If I understand your example correctly, then this would simply be a case of HODLing. It would be inaccurate to compare value appreciation of HODLing to value appreciation of investing in a liquidity pool because in the latter case, the value of your investment is dependent on a) the value of the pool's tokens (affected by demand and supply) + b) trading fees earned.

Let’s talk about Aave, DeFi’s biggest liquidity protocol
Aave is a lending and borrowing protocol that dominates 14.8% of the total value locked in DeFi. The protocol is best known for its…
By
Rebecca Mqamelo
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Ethereum