Honestly, lately I've seen a lot of discussions on the square about a certain stablecoin protocol, and it's been extremely popular. The 20% annualized return is eye-catching. But I have to admit—this has been bothering me a bit.

The most lively times in the market are often the most dangerous. Those projects that once claimed 200%, 300% returns on "stablecoins" have now become cautionary tales in crypto textbooks. When the feast ends, whales always manage to get out ahead of retail investors.

But today I don't want to spread panic; I want to discuss a more core issue: when risks really hit, besides listening to rumors and going by gut feeling, do we have a way to spot the signs in advance?

**What is the truth behind high yields**

Any return that exceeds the risk-free rate of the market essentially means you're paying for the risk you're taking. In the DeFi ecosystem, the most frightening risk isn't price volatility, but "you don't know what you don't know"—this is the black hole of information.

The collateral data you see might be from 24 hours ago. The health of liquidity pools? Whales have already been planning how to withdraw. Where does that 20% yield come from—actual income generated by the protocol, or are they just using later investors' principal to fill the gaps? No one can give you a reassuring answer to these questions.

**Transparency is the key to breaking the deadlock**

What we truly need is for on-chain data to become verifiable, traceable, and transparent to the point of impossibility to fake. Only then can your decisions be based not just on enthusiasm but on real, reliable facts. When information is symmetrical, those hidden risks in the shadows will truly be laid bare.