Breaking down the $138 mln DeFi revival that no one saw coming

Key takeaways

DeFi is making a strong comeback, with TVL surging 57% since April to hit $138 billion; the highest in three years. This sector has been attracting Wall Street through the rapid rise of tokenized real-world assets.

After a long winter spell, DeFi is finally heating up again!

On the 18th of July, TVL in DeFi protocols hit a three-year high of $138 billion; a 57% surge since April. It’s not quite 2021 euphoria, but the momentum is hard to ignore.

With Ethereum [ETH] back in the driver’s seat, institutional money knocking, and sectors like liquid staking and restaking gaining serious ground, DeFi might just be readying itself for its next big move.

DeFi makes a comeback

The decentralized finance space is showing signs of a strong revival, with TVL hitting $138.5 billion recently; the highest level since May 2022, according to DeFiLlama.

That’s a 57% jump from the April low of $87 billion, indicative of a major sentiment shift across the market.

Source: DeFiLlama

Institutional interest is also growing, retail users are trickling back, and Ethereum remains the undisputed king, commanding nearly 60% of the ecosystem.

While still 30% below its peak from almost 4 years ago, DeFi’s latest climb is certainly a greatly bullish sign.

A three-pronged growth

The revival isn’t broad; it’s being driven by three power sectors: lending, liquid staking, and the fast-growing restaking category.

Source: DeFiLlama

Aave [AAVE], one of DeFi’s most trusted lending platforms, has now surpassed $50 billion in cumulative deposits, highlighting itself as core market infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Lido DAO [LDO] continues to dominate Ethereum liquid staking, locking in over $32 billion. Hot on its heels is EigenLayer, the restaking innovator capturing attention with nearly $17 billion in TVL.

Together, these three protocols alone account for almost $50 billion — over a third of DeFi’s total locked value.

All roads lead to Ethereum

Much of DeFi’s resurgence can be traced back to Ethereum, which continues to anchor the ecosystem as both infrastructure and innovation hub.

Since January 2024, the value of tokenized RWAs on Ethereum has grown nearly 20x, thanks to major asset managers bringing traditional fund products onchain.

Source: X

Ethereum’s fundamentals are equally compelling: over $270 billion in TVL, $137 billion in stablecoins, $120 billion staked, and nearly $40 billion liquid staked.

With DEX volume nearing half a trillion dollars YTD, Ethereum’s dominance is expanding into TradFi territory.