At the time of publication, the cryptocurrency economy was valued at a whopping $2.69 trillion, and the digital currency market has seen significant growth this week. Over the weekend, the total value locked (TVL) of decentralized finance (DEFI) surpassed the $100 billion mark.
Defi TVL crosses $100 billion mark
It took some time to reach this figure, but as of Sunday 5:00 pm ET, defi protocols have increased TVL to $101.42 billion. The leader in value is Lido with $31.138 billion, helped by its role in securing a significant 9.79 million ether (ETH). Aave ranks second among Defi protocols with $16.435 billion locked on Sunday.
Lido operates as a liquid betting platform, while Aave offers a unique approach by allowing users to lend, borrow money and earn interest on cryptocurrency without intermediaries. Rounding out the top three is Eigenlayer, which owns $13.443 billion and offers a re-staking service adapted for the Ethereum ecosystem. Restaking allows users to use their staked assets across multiple protocols, potentially earning rewards without releasing their original funds.
Prominent Defi protocols by TVL size include Ether.fi, a staking protocol; Sky (formerly Makerdao), a lending protocol; and Uniswap, a decentralized exchange (dex) platform. Ether.fi currently manages a healthy $8.205 billion, while Sky holds approximately $6.416 billion in TVL. Meanwhile, at the time of publication, the locked value of the dex platform Uniswap was $5.623 billion. There are currently a whopping 4,212 defi protocols listed on defillama.com, with the six largest – Lido, Aave, Eigenlayer, Ether.fi, Sky and Uniswap – holding a whopping $81.26 billion in total.
In other words, these six giants account for 80.12% of the total value locked (TVL) in defi today. The remaining $20.16 billion is distributed among the other 4,206 platforms. But the story doesn’t end there. Liquid staking platform Binance, which provides 1.62 million ether, adds another $5.064 billion in TVL, representing approximately 4.99% of the $101.42 billion locked up through defi. While this concentrated value benefits big players like Lido, Aave, and Binance, it also carries higher risk.
A major problem with any of these platforms—similar to the problems other Defi apps have faced over the years—could have a ripple effect, potentially shaking up the broader Defi world. As the defi-focused investment sector grows, its sustainability will likely be tested by the concentration of assets within a few large platforms. Whether this concentration will foster innovation or lead to new vulnerabilities remains to be seen in the emerging world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
