DeFi TVL Soars To Record High Above $200B

The DeFi sector has staged a mighty comeback.

The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols is at an all-time high of $201.3 billion after surging 82% since early September, according to data from DeFi Llama that includes liquid staking.

The milestone comes as all but one of the top 50 DeFi protocols by TVL grew by at least 20% over the past 30 days amid sustained bullish momentum in the digital asset markets. Eight of the top 50 protocols posted triple-digit TVL gains.

The sector's previous all-time high of $192.9 billion was posted on Nov. 8, 2021.

Ethereum accounts for 62% of combined DeFi TVL with $124.8 billion, beating out its previous high of $113.5 billion. Ethereum’s TVL is up 54% since posting a local low of $73.7 in early September.

Solana comes in second with 9.24% or $18.6 billion after peaking at $18.8 billion on Nov. 22. Solana previously topped out at $11.7 billion in November 2021, and is up more than 1,077% from $1.58 billion 12 months ago.

Tron is third at an all-time high of $13.7 billion after enjoying parabolic growth of 73.4% since Dec. 1. Tron accounts for 6.81% of the combined DeFi TVL.

Other impressive gainers include Base with $3.87 billion after jumping 174% since the start of September, Bitcoin with $3.57 billion after growing 334% since mid-October, and Sui with 2.18 billion after spiking 501% since mid-August.

Dominance declines

However, several of the networks that enjoyed sizable DeFi dominance in 2021 have failed to recapture their former glory.

Despite ranking as the fourth largest network by DeFi TVL with $7.07 billion, BNB Chain remains 68% below its May 2021 high of $22.3 billion.

Avalanche is eighth with $2.24 billion, down 80.5% from its December 2021 peak of $11.5 billion. Polygon currently hosts a $1.18 billion TVL, marking an 88% drawdown since tagging $9.89 billion in June 2021.

According to CoinGecko, the combined capitalization of DeFi tokens is at its highest level since April 2022 at $132.9 billion, falling 23.5% short of its November 2021 high of $173.6 billion.