract controls that prevent unauthorized fund access.

 The strategies are executed via whitelisted protocols, reducing risk exposure while maintaining yield opportunities. Upshift also integrates a points incentive program to attract early adopters and build utility around vault receipt tokens.

By bridging institutional-grade infrastructure with accessible UX, Upshift positions itself as the front-end gateway for earning sustainable DeFi yield across multiple chains.

Tokenomics

As of now, Upshift has not publicly detailed a native token or specific tokenomics model. The platform primarily focuses on providing access to yield strategies through its vaults. While Upshift emphasizes transparency and security in its operations, including non-custodial asset management and interactions with whitelisted protocols, specific details regarding token distribution, use cases, fee structures, or deflationary mechanisms have not been disclosed. The platform's current focus appears to be on building and offering robust yield-generating products rather than developing a native token economy.

Perspectives

Yield platforms have become a mainstay in the DeFi market and they are likely to continue improving and finding new opportunities and ways to grow the collective niche. Upshift's approach is bringing traditional financial institutions into the formula. This certainly a forward-thinking strategy because it is reasonable to expect the Web2 and Web3 versions of finance to merge in the future. By leveraging August's infrastructure and partnering with top-performing DeFi funds, Upshift can offer a diverse range of strategies that move us closer to that future.

However, the platform may face challenges such as regulatory scrutiny, market competition, and the need to continuously adapt to the rapidly changing DeFi landscape. To maintain a competitive edge, Upshift could explore integrating emerging technologies like AI for enhanced risk assessment or expanding its offerings to include features like cross-chain compatibility and bridging services for Web2 users. By staying agile and responsive to market trends, Upshift can solidify its position in the DeFi yield space.

Founders and Team

Upshift is being developed by the experienced team behind August, a prime brokerage firm that connects institutional clients to DeFi protocols. The project is led by Alexandre Elkrief and Aya Kantorovich, co-founders and co-CEOs of August. Elkrief, who is now heading Upshift, brings a background in managing a DeFi hedge fund and has been instrumental in building infrastructure across 15 chains to serve institutional needs. Kantorovich, formerly on the founding team of FalconX, adds extensive brokerage and crypto-native experience.

Together, they originally launched August—previously branded as Fractal—during a volatile market period, closing a funding round led by Dragonfly amid the FTX collapse. August has since facilitated over $7 billion in monthly volume. With Upshift, the team is shifting focus to retail users, aiming to simplify access to institutional-grade yield opportunities. The platform, spun out of August and currently managing over $300 million in deposits, reflects the founders’ belief that complexity has been a barrier to broader DeFi adoption. Their approach is to abstract that complexity for retail, using yield as a core onboarding mechanism.

As of April 2025, the Upshift and August teams are in the process of formally separating, with Elkrief continuing as the driving force behind Upshift’s product-led growth.

Funding

Upshift has not raised independent funding, but it is strongly supported by the financial backing and infrastructure of its parent company, August. August—formerly known as Fractal—has secured $16 million in total funding across two rounds, underscoring the depth of institutional support behind the broader ecosystem Upshift is a part of.

In April 2023, the team raised a $6 million seed round led by Hack VC, with participation from 6MV, Archetype, Blizzard, Circle Ventures, CMT Digital, CoinShares, GoldenTree Asset Management, QCP Capital, Spartan Group, and notable angel investors. This early backing came in the immediate aftermath of the FTX collapse, highlighting strong investor conviction in August’s vision for building secure and transparent on-chain infrastructure for institutions.

More recently, in March 2025, August raised a $10 million Series A round led by Dragonfly, with follow-on support from 6MV, SCB Limited, Robot Ventures, and others. The round is aimed at scaling August’s on-chain prime brokerage capabilities.

As Upshift is August’s first decentralized application and shares its infrastructure, the project benefits directly from this capital, ecosystem, and product maturity. Although not separately capitalized, Upshift is clearly resourced and strategically supported as it scales retail access to institutional-grade DeFi opportunities, with over $300 million in deposits already flowing through the platform.

Community

As of early April 2025, community sentiment toward Upshift is cautiously optimistic, with early discussions on X highlighting organic interest from DeFi users and partners following its exit from stealth on April 1st. While commentary remains limited, the absence of criticism and the use of positive descriptors towards the project suggest a favorable initial reception.

Upshift’s marketing strategy appears to prioritize transparency and community trust over aggressive promotion. The project’s approach—targeting DeFi-native users, and offering APY through strategies managed by top DeFi funds—reflects a product-first orientation. Rather than relying on influencer campaigns or paid ads, Upshift is gaining traction through direct engagement and word-of-mouth within the DeFi ecosystem. This lean, credibility-focused model aligns with contemporary Web3 marketing trends but may pose scalability challenges in a crowded and competitive market.

Although broader community consensus is still forming, Upshift’s early strategy of transparent communication and niche targeting could serve as a strong foundation—provided it delivers on its yield promises and expands its visibility through additional channels.

Competitors

The DeFi yield ecosystem is crowded and fast-moving. Capital flows freely across platforms in pursuit of the highest returns, and users who actively manage their positions rarely commit long-term to any one service. As a result, “leading platforms” often shift depending on incentives, tokenomics, or temporary APY boosts.

Rather than competing in this constant chase for attention, Upshift is aiming to establish itself as a more stable, curated destination for long-term yield generation. By integrating institutional-grade infrastructure, offering transparent risk-managed strategies, and targeting both retail and institutional players, Upshift hopes to break away from the mercenary capital model that defines much of DeFi.

This approach could attract a different class of user—those looking for reliability and managed exposure rather than yield-maximizing complexity. Still, it’s early to say whether this positioning can outperform more flexible or high-yield competitors in the long term. Upshift will need to prove that users are willing to trade short-term APY peaks for consistent, lower-friction experiences.

Other Details

Upshift launched Season 1 of its Points Program which rewards users for depositing into vaults. Early adopters earn significantly more—5x points for any vault deposit made before total platform TVL hits $750M (currently around $241M). Points decay over time, so earlier deposits yield more rewards. Multiple vaults across Ethereum Mainnet, Base, and Avalanche qualify. There are no active “missions” yet, but more ways to earn may be introduced as the program evolves.