DeFi TVL is rebounding near $140 billion as offender DEXs, spot volumes and stablecoin flows rise, but hacks and regulations keep sentiment vulnerable.
Summary
- DeFi TVL has recovered to around $140 billion, after a sharp decline from almost $170 billion, still a small portion of the multi-trillion crypto market cap.
- Perp and spot DEXs, led by Hyperliquid and a few rivals, are now clearing hundreds of billions in volume and outpacing many smaller CEXs.
- Stablecoin and TVL growth is concentrated in blue-chip protocols such as AAVE and Uniswap, while sentiment remains vulnerable amid hacks and regulatory risks.
DeFi is expanding again. TVL increases. Volatility remains high. The sector still lags behind the broader crypto market, but activity in the derivatives and spot markets remains strong
DeFi TVL is in a band around $140 billion. The economy recovered from a level of almost $115 billion, after a sharp decline from a local peak of almost $170 billion earlier this year. The global cryptocurrency market cap is several trillion dollars, so DeFi still represents a modest portion of the total crypto value. The gap between total market cap and DeFi TVL highlights that most of the value is still in large-cap assets such as BTC (BTC) and ETH (ETH).
Activity on trading platforms is intense. Perpetual DEX markets are now clearing hundreds of billions of dollars in a single quarter, with some recent estimates pushing toward the one to two trillion dollar mark. Hyperliquid (HYPE) and a small group of rivals dominate this flow. They post cumulative volumes that surpass many smaller centralized exchanges. Spot DEXs also remain active, with daily volumes often in the region of ten billion dollars
DeFi TVL and stabelcoins stable
Stablecoins reflect the TVL curve. Their global market capitalization hovers in the hundreds of billions of dollars and fuels credit markets, renewing strategies and basic trades. Liquidity clusters around a small number of protocols. AAVE (AAVE), Uniswap (UNI), PancakeSwap (CAKE) and newer derivatives platforms account for a growing share of the capital and order flow. Many smaller protocols are losing their relevance as this concentration accelerates
Index products show a different picture. DeFi baskets from data providers exhibit large bandwidths and frequent mean reversals. These indices are still below their 2021 highs, while BTC and ETH are trading closer to their own highs. Volatility within the indices is starting to decrease. This pattern is consistent with a late-stage shakeout in a sector that has not yet regained full investor confidence
Sentiment remains fragile. Hacks, exploits or negative regulatory headlines could still erase recent gains in leading tokens. At the same time, institutional adoption is expanding through chain credit, tokenized real world assets and ETF-linked flows. Regulatory reports in the United States and Europe now view DeFi as part of non-bank financial intermediation rather than a fringe activity. This shift does not eliminate risk, but anchors DeFi more firmly in the global market structure.
