I’ve spoken to more than 10 early-stage DeFi teams since the beginning of this year, and none of them want to do TVL deals anymore. This is happening for many reasons: • Teams have realized most of these deals are predatory (not all, but many). • Projects end up giving away too much in return for TVL that’s purely mercenary. • TVL drops the moment incentives stop, leaving teams with nothing durable. Organic growth > TVL deals, always.