Market competition is fierce, and major DeFi project teams are racing against time. New features are being launched, new assets integrated, and user experience optimized—everything seems fine, even highly efficient and agile. But there is a hidden pitfall that is often overlooked: technical debt.

In order to keep up with the pace, development teams sometimes deploy code without thorough testing. System architecture may also become increasingly complex and fragile through repeated patching. Problems may not be immediately apparent—like owing a high-interest loan—the repayment moment will eventually come. It could be triggered by a complex on-chain interaction causing a bug, an extreme surge of traffic overwhelming the system, or a security vulnerability surfacing directly. The consequences are often severe.

For financial protocols managing billions of dollars in assets, code quality is not just a detail—it's a matter of life and death. But if you look at community discussions, most people focus on new feature releases and high yields—how many are actually digging into the health of the codebase?

The real questions worth asking are: Does the project insist on rigorous code audits? Are there comprehensive testnet procedures? Has the core contract undergone formal verification? Can the project maintain engineering discipline while pursuing speed? These are the key factors in judging whether a project is reliable in the long term.