Recently, I've come across a bunch of yield aggregators that claim APYs are as easy as free money, and I have a bit of a reflex... Honestly, what's really important is who is paying behind those numbers and how the contract is moving funds around. Often, what you're buying isn't "yield" at all, but granting permissions to a contract you haven't fully read + an unfamiliar counterparty route: bad debts in lending pools, impermanent loss in market making, black swan events in cross-chain bridges—all of which can ultimately show up as drawdowns.

These days, when people compare RWA (Real-World Assets) and US Treasury yields to on-chain yield products, it's pretty straightforward: at least with the former, you know where the interest comes from. On-chain, it's often a "combination punch," and only when you break it down do you realize half is incentives, half is risk bundled together. I now prefer to accept a lower APY and thoroughly review contract permissions, fund flow, pause/upgrade options, and other details, so I don't have to kick myself later for missing something... Anyway, when you see exaggerated annualized returns, what’s the first question you ask?