From "Cool" to "Ordinary": Why the Popularity of a DeFi Protocol Indicates That DeFi Has Truly Grown Up

The crypto world is always chasing the next hot trend. What defines a hotspot? Cutting-edge consensus mechanisms, complex tokenomics, radical social experiments—anything as long as it’s "cool." But this actually reveals a fundamental truth: a sign of true industry maturity is that its core elements become ordinary and unremarkable. Power grids are like that, as is internet infrastructure. People have long gotten used to their existence, hardly giving them a second thought.

The success of a certain popular DeFi protocol perfectly illustrates this turning point.

Honestly, the story behind this protocol is quite "boring." No grand narrative of replacing central banks, no dreams of the metaverse. It simply does one thing—at the lowest cost, safely convert your assets into liquidity. In other words: within a decentralized framework, it performs the oldest operation in traditional finance—credit transformation. This may sound dull, but it underpins the entire structure of modern finance. When a protocol can do this more efficiently than traditional financial systems, it truly has the potential to become a global financial infrastructure.

Try to think from the user’s perspective: why do you use such protocols? It’s not about believing in some grand story. It’s very practical—how can I maximize the returns on my crypto assets?

Whether a protocol succeeds doesn’t depend on how crazy the market is, but on whether it can continuously solve this problem. Its interface might not be flashy. Its tokenomics might seem simple. But one consensus remains: it’s easy to use. And it stays easy to use.

This kind of "disenchantment" is actually a healthy sign. The focus of value measurement shifts from "narrative premium" to "utility premium." Investors are increasingly willing to pay for stable cash flows (like protocol fee income), rather than constantly paying for an illusory future. The market becomes calmer, and in turn, more sustainable.

As a representative of this stage, the value of such financial protocols will rise along with the growth of the entire crypto economy. Just like a reliable power company—it doesn’t need to tell stories; as the economy develops, demand increases. The most ordinary things happen to last the longest.