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.
5 Blockchain networks, 21 Defi protocols
Today there is just under $200 billion in defi and that is only the total value locked (TVL) as it does not include the large amount of tokens tied to those specific protocols. Currently, five different blockchain TVLs account for 82% of the $198 billion locked in defi protocols. Chains include Ethereum, Terra, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Solana.
Ethereum
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 best defi protocol and Convex Finance is the best Ethereum protocol for yield. Finally, Ethereum’s largest lending protocol is the defi app Aave, with its $11.35 billion TVL.
Terra
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 app for Terra, but the largest blockchain lending app is Anchor with a total locked value of $13.03 billion. The Anchor defi loan protocol has seen an increase of 63.23% TVL over the past 30 days.
Binance Smart Chain
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 is no cash stake via BSC but in terms of yield, Alpaca Finance is the largest in the network. When it comes to challenge loans, the largest protocol in terms of value locked on BSC is Venus.
Avalanche
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 Yield Yak protocol is the leader on Avalanche, and Benqi holds the top position in liquid staking. Like Ethereum, Aave is the largest lending protocol on Avalanche at the time of writing.
Solana
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 applications and Quarry is the leading yield protocol. The biggest loan request on Solana this week is Solend with $575.3 million locked up.
Besides the Top 5 Chains, There Are Still Dozens of Networks and 862 Lending, CDP, Yield, Liquid Staking, and Dex Applications to Choose From
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.
