DeFi Statistics

DeFi markets expanded rapidly this week, led by a sharp increase in liquid staking and lending activity. TVL climbed quickly in the first half of the week as ETH pushed close to its all-time high. However, those gains retraced somewhat toward the end of the week as ETH and the broader crypto market corrected, trimming TVL from its peak. The correction also fueled a surge in DEX activity, as heightened volatility and a wave of liquidations drove heavy repositioning across decentralized exchanges. Stablecoin supply advanced as well, pointing to continued capital inflows into DeFi despite the pullback.

Ethereum network indicators painted a more mixed picture. Since the data reflects the end of the week, both active addresses and daily transactions came in lower than the previous week due to the cooldown in activity that followed the pullback. Gas prices also dropped sharply during this period, easing transaction costs across the network. Nevertheless, capital commitments into DeFi were strong earlier in the week, and the pullback has not undone the increases that took place before the correction.

Pendle’s TVL Hits Record $8.3B After Boros Launch

Pendle’s total value locked climbed to an all-time high of $8.27 billion following the debut of its new yield-trading platform, Boros. The platform packages funding rates into tradable “Yield Units,” enabling traders to go long or short on rates and pursue advanced strategies such as hedging floating payments or locking in high yields. Early adoption has been strong, with deposits exceeding $1.8 million in its first two days and a notable rise in user activity on Arbitrum.

The launch has also fueled market performance: PENDLE rose 45% over the week to $5.6, far outpacing the CoinDesk 20 index’s 13% gain. Boros currently supports BTC and ETH funding rates, with expansion planned into staking rewards and tokenized Treasuries. Pendle’s growth has been further supported by recent integration with Hyperliquid, where Kinetiq’s kHYPE LST has added $221 million in TVL.

Source: coindesk.com

Coinbase Onchain Borrowing Surges to $600M

Coinbase’s onchain borrowing feature has crossed $600 million in mid-August, marking rapid growth from under $100 million at the start of 2025. Daily borrow originations have accelerated sharply since April, a clear sign of rising institutional interest in blockchain-based lending. Executives including Max Branzburg and CEO Brian Armstrong framed the surge as evidence of finance moving onchain, with Coinbase positioning itself as a compliant gateway between traditional institutions and decentralized finance.

Despite the lending boom, Coinbase’s share of global exchange volume fell from 7% in January to 5.8% in July, according to CoinGecko. The exchange processed $101.7 billion in July volume but slipped to ninth globally, prompting acquisitions such as its $2.9 billion Deribit deal to advance its “everything exchange” strategy. The decline is part of a broader industry trend, with combined volumes across the top ten exchanges down 27.7% in Q2.

Source: coingape.com

a16z and DeFi Education Fund Push for SEC Safe Harbor

Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm and the DeFi Education Fund have urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a regulatory safe harbor for NFT and DeFi applications. In a letter to Commissioner Hester Peirce, the groups argued that certain blockchain-based apps do not carry the risks that broker-dealer rules were designed to address, and should therefore be exempt from registration. They emphasized that such a framework would provide regulatory clarity, reduce inappropriate enforcement, and allow developers to build in the U.S. without fear of misclassification.

The request follows broader calls from regulators and policymakers to modernize financial rules. SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently directed staff to update outdated regulations, while Congress is considering the CLARITY Act to define a crypto market structure. If implemented, a safe harbor could shield some DeFi and NFT services from broker-dealer enforcement actions, an area where firms like Coinbase, Kraken, and Cumberland DRW have previously faced lawsuits.

Source: cointelegraph.com

QuickSwap Integrates KyberSwap on Base for Multi-Chain Expansion

QuickSwap has expanded to Coinbase’s Base chain through an integration with KyberSwap. The deployment brings QuickSwap beyond its initial focus on Ethereum and Polygon, adding support for another growing Layer-2 network. The integration relies on KyberSwap’s dynamic market maker and routing tools, designed to improve trade execution and reduce slippage across supported chains.

Base has been gaining momentum in recent months, with rising user numbers and developer activity. By adding support for it, QuickSwap is positioning itself to operate across multiple networks while reducing dependence on bridges for cross-chain activity. The integration underlines the role of Base as an emerging hub for DeFi activity.

Source: blockchainreporter.net

UNI Rallies on Renewed Fee Switch Expectations

Uniswap’s governance token surged 25% this week amid growing speculation that the long-debated “fee switch” may finally be activated. The optimism follows a proposal to establish a Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (DUNA) in Wyoming, giving Uniswap Governance a formal legal structure known as DUNI. The framework is designed to provide liability protections for governance participants and is viewed as clearing a path for enabling protocol fee distributions to UNI holders.

Uniswap has generated over $1 billion in protocol fees over the past year, second only to Tether and Circle among DeFi protocols. The fee switch has been discussed since 2022 but repeatedly stalled over regulatory uncertainty. With the SEC’s recent softer stance toward DeFi and support from policymakers like Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, market participants see conditions as favorable for approval. UNI traders have responded accordingly, betting that token holders could soon receive a direct share of Uniswap’s revenue.

Source: thedefiant.io

Lido’s Ethereum Staking Share Falls to Record Low

Lido’s dominance in Ethereum liquid staking has dropped to 24.4%, down from a peak of 32.3% in late 2023, marking its lowest share to date. The decline coincides with a surge from competitors, most notably Figment, which added 344,000 ETH last month to reach 4.5% market share. Over the same period, Lido reported net withdrawals of around 285,000 ETH in the same period, evidence that assets moved across multiple providers.

The recent withdrawals reflect a change in staking behavior, as participants diversify away from a single provider. Rival protocols are attracting users with competitive yields and innovative features, while participants look to reduce the risks of concentrating too much ETH on a single platform. This redistribution of staked ETH enhances network resilience and points to a maturing staking sector, where competition is driving innovation and strengthening the foundations of DeFi.

Source: bitcoinworld.co.in

Aave Surges Toward $100B Deposits as DeFi Lending Hits Institutional Scale

Aave has posted a series of milestones that underline its dominance in DeFi lending and its growing relevance alongside traditional finance. The protocol’s total deposits climbed past $61 billion in mid-August, with founder Stani Kulechov projecting that Aave could reach $100 billion by year-end. That scale would rank the platform among the 35 largest banks globally, placing it on par with Deutsche Bank and ahead of Barclays by deposit volume, according to U.S. Federal Reserve benchmarks. Cumulative deposits have now surpassed $3 trillion, while active loans reached a record $29 billion this week.

Aave controls roughly two-thirds of the $91.7 billion DeFi lending market, dwarfing rivals such as Morpho, which holds under $8 billion. Much of the recent growth has been fueled by stablecoin inflows, particularly $6.4 billion from Ethena’s USDe in just ten days, as well as adoption by listed companies like BTCS using Aave for treasury management. The protocol’s TVL has risen more than 25% in the past month, with loan volumes climbing nearly 40%. Analysts warn, however, that concentrated exposure to USDe could pose liquidity risks if rehypothecation amplifies systemic leverage.

The surge shows a growth in broader institutional engagement with decentralized lending. Investors are attracted by the global accessibility of smart contracts and the flexibility to tokenize deposits for reuse across strategies. Aave’s parabolic growth since 2024 demonstrates that DeFi lending has achieved meaningful product-market fit. With approximately 80% of outstanding Ethereum debt and a borrower base expanding into the thousands, Aave is positioning itself as an institutional-grade financial infrastructure bridging traditional markets and DeFi.

Sources: theblock.co, cryptoslate.com, cryptoslate.com

DeFi TVL Holds Above $150B Despite Market Dip

The decentralized finance sector’s total value locked stands at $154.2 billion, down 3.2% over the past 24 hours but still near historical highs. Stablecoins in circulation now total $273.3 billion, while decentralized exchanges processed $24.7 billion in daily volume and perpetuals markets saw nearly $39 billion. Network activity remains robust, with $121 million in transaction fees paid in a single day.

Lido leads the sector with $40 billion locked across five chains, followed by Aave with $38 billion on 17 chains. Meanwhile, Eigenlayer has now risen to third with $21.1 billion. Other notable players include Binance’s staked ETH, Ether.fi, Ethena, Pendle, and Uniswap, each securing multi-billion TVL positions.

Source: news.bitcoin.com

Whale Moves $300M USDT Out of Aave

A whale transaction of 300 million USDT from Aave to an unknown wallet has drawn attention across the crypto market. Flagged by Whale Alert, the transfer shows the large scale of capital flows in DeFi today, and the dual nature of blockchain transparency: while the movement is visible, the motives remain opaque. Analysts suggest potential explanations ranging from institutional rebalancing or OTC deals to simple security-driven fund consolidation.

While the transfer represents a sizable outflow, Aave’s liquidity depth means its operations remain unaffected. For market observers, such whale movements often serve as sentiment indicators, though a single transaction rarely alters stablecoin stability or protocol fundamentals.

Source: bitcoinworld.co.in