Whenever the media covers stablecoins, the headlines almost always follow the same script: “Stablecoin market cap hits new all-time high, surpassing $XXX billion.” Within the industry, we’ve fallen into the same trap, treating TVL (Total Value Locked) as the gold standard for ecosystem health. The numbers sound massive, don't they? It creates an illusion that “more money = a more prosperous ecosystem.” But if you’ve ever worked in payments or traditional finance, that framing feels off. In an...