DeFi's Identity Crisis: Protocols Shed Decentralization but Find Revenue

Andre Cronje, creator of Fantom and founder of Flying Tulip, dropped a DeFi bombshell this week: "I don't think DeFi exists anymore outside of those very small niches." He argues protocols have become "onchain finance" — run by committees, risk models, and curators — not the permissionless, immutable systems the movement was built on. The evidence is stark: total value locked has collapsed to $75 billion, down from $167 billion just ten months ago. The European Central...