The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has achieved a significant milestone, surpassing $100 billion in total value locked (TVL) across DeFi protocols. This surge in on-chain capital is largely attributed to the renewed interest in Bitcoin and the recent introduction of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January.
According to DefiLlama, a leading DeFi data provider, the global TVL in DeFi protocols has reached $100.1 billion, accompanied by a trading volume exceeding $10 billion in the past 24 hours. While these figures are below the previous record of $189 billion set in November 2021, they mark a noteworthy accomplishment for the DeFi ecosystem.
Leading the TVL charts are liquid staking protocol Lido, with $38.7 billion locked on-chain, followed by the staking ecosystems EigenLayer and the Aave protocol, each with over $11 billion locked.
This surge in DeFi TVL beyond $100 billion is a significant milestone, indicating a resurgence in the sector after nearly two years. The positive sentiment in crypto markets since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs has been pivotal in driving this growth.
Institutional demand for Bitcoin ETFs has played a crucial role in pushing the cryptocurrency’s price to new all-time highs, surpassing $70,000 on March 8. BitMEX research reveals that assets in Bitcoin ETFs reached $28 billion on that day.
Rumors circulating on social media suggest OTC trading platforms are facing a shortage of Bitcoin and resorting to public exchanges to fulfill orders. This surge in demand has caused outages on centralized exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Bybit.
The soaring price of Bitcoin has also fueled a surge in memecoin prices, with tokens like Korra (KORRA), Ribbit (RIBBIT), and PUG AI (PUGAI) seeing significant gains. Memecoins’ total market capitalization currently stands at $61 billion, with Dogecoin and SHIB ranking among the top tokens by market capitalization.