when DeFi restructures finance
In the summer of 2020, the crypto ecosystem witnessed a significant transformation through the rise of decentralized finance. Now, this sector is increasingly attracting institutions. And this is something that DeFi protocols have well understood. For example, Aave announced its intention to launch a RWA platform aimed at institutions. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, more and more institutions are exploring DeFi directly on-chain.
Crypto management giants are multiplying their positions
This week, Artemis Analytics and Vaults published a report revealing massive growth in the on-chain activities of asset managers.
Thus, platforms that allow for yield generation such as Aave, Morpho, or Spark have seen their TVL record constant growth since 2023. In practice, they total nearly $60 billion, with a 60% increase compared to June 2024.
This increase has been particularly driven by the rise of crypto asset managers. Indeed, these 'crypto-native' managers have quadrupled their on-chain assets since January 2025.
According to data compiled by Artemis and Vaults, their assets have increased from $1 billion to over $4 billion in just six months.
We thus find several well-known players, such as Gauntlet, Re7, or Steakhouse Financial.
On-chain, these managers deploy sophisticated strategies that combine structured products, tokenized assets (RWA), and over-collateralized loans.
DeFi is establishing itself as invisible infrastructure
This rise could well lead to a profound paradigm shift. In fact, DeFi is no longer seen as a mere niche, but as a financial backbone for institutions.
And in the realm of DeFi, stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA) reign supreme. Indeed, most of these fund managers are turning to these products to generate yield.
This allows them to take advantage of DeFi opportunities while protecting themselves against volatility.
Thus, we have seen a proliferation of RWA products linked to US Treasury Bonds or stablecoins that have intrinsic yield. We can mention players such as Coinbase, which offers yields on USDC deposited via the Coinbase Wallet. Or BUIDL, the project of the giant BlackRock.
This convergence towards DeFi is catalyzed by the American regulatory context. Indeed, since taking office, the Trump administration has continued to ease rules on the sector. This is similar to Paul Atkins, the new SEC chairman, who stated he wants to lighten cryptocurrency regulation in the USA.