Category-by-category breakdown of DeFi winners this cycle shows protocols gaining traction through fundamentals and real usage rather than incentives; Ondo manages $3.5B–$3.6B in tokenized assets, Hyperliquid controls 60%+ of decentralized perp volume, Babylon crossed $4B BTC staking TVL.
DeFi & Yields ·
Several crypto protocols are gaining traction through fundamental improvements rather than incentive programs, suggesting a shift toward real usage and infrastructure value. Ondo manages approximately $3.5B–$3.6B in tokenized assets as the real-world asset category expands into the tens of billions, while Hyperliquid controls over 60% of decentralized perpetual volume with sustained trading despite market weakness. Bitcoin-focused protocols are also advancing: Babylon has pushed native BTC staking past $4B in total value locked, and Stacks has grown to 1.6M users with 110K new wallets added in the most recent quarter—a 50% quarter-over-quarter increase—alongside 55% growth in daily active users.
Decentralized lending shows similar momentum. Aave maintains approximately $14B TVL, while Morpho has expanded into the $7B–$11B+ range through modular lending markets. Artificial intelligence and compute infrastructure protocols including Bittensor, Render, and Akash continue building open marketplaces for specialized services and decentralized computing resources. Stablecoin supply has surpassed $300B, establishing USDT, USDC, and Sky as critical settlement layers across the ecosystem.
What remains unclear is whether these fundamental improvements will sustain absent renewed retail participation, and how institutional adoption across categories like RWAs and Bitcoin yield products will evolve in subsequent market cycles.