Your First DepositWhen I first deposited into a Concrete vault, I got my vault shares and stared at numbers like eRate and NAV. At first, it felt abstract—just digits changing on a screen. I wondered if my money was really growing or if it was some kind of illusion. That moment is common for anyone new to DeFi, and it’s exactly why taking a step back helps: these numbers are trying to tell you a story about your investment.Vault Shares: Understanding Your SliceVault shares are your slice of t...

Your First DepositWhen I first deposited into a Concrete vault, I got my vault shares and stared at numbers like eRate and NAV. At first, it felt abstract—just digits changing on a screen. I wondered if my money was really growing or if it was some kind of illusion. That moment is common for anyone new to DeFi, and it’s exactly why taking a step back helps: these numbers are trying to tell you a story about your investment.Vault Shares: Understanding Your SliceVault shares are your slice of t...

In DeFi, yield feels immediate. A percentage appears on a dashboard, updates constantly, and gives the impression of clarity. You deposit assets, watch APY accumulate, and assume you’re observing a stable income stream. But what looks like clarity is often compression—complex systems reduced into a single number.Yield as a Compressed RepresentationAPY is not a mechanism. It is a simplified output of many interacting forces. Liquidity conditions, trading demand, incentive programs, volatility,...

In DeFi, yield feels immediate. A percentage appears on a dashboard, updates constantly, and gives the impression of clarity. You deposit assets, watch APY accumulate, and assume you’re observing a stable income stream. But what looks like clarity is often compression—complex systems reduced into a single number.Yield as a Compressed RepresentationAPY is not a mechanism. It is a simplified output of many interacting forces. Liquidity conditions, trading demand, incentive programs, volatility,...

Fragmentation Isn’t Just NoiseThe first thing you notice in DeFi isn’t risk—it’s chaos. There are hundreds of protocols, multiple chains, and an endless stream of new strategies. Every day there’s a new place to earn, a new pool, a new incentive. On paper, it looks like opportunity. In practice, it feels like fragmentation. I remember checking my positions across different apps and realizing I wasn’t actually optimizing anything—I was just reacting. Capital was everywhere, but it wasn’t coord...

Fragmentation Isn’t Just NoiseThe first thing you notice in DeFi isn’t risk—it’s chaos. There are hundreds of protocols, multiple chains, and an endless stream of new strategies. Every day there’s a new place to earn, a new pool, a new incentive. On paper, it looks like opportunity. In practice, it feels like fragmentation. I remember checking my positions across different apps and realizing I wasn’t actually optimizing anything—I was just reacting. Capital was everywhere, but it wasn’t coord...