For years, the DeFi universe relied on a formula that seemed unbeatable: technical innovation + economic incentive = explosive adoption. And it worked - until it stopped working. Uniswap ended order books, Curve dominated stable swaps, and farming became fuel for viral growth. But the bill has come due. Capital, driven by ephemeral rewards, evaporated as quickly as it appeared. The structures crumbled. The question that the market ignored for years is now inevitable: how to build something that does not collapse?