The online platform economy has enabled small startups to scale to large tech giants, based on one counterintuitive dynamic: they do not own any of the inventory that makes up their networks. The most classic examples are Uber, which does not own any of the vehicles in its fleet, and Airbnb, which does not own any of the rooms that dot the platform. Using the power of the market, these companies are able to match those offerings with those in need of a service, whether it be a ride downtown or a place to crash. Unlike traditional organizations burdened with logistics such as maintenance, licensing, and unforeseen circumstances, they can instead focus on improving their technology, user experience, and efficiency for their users, which ultimately makes them infinitely more scalable.

X: @jaeyongp1, @Benjamin918\_ Thanks to @ishaan0x and EigenLayer members for their review and discussions.

It’s time to break the cycle that has plagued DeFi for years. Users have continually been confined to self-consuming economic designs that don’t scale, relying heavily on either cyclical user fees or new token emissions for yield. These markets are not scalable and push users to suboptimal solutions.