Lesson 01
The Yield DNA
Where does the money come from?
The golden rule of passive income: If you don't know where the yield comes from, you are the yield for others.
Artificial Yield:Comes from simply "printing" new tokens to inflate rewards.
Real Yield:Comes from fees paid by actual users (e.g., for swaps in liquidity pools).
The Inflation Trap: As shown in the simulator, 100% APY from token emissions can actually lead to a loss if the token price crashes faster than you accumulate it.
Real-Life Analogy
Rental Income vs Discount Coupons
Real yield is like collecting rent from tenants — someone is actually paying to use the asset.
Artificial yield is like printing discount coupons. On paper you get more units, but their value can drop rapidly.
Real Yield vs Artificial Inflation
100% APY (Emission)
Tokens
100.0
Price
$10.00
Total
$1000
10% APY (Real Fees)
Tokens
100.0
Price
$10.00
Total
$1000
Month 0: You invest $1000 in both projects. You receive 100 tokens at $10 each.
Month 0Month 0Month 6