Since April 18, 2023, the decentralized finance (DeFi) market has been witnessing fluctuations in its total value locked (TVL), which has been hovering just below the $50 billion mark. Currently, as of May 6, 2023, the total TVL stands at $49.31 billion, indicating a slight increase of 1% within the last 24 hours.
Despite these minor fluctuations, the DeFi TVL has shown signs of improvement and growth. However, it has yet to surpass its previous record of $53 billion, indicating that the market still has room to grow further.
Leading the pack with the highest share of the TVL is Lido Finance, which commands 24.82% of the $12.24 billion accumulated on May 6, 2023. Over the past month, Lido’s TVL has grown by 9%, while posting a moderate 2.42% increase in the preceding week.
Apart from Lido, other top contenders in today’s DeFi landscape include MakerDao, Aave, Curve Finance, and Uniswap. Out of these four, Uniswap is the exception, posting a 3.48% gain over the past 30 days, while the remaining three experienced monthly downturns.
Ethereum Takes the Lion’s Share of the TVL in DeFi
Out of the total DeFi market cap, Ethereum is leading the race, capturing over 58% with its $28.66 billion worth of TVL. Following Ethereum closely are other contenders such as Tron, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Arbitrum, and Polygon, all boasting relatively large TVL statistics.
Both Tron and Arbitrum recorded monthly gains of 7.77% and 9.98%, respectively, while BSC stands as the top DeFi chain loser in terms of TVL losses from the last month with a decrease of approximately 6.52%.
Notably, a sizable $16.416 billion worth of ETH (8,550,940 ETH) is locked in liquid staking platforms out of the entire $49.31 billion locked in DeFi systems as of May 6, 2023. The dominant liquid staking platforms for Ethereum include Lido, Coinbase, Rocket Pool, Frax, and Stakewise. Rocket Pool and Frax witnessed impressive 30-day increases of 29.75% and 39.49%, respectively.
Ethereum Leads the Count of DeFi Applications
Ethereum has the largest number of DeFi applications, hosting 771 protocols in total. While Binance Smart Chain and Polygon follow Ethereum’s protocol count with 593 and 409 applications, respectively, Tron — the second-biggest DeFi blockchain — has only 18 associated protocols.
However, Tron boasts the highest user base among the top five DeFi platforms, with 2,538,896 participants, while Ethereum’s active user count for its DeFi apps is approximately 332,548.
What’s Next for the DeFi Market?
Despite the minor fluctuations, the DeFi market has shown considerable growth in the past couple of years. As more users and investors recognize the potential of decentralized finance, it is expected that DeFi will continue to grow and thrive.
However, as with any emerging market, DeFi is not immune to challenges and risks. As the sector grows, it will face regulatory and cybersecurity concerns along with the need for improved scalability, interoperability, and user experience.
In conclusion, the DeFi market has shown promising signs of improvement and growth, with Ethereum leading the race in terms of TVL and the count of DeFi applications. While the market has yet to surpass its previous record, there is no doubt that DeFi holds immense potential and will continue to gain traction in the future.
