A rate is never free money
When a digital dollar market advertises 7% a year, that money comes from somebody. Knowing who is paying it is the single most useful thing you can learn before deciding whether a rate is worth taking.
In practice almost every rate you will see on the board traces back to one of four sources.
1. Government bills passed through to you
Some issuers hold short-term government debt behind the tokens and pass most of the interest to holders. These rates tend to track the central bank rate closely, move slowly, and rarely spike. On the board they usually show a low volatility score and almost no incentive component.
2. Borrowers paying to borrow
Lending markets pay depositors out of what borrowers pay. The rate rises when lots of people want to borrow and falls when they do not, so it is genuinely variable — but it is real revenue, not a subsidy.
3. Trading fees
Exchange pools pay a cut of trading fees. Busy weeks pay well and quiet weeks pay little, which is why these rates look jumpy on a 12-month chart.
4. Incentives — the one to watch
Many headline rates are topped up with a reward programme funded by a platform's own token. It is real while it lasts, but it has an end date. On every market page we split the rate into its base and incentive parts and show the incentive share as a percentage. A market where most of the rate comes from incentives should be read as a promotional rate, not a savings rate.
How to use the board
Compare the current rate with the 30-day average. If today's number is far above the average, you are probably looking at a spike. Then check the incentive share and the volatility score. A steady, mostly-base rate with a large deposit base is the closest thing in this market to a boring savings account.