Even Aave itself has better rates -- the figure the author is quoting is from the the platform's option to lock in a fixed rate for your loan. Currently you can

Even Aave itself has better rates -- the figure the author is quoting is from the the platform's option to lock in a fixed rate for your loan. Currently you can lock in 12.24% [1], but you can also borrow at the variable rate, starting at 3.15%. Now, that does subject you to uncontrollable variation, but if you look at the chart, it's historically stayed at a very low level. Even the occasional spike you see is only for a day or two and has little impact on the annual average. [2] Furthermore, the whole time, you're getting credited for interest accrued on your collateral. (1.18% on the USDC here -- so, all in all about a 2% annual carrying cost, not a bit issue if you think the crypto market are on borrowed time!) "But what about the case where USDT borrowing surges and you have a persistent high rate?" If that happens at all, it's probably because everyone else is dumping Tether, meaning its price is probably falling, and it's a great time to close the short anyway! [1] https://app.aave.com/reserve-overview/?underlyingAsset=0xdac17f958d2ee523a2206206994597c13d831ec7&marketName=proto_mainnet https://app.aave.com/reserve-overview/?underlyingAsset=0xdac... [2] People often miss that "omg high interest rate" for a few days translates into a very little expense in absolute terms. It was especially bad when banks were complaining about having to do one-off overnight loans on a very temporary basis for 4% rather than 2%, supposedly meriting Fed intervention!