Total DeFi TVL
Live reading
ContextTotal value locked across all chains is $87.3B, against $76.8B thirty days ago, a change of +13.6%. That clears the 5% threshold, so capital is being committed on-chain. This is shown as context and does not vote.
What is total value locked?
Total value locked, or TVL, is the dollar value of all assets deposited in decentralised finance protocols: lending markets, exchanges, staking and the rest. DefiLlama tracks it across every chain, and this page reads the combined figure.
It is a stock rather than a flow. Trading volume counts what moved during a period; TVL counts what is sitting there right now. That distinction matters, because a stock measure cannot be double-counted the way aggregate volume can, where a trade routed through a frontend gets recorded by both the frontend and the exchange behind it.
The obvious caveat is that TVL is denominated in dollars, so it rises and falls with token prices even when no capital moves. A 20% fall in a month of falling prices may mean nothing was withdrawn at all.
Why it matters for the bull market
People commit capital to protocols when they expect to earn on it and are comfortable with the risk. Sustained growth means money is being put to work on-chain rather than sitting in cash, which is what risk appetite looks like in practice rather than in a survey.
Read alongside stablecoin supply, the two answer neighbouring questions. Stablecoins measure dry powder that has entered crypto but not yet been deployed. TVL measures what has actually been committed. Both rising is the cleanest version of capital entering the system.
It is context rather than a counted signal because of the price-denomination problem. A measure that falls simply because prices fell would be partly restating the price signals this tracker already counts, so giving it a vote would quietly weight price more heavily than the methodology claims.
How it is used
Context indicator, not counted in the verdict. Rising when total value locked is more than 5% above its level 30 days ago, cooling when more than 5% below, flat in between.Frequently asked questions
What does total value locked mean?
The dollar value of all assets deposited in DeFi protocols across every chain, including lending markets, decentralised exchanges and staking. It is a snapshot of what is committed right now, not a measure of activity over a period.
Does rising TVL mean new money?
Not necessarily. TVL is priced in dollars, so it rises when the underlying tokens rise even if no new deposits arrive. That is the main reason this is shown as context rather than counted as a signal.
How is TVL different from stablecoin supply?
Stablecoin supply measures dollars that have entered crypto and are waiting to be deployed. TVL measures capital that has already been put to work in protocols. One is dry powder, the other is commitment.
Why does a small change count as flat?
TVL moves with token prices day to day, so a month landing a percent or two either way says little. The direction shown here only changes on a move of more than 5%.