After the market cools down, you will find an interesting phenomenon: many projects that used to shout about changing the world have quietly disappeared; instead, some products that seem 'not so sexy' are doing quite well.

What's the difference? Two words - cash.

In the past two years, everything was easy to finance, and valuations started at several hundred million dollars with just a nice PPT. But now VCs are starting to crunch the numbers, and liquidity isn’t as abundant as before. At this point, the question of "can you really make money" has become the most practical assessment criterion.

Looking at the data on DeFiLlama, the top three earners for October 2025 are: Tether with an income of 688 million USD in one month, Circle with 237 million, and Hyperliquid with 102 million. These numbers are not just stories; they represent real cash flow.

**Exchange: Money Printer or Money Printer**

When it comes to the ability to make money, exchanges have never disappointed.

Their revenue structure is actually quite simple: transaction fees make up the bulk, and listing fees are also a significant amount. A leading platform consistently takes away 30% to 40% of the market's trading volume, and even in the "frozen" market of 2022, its annual revenue still reached 12 billion USD. This ability to make money across cycles is hard to compare with other sectors.

Essentially, these projects capture two things: **trading** and **attention**. The former generates liquidity and fee income, while the latter brings users and capital accumulation. Regardless of bull or bear markets, as long as there are people trading and paying attention, cash flow will not be interrupted.

After the bubble bursts, those that can stand are often not the loudest ones, but rather the projects that have cash flow on their accounts and a workable business model. This principle applies to any industry.