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![TheDeFiPlug Avatar](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:24/cr:twitter::45717966.png) THEDEFIPLUG [@TheDeFiPlug](/creator/twitter/TheDeFiPlug) on x 53.8K followers
Created: 2025-07-17 12:20:50 UTC

If users aren’t being paid to show up, and they still do, that’s what you call product-market fit.

We’re in a market where every protocol is launching a token, dangling points, or bootstrapping with emissions.

That makes it harder (and more important) to filter signal from noise.

This post breaks down three protocols scaling without incentives:
Base, Meteora, and Yei Finance.
Each one is quietly compounding adoption. No airdrops. No mercenaries. Just usage.

Let’s unpack why this filter matters. It might be your highest-conviction bull market screen.

● Why Most DeFi Growth Isn’t Real

There’s a pattern:

- Launch with high emissions.
- Bribe for liquidity or usage.
- Hope the market forgets when it stops.

But when incentives dry up, so does the usage.

That’s not a bug. It’s the design.
Token-led growth is a marketing tool, not a retention engine.

The question smart capital is asking now:
Who’s growing without the bribes?


XXXXXX engagements

![Engagements Line Chart](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:600/p:tweet::1945820991558717839/c:line.svg)

**Related Topics**
[finance](/topic/finance)
[meteora](/topic/meteora)
[filter](/topic/filter)
[token](/topic/token)
[protocol](/topic/protocol)

[Post Link](https://x.com/TheDeFiPlug/status/1945820991558717839)