The Glory, Troughs, and Turmoil of DeFi
DeFi in 2025 experienced phases of growth, volatility, and consolidation, with key metrics showing sustained expansion despite market turbulence. Total Value Locked (TVL) remained above year-start levels, though influenced by crypto asset price fluctuations. Major events like the October liquidation event, triggered by macroeconomic news, led to $19B in liquidations and a 28% TVL drop but demonstrated DeFi lending protocols like Aave and Morpho handled清算 robustly with minimal bad debt.
Notable successes included Pendle, a yield-trading protocol; Ethena, with its delta-neutral stablecoin USDe and "stablecoin-as-a-service" model; and Hyperliquid, a leading perpetual futures DEX. Key thriving sectors were perpetual trading, where DEX volume hit ~18% of CEX, and stablecoins, whose market cap grew over 50% to $309B, though still dominated by Tether and Circle.
The collapse of over-leveraged stablecoins like Stream Finance's xUSD highlighted risks in high-yield, under-collateralized strategies. The industry shifted focus to fundamentals, with revenue generation becoming critical—stablecoin issuers led with 76% of sector revenue. Protocols increasingly adopted buyback mechanisms (e.g., Hyperliquid, Aave) to align value with token holders, emphasizing sustainable economics over speculation.
marsbit01/02 07:11