Recently, this topic has been highly discussed in the community: is it still worth relying on "Alpha hunting" (early project chasing, airdrop snatching)? Someone has done a detailed calculation: an account with 10,000 US dollars, consistently participating in 8 airdrops per month, after deducting gas fees and time investment, the actual profit might only be a little over 100 US dollars. What if managing five accounts at the same time? Exhausting, earning only a few hundred US dollars a month, and being repeatedly cut by MEV front-running.

How does that compare? Using the same funds for USD stablecoin yield farming, with a limit of 50,000 US dollars, the annualized return can reach over 20%. Just by sitting idly, doing nothing, you can earn about 27 US dollars a day, and over 800 US dollars a month safely in your pocket.

The contrast is indeed stark. Many people in front of their screens declare "the winner is clear." After painstakingly "hunting" all day, it turns out to be less profitable than properly "farming."

But I want to think more deeply. Are these high-yield platform activities really the ultimate answer? They usually come with limits and time windows, essentially platform subsidies that are temporary. Once the activity ends, those high returns vanish into thin air.

The question is: should we pursue these "once-in-a-lifetime" short-term opportunities, or should we develop a truly sustainable, scalable, and more autonomous steady income system? This reflection shifted my focus to the underlying DeFi protocols. Instead of fixating on which platform's promotion is the most "lucrative," it's better to research how to build a long-term yield framework that doesn't rely on short-term subsidies but is based on real market demand and complex strategies. That’s the kind of work worth spending time on.