Retail investors are increasingly abandoning decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms due to rising exploitation and policy uncertainties. Despite the reduction in Ethereum gas fees and the advent of Layer 2 solutions, which were expected to attract more retail participation, many investors are leaving due to the burdensome and repetitive interactions required for minimal returns. The low gas fees have inadvertently turned DeFi into a high-volume, low-profit environment, where project teams inflate activity metrics at the expense of retail investors. The once-promising "Code is Law" principle has been undermined by frequent and arbitrary changes in DeFi protocols, leaving investors frustrated with unpredictable rules and unfulfilled promises. Additionally, high annual percentage yields (APYs) offered by DeFi projects often come with long token lock-up periods, trapping investors' capital while whales and early investors benefit from special release schedules and off-exchange hedging. The risks associated with DeFi, including smart contract vulnerabilities, phishing attacks, and potential project collapses, outweigh the modest returns offered by stablecoin yields. As a result, many retail investors are opting to protect their capital by investing in more stable assets like Bitcoin or using centralized exchanges, rather than engaging in the high-risk DeFi environment.