Real Yield
Returns paid from a protocol's actual fee revenue rather than from freshly printed tokens — the sustainable kind.
Real yield is income distributed to token holders or stakers from a protocol’s genuine earnings — trading fees, borrowing interest, revenue — as opposed to “emissions” yield paid by minting new tokens. The distinction became a rallying cry after the 2021–22 cycle, when countless projects advertised triple-digit APYs funded entirely by inflating their own supply.
Emissions yield is a wealth transfer from future holders to current farmers; it collapses the moment printing stops. Real yield can persist because it reflects a working business. When evaluating any yield, the one question that separates the two is unchanged: where does this money actually come from?