The pavement outside my window is still slick from the morning shower, turning the city street into a dark mirror

It is a beautiful sight, watching the world double itself in a shallow film of water. However, I’ve learned that a reflection, no matter how crisp, possesses no depth; you cannot dive into a puddle. This reminds me of the current fascination with Decentralized Finance. We see these shimmering yield percentages and automated liquidity pools, and we mistake high-velocity circulation for the creation of actual wealth.
In my years, I have seen many such mirrors. The South Sea Bubble offered a similar sheen before the sun came out and the liquidity evaporated. While the engineering behind these smart contracts is a clever bit of plumbing, most participants are merely admiring the surface of a temporary pond. True value requires a reservoir, not just a wet street. When the heat of a real market correction arrives, we will see very quickly who is standing on solid ground and who was simply chasing a mirage in the rain.