Today marks the next step toward open, professional onchain asset management.

We are launching kpk-curated ETH and wstETH Earn Pools on Gearbox Permissionless, bringing structured frameworks, continuous monitoring, and risk-adjusted yield opportunities to permissionless lending markets.

For the first time, we are opening access to our risk and strategy framework in a permissionless format, delivering the same infrastructure trusted by leading onchain organisations to portfolios of any size. 

That transition begins here.

Shifting to Permissionless

Gearbox is the leading DeFi protocol for composable leverage, enabling users to combine lending, staking, borrowing, and trading strategies within a single credit account.

Until now, market parameters were managed by DAO-appointed curators such as Chaos Labs. Today, Gearbox completes its shift to permissionless curation, enabling independent managers to deploy and operate markets transparently onchain.

kpk joins as one of the first curators under this model, introducing ETH and wstETH Earn Pools on Ethereum. We apply professional management standards within permissionless infrastructure, helping Gearbox scale safely while maintaining decentralisation.

Our Approach

kpk prioritises robust risk management and stability while using advanced in-house automation to enhance efficiency and returns. The goal is to deliver superior risk-adjusted yields compared to other curators, without increasing risk exposure.

Each curated product benefits from:

• Conservative strategy design, targeting sustainable yield from reputable sources.
• Thorough due diligence for every integrated asset and collateral.
• Risk-tiered allocation, assigning each whitelisted collateral a tier that determines its allocation limits.
• Automated agents that trigger protective actions in response to risk alerts and, where applicable, optimise allocations to enhance yield.
• Continuous monitoring with clear response procedures.
• Aligned incentives, including temporary reward campaigns that complement sustainable yield, never replace it.

For Gearbox, our Earn Pools are designed for minimal risk and stable yield, to facilitate the significant demand for leveraged borrowing from Gearbox’s existing user base, potentially broadening the scope to the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem.

Our curated pools on Gearbox stand out in several ways:

• Set-and-forget yield – Depositors earn from borrower interest and occasional token incentives, with no need to rebalance.
• Broader collateral options – a wider range of blue-chip assets can be used as collateral, giving borrowers more flexibility.
• Focused risk management – underused or higher-risk assets are quickly removed, keeping each pool’s risk profile simple and robust.
• Stronger oracle infrastructure – dual-oracle pricing and staleness monitors are used for every asset. Oracle feeds are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure reliable pricing and safer liquidation.
• Improved liquidation thresholds – thresholds are raised where possible, easing the impact of market volatility on users.
• Native minting and withdrawals – enables instant minting and queued withdrawals for vault-type assets (e.g. Mellow’s rstETH), reducing slippage and protocol risk.
• Reduced borrowing fees – fees are lowered from 0.25% to 0.20%, making borrowing more cost-efficient.

Migration

To support the transition from DAO-governed to permissionless curation, Gearbox has introduced a 1-click migration tool. It allows existing V3 users to move their positions seamlessly into curated Earn Pools without manual unwinds or asset sales.

Once authorised, the migration executes automatically when liquidity is available, transferring positions under the new pool parameters while preserving the user’s exposure. Permissions can be adjusted or revoked at any time, and the interface displays updated health factors and borrowing conditions before confirmation.

Migrations to kpk’s ETH and wstETH Earn Pools are live now in the Gearbox app, with full support through Gearbox’s community channels.

Launch Incentives

To support early participation and liquidity growth, kpk, Gearbox, and Reserve Protocol have launched a two-month incentive campaign across the new curated Earn Pools to reward steady liquidity and long-term participation.

Month 1

WETH Pool

• GEAR: 8.5M GEAR distributed to WETH depositors.
• ETH+: 3.6 ETH+ for WETH depositors, plus 2.4 ETH+ for WETH borrowers using ETH+ as collateral.

wstETH Pool

• GEAR: 12M GEAR distributed to wstETH depositors.
  

Month 2

• GEAR: 15M+ GEAR distributed across all Gearbox Permissionless pools, weighted by TVL.
• ETH+: 6 ETH+ distributed under the same conditions as Month 1.
  

All incentives are distributed via three dedicated Merkl.xyz campaigns (one for each pool and asset type). Users can monitor distribution and claim rewards directly through Merkl or Gearbox.

Building the Future of Open Management

The launch of curated Earn Pools marks more than a product milestone. It establishes a scalable foundation for professional, permissionless asset management.

For Gearbox, it completes the transition to full permissionless curation.
For kpk, it lays the foundation for a broader architecture where curated markets form the base layer for aggregated, multi-protocol funds.

Curation is how open finance scales: through systems that remain transparent, composable, and professionally operated.

ETH Earn Pool | wstETH Earn Pool | kpk Curation Handbook