More Than 80% of the Funds Locked in Decentralized Finance Are Kept on 5 Chains, 21 Different Defi Protocols

In mid-March, the top five blockchains — in terms of total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) — currently command more than 82% of the $198 billion TVL in defi across all blockchains. Each of these chains offers different types of defi protocols like decentralized exchange (dex) platforms and lending applications, allowing people to designate their finances in various ways.

Today, there’s just under $200 billion in defi and that’s just the total value locked (TVL), as it doesn’t include the large quantity of tokens tied to these specific protocols. Right now, five different blockchain TVLs represent 82% of the $198 billion locked in defi protocols. The chains include Ethereum, Terra, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Solana.

Ethereum currently holds the largest TVL with $108.51 billion or 54.59% of the value locked in defi protocols. On March 14, the top decentralized exchange (dex) platform tied to Ethereum is Curve Finance, with its $17.72 billion in TVL. Ethereum’s top collateralized debt position (CDP) application is Makerdao, which is just under Curve as the second-largest TVL in defi today.

In terms of liquid staking, Lido is the top defi protocol and Convex Finance is Ethereum’s top protocol for yield. Lastly, Ethereum’s largest lending protocol is the defi application Aave, with its $11.35 billion TVL.

The second-largest chain in terms of TVL in defi is Terra, with $25.79 billion or 12.98% of the aggregate TVL. Terra’s most popular dex is Astroport, and Lido is the largest in terms of liquid staking. In terms of yield, Pylon Protocol is Terra’s most popular product with the highest TVL.

Currently, there is no CDP application for Terra but the blockchain’s largest lending application is Anchor with $13.03 billion total value locked. The defi lending protocol Anchor has seen a 63.23% TVL increase during the last 30 days.

The Binance Smart Chain (BSC/BNB) is the third-largest blockchain today in terms of defi TVL with $11.73 billion or 5.9% of the aggregate held in defi. The top dex on BSC is Pancakeswap, and the largest CDP application is the Mars Ecosystem.

There’s no liquid staking via BSC but in terms of yield, Alpaca Finance is the largest on the network. When it comes to defi lending, the largest protocol in terms of value locked on BSC is Venus.

Avalanche holds the fourth-largest position in decentralized finance this week with $10.88 billion or 5.47% of the $198 billion locked in defi protocols. Today’s top Avalanche dex application is Trader Joe and the blockchain’s most popular CDP is Defrost.

In terms of yield, the protocol Yield Yak is the leader on Avalanche, and Benqi holds the top liquid staking position. Like Ethereum, Aave is the biggest lending protocol on Avalanche at the time of writing.

Lastly, Solana is the fifth-largest defi blockchain in mid-March 2022 with a $6.69 billion TVL or 3.37% of the aggregate held in defi today. Solana’s top dex is Serum and the blockchain’s CDP leader is Parrot Protocol.

Marinade Finance leads Solana’s liquid staking apps and Quarry is the leading protocol in terms of yield. The largest lending application on Solana this week is Solend with $575.3 million locked.

While the five different blockchains and the dozens of aforementioned protocols is where most of the money is in defi today, there’s a large assortment of other blockchains and applications available. At the time of writing, there are 384 dex applications that allow people to swap coins and there are 125 lending defi protocols that allow people to borrow and lend crypto. 328 defi apps offer some sort of yield and there are 16 different liquid staking apps. Furthermore, there’s at least 30 different CDP protocols that issue stablecoin assets via collateralized backing.

What do you think about the top five blockchains offering different applications for dex platforms, CDPs, liquid staking, yield, and lending? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.