Aave and Lido Exceed $70B in Combined Net Deposits, Leading the DeFi Ecosystem

Aave and Lido have reached a historic milestone, surpassing $70 billion in combined net deposits for the first time, according to Token Terminal. Aave leads the way with $34.3 billion, while Lido follows closely with $33.4 billion. Together, the two protocols account for 75.25% of the total $89.52 billion allocated to the top five decentralized applications (dApps) as of December 2024. They also represent 45.5% of the total funds allocated to the top 20 DeFi applications, equating to $67.42 billion out of the $148 billion in total net deposits across the sector.

In terms of total value locked (TVL), Lido holds the lead with $33.8 billion, while Aave follows with $20.6 billion. The DeFi sector overall has seen significant growth, with the TVL increasing by 107% year-to-date. At its peak on December 16, the sector’s TVL reached $212 billion, the first time it has surpassed the $200 billion mark.

Revenue performance also highlights the strength of these protocols. Aave generated $12.5 million in the last 30 days, growing by 27.5%, while Lido reached $9.6 million, marking a 24% growth. This growth is further reflected in the record-breaking trading volumes of decentralized exchanges (DEXes), which hit nearly $380 billion in November. The share of trading volume on DEXes, compared to centralized exchanges, reached 13.86% in October, the second-highest level recorded, just behind May 2023’s 14.18%.

The DeFi lending market has also seen impressive growth, with loans reaching $21 billion in December, the highest monthly figure to date. Yield farming and staking, two key components of DeFi, have formed a robust $200 billion stablecoin market. These tools, supported by DEXs and liquidity pools, allow users to earn rewards or borrow using stablecoins with minimal price slippage, enhancing DeFi’s efficiency. Additionally, stablecoins’ ability to traverse different blockchain networks has increased their versatility and usage within the ecosystem.