Someone asked me whether the APY of the yield aggregator is reliable... I usually don’t look at the numbers first, I check which contracts the money is actually being put into, and whether there’s an extra layer or layers involved. To put it simply, the “yield” you get is often a package deal of contract risk plus counterparty risk, and when something goes wrong, it doesn’t necessarily happen in the order you expect.

Recently, there’s been a lot of focus on large on-chain transfers and unusual activity in exchange hot and cold wallets as “smart money,” but the more I see, the calmer I become: it might just be rebalancing, market making, or risk management actions, not necessarily a sign pointing to opportunities for you. Anyway, my own approach is still old-fashioned: diversify, try small amounts first, and add more after running for a while without issues; if it can be stored in a cold wallet, then cold wallet it is—keeping the keys in your hands makes you feel more secure. A smaller yield is okay, as long as you don’t wake up one day to find you’re actually the counterparty to someone else.