MakerDAO becomes first DeFi protocol to hit $1 billion in total value locked
MakerDAO, a non-custodial lending protocol, has become the first decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol to hit $1 billion in total value locked.
The milestone means MakerDAO users have $1 billion worth of funds locked in the protocol for lending purposes. With that mark, MakerDAO now dominates the DeFi space with nearly 28% share, according to tracker DeFi Pulse.
MakerDAO is followed by Compound and Synthetix, which have ~$764 million and ~$423 million in total value locked, respectively, per the tracker. Aave, Balancer and Curve Finance are part of the top 10 protocols.
Overall, DeFi protocols now have over $3.60 billion in total value locked. It didn't take much time for these protocols to reach that number. Just earlier this month, the total amount locked was $2 billion, and this February, it was $1 billion.
As The Block previously reported, one needs to take the total value locked with a grain of salt as it does not take into consideration vertical-specific parameters, such as decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes. The Block's Open Finance Index (OFI), developed by Matteo Leibowitz, accounts for those parameters to reflect the real picture of the DeFi ecosystem.
The OFI has also grown sharply — over ten times — within the last month.
