Real yield

Real yield separates two sources of return that are often confused. The first is native-token emission: the protocol prints its own coin and hands it out, an inflationary flow that dilutes holders and only holds up while the token price does. The second is genuine revenue: the protocol charges users for an actual service, such as a swap fee or loan interest, and distributes that income. As a quality signal, real yield is usually paid in a hard asset like ETH or stablecoins rather than in the governance token.

It is a sustainability test. The term emerged as a critique of the inflationary yield farming of 2020 and 2021, with three- and four-figure APYs that could not last. The key metric compares fees generated against emissions distributed: if emissions exceed fees, the yield is a subsidy, not a return. For due diligence and compliance, it tells apart protocols with real cash flow from those that depend on printing tokens.