DeFi TVL breaks $100 billion for first time since May 2022

Quick Take

  • The total value locked in the decentralized finance ecosystem surpassed $100 billion for the first time in almost two years. 
  • Surges in cryptocurrency prices likely caused the high TVL, along with increased interest in restaking and real world assets (RWAs). 

The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols exceeded $100 billion for the first time in nearly two years.

On March 5, DeFi TVL reached $101.36 billion, with lending accounting for $32.62 billion (32.2%) of this total, with decentralized exchanges at $19.97 billion (19.7%), collateralized debt positions at $12.22 billion (12%), and restaking activities at $10.06 billion (9.9%).

The last time the TVL in DeFi surpassed $100 billion was on May 11, 2022, according to The Block's Data Dashboard. On that day, DeFi TVL was $112.67 billion. 

"The recent rebound in crypto asset prices has helped TVL grow in USD terms, but more interest has also been pouring into DeFi with new categories like RWA and restaking drawing significant attention and also bolstering the amount of funds locked across DeFi protocols," said Rebecca Stevens, senior research analyst at The Block. 

Meanwhile, staking on Ethereum also hit a notable high. Over 31.5 million ether worth around $115 billion, comprising 26% of total ether supply, has been staked on the Ethereum blockchain, The Block previously reported


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About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.

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