A truly reliable decentralized finance product never makes flashy promises of returns. Instead, it clearly explains the prerequisites: why it can make money, what pitfalls to watch out for, and whether the worst-case scenario could happen.

To determine if a DeFi protocol is professional enough, you need to dig into its design details. Is the liquidity pool deep and stable? Are there any bottlenecks in the liquidation process? Is the collateral quality reliable? How quickly does the governance team respond to risk events? You might not notice these things in everyday use, but when the market hits a rough patch, these details can become a matter of life and death.

Interestingly, many participants only care about "what is the annualized return" but overlook the risk distribution. Good protocol design should provide different options for people with varying risk tolerances, rather than pushing everyone onto the same roller coaster.

If you want to treat DeFi as a long-term financial tool, my advice is: make a protocol evaluation checklist for yourself, focusing on structure and data, and don’t be swayed by short-term market noise. Long-term profit-makers are often those who are patient and disciplined investors.