DeFi protocols stack derivative tokens atop one another, yet the resulting structure of claims remains unmapped. Applying the Money View framework, we show that DeFi functions as a layered credit hierarchy that mirrors conventional banking: each protocol accepts tokens and issues new claims against them, creating tiers of increasingly derived assets. By late 2025, each dollar of base assets supported $4.7 of total claims, with lending and staking driving over 80% of this layering. Position in this hierarchy shapes yields. Reported rates rise with tier depth (+2.0 pp per tier) because lending protocols, which pay higher rates, concentrate in deeper tiers. Yet after correcting for this composition effect, yields fall with each derivation step (-2.9 pp per hop), reflecting lower borrowing demand for nested tokens. The tier premium widens during crises, consistent with repricing of upstream dependency risk. These findings reframe DeFi's "double counting" problem as a structural risk question and provide a macro-prudential metric for tracking system-wide leverage.

翻译：DeFi协议将衍生代币层层叠加，但由此产生的债权结构仍未得到系统描绘。应用货币视角框架，我们发现DeFi运作方式与传统银行体系相似，呈现为层级化的信用体系：每个协议接收代币并以其为基础发行新债权，从而形成层层衍生的资产层级。截至2025年末，每美元基础资产支撑着4.7美元的总债权，其中借贷和质押驱动了超过80%的层级化现象。在此层级结构中的位置决定了收益率水平。报告利率随层级深度递增（每层+2.0个百分点），这是因为支付更高利率的借贷协议主要集中在深层层级。然而在修正这种结构效应后，收益率随每个衍生步骤递减（每跳-2.9个百分点），反映出嵌套代币的借贷需求较低。层级溢价在危机期间扩大，这与上游依赖风险的重新定价机制相符。这些发现将DeFi的"重复计算"问题重新定义为结构性风险问题，并为追踪系统范围杠杆提供了宏观审慎度量指标。