A phenomenon worth noting in the DeFi space in 2025 is that the monopoly of large funds on high yields is being broken. In the past, small retail investors' funds were like stones thrown into the sea, unable to stir up much waves. Most protocol designs are straightforward—they serve big players, and small funds can only earn minimal base yields.

But now, the situation has changed. Some new protocols are redesigning with a "precise allocation" approach—not simply throwing your money into a big pool for dilution, but using intelligent algorithms to scan the entire market in real-time, seeking the most efficient yield opportunities. It could be an arbitrage window that appears instantly on a certain Layer2, or the most promising options strategies during volatile market conditions. In other words, your hundreds of dollars are activated into a 24/7 "yield hunter."

From a product design perspective, these protocols are quite interesting. Essentially, they are intelligent yield engines that package complex strategies (options, arbitrage, staking, cross-chain arbitrage, etc.) into simple, user-friendly products through modular architecture. Especially after introducing AI-driven strategy systems, even small accounts can access quantitative approaches that previously only institutions could handle.

Why is this approach attractive to small retail investors? There are three core reasons.

First is the breakthrough in capital efficiency—through cross-chain design, users can move funds across multiple blockchains with very low Gas fees, capturing inter-chain yield differences. Theoretically, $100 can generate returns that previously required $1,000. Second is the ease of strategy use—quantitative trading and arbitrage are no longer high-threshold black boxes but visualized, participatory product forms. Coupled with automated execution mechanisms, this largely eliminates delays and errors caused by manual operations.

Of course, these products also carry risks—such as the reliability of the algorithms themselves, the security of cross-chain operations, and slippage during low market liquidity. These are factors to consider in actual operation. But from a broader trend perspective, the direction of DeFi opening professional-level yield mechanisms to small users seems certain.