Crypto: DeFi TVL loses $10 billion in April! What's going on?

The sky has darkened for the DeFi ecosystem in April. According to data from DefiLlama, the Total Value Locked (TVL) has retreated by 10 billion dollars, marking a 7% decline in just one month. A hard blow for the crypto sector, which closed April with 138.6 billion dollars in locked liquidity. Behind these troubling global figures, certain blockchains have suffered particularly heavily.

Avalanche and Solana bleed dry in the crypto ecosystem

In detail, few DeFi projects managed to hold their own in April. Indeed, among the ten most significant blockchains by TVL, Avalanche and Solana have experienced a real ordeal.

For Avalanche, the tumble was severe, with a massive exodus of 31.5% of the funds committed on its blockchain! A shock for this otherwise promising crypto ecosystem, which now struggles to rebound.

Solana is hardly better off, with a hemorrhage of nearly 30% of its DeFi liquidity last month. A concerning underperformance that raises questions about the resilience capacities of this highly publicized crypto project.

Ethereum holds its ground, Bitcoin and certain L2’s progress

While the general trend of crypto was quite bleak in April, some pockets of resistance have nevertheless emerged. Leading the pack, Ethereum has managed to maintain its status as the dominant DeFi blockchain despite a 14.2% decline in its TVL. As proof of its strength, the leading network still captures nearly 69% of the sector’s liquidity.

Another ray of hope is that Bitcoin and several Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) projects have gained attractiveness among crypto investors. Driven by renewed ambitions for Bitcoin, the queen of crypto saw its TVL leap by 39% to surpass the one billion dollar mark.

At the same time, L2 blockchains such as BASE (+18.4%), BLAST (+4.4%), or Arbitrum have confirmed their upward trend. Crypto ecosystems that are increasingly favored by developers wishing to benefit from low-cost and high-performance environments.

Ultimately, this setback in TVL in April may act as a much-needed jolt for the entire decentralized finance industry. A significant challenge, certainly, but also an opportunity to tidy up, clean the crypto market, and start anew on even firmer foundations.