#代币持有者收益 Seeing Trump media and Aave side by side, I suddenly recalled the ICO projects of 2017 and the various fancy ways early DeFi tokens were distributed later on. History always repeats itself at some point, just with a different mask.

Trump media distributes digital tokens to shareholders, one per share, and also promises regular rewards throughout the year — I’m very familiar with this logic. Essentially, it digitizes traditional shareholder rights, giving holders an additional layer of asset-like imagination beyond product and service discounts. The key is they used Crypto.com’s technology, indicating this isn’t just a gimmick but backed by serious infrastructure. But I noticed a detail: these tokens cannot be transferred or exchanged for cash. This brings us back to the old question — is it real rights sharing or just an illusion of rights?

Comparing this to Aave’s actions is even more interesting. They directly promise to distribute protocol outside income to AAVE holders, representing a mature attempt in DeFi tokenomics. It’s not an empty promise; it’s distributing real profits with real money. Over the years, I’ve seen many projects use token incentives to mask weak business models, but this time Aave is doing the opposite — supporting token value with actual cash flow.

The trend is clear: token holder rights are shifting from virtual incentives to tangible distributions. Whether it’s equity assets or on-chain governance tokens, the market is redefining the meaning of "holder benefits." This is a cycle signal. In 2017, we chased growth expectations; now we’re pursuing actual returns. This shift either marks market maturity or the end of another cycle. Looking at these projects’ actions, I lean toward the former, but it’s always good to stay cautious.