State of the DeFi Market – May 17, 2025

TVL Growth: In April 2025, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance increased by 3.3%, reaching approximately $6 billion on the BNB Chain, marking a 71% increase since the beginning of 2024. This growth is attributed to favorable regulatory changes, including the repeal of expanded IRS rules for cryptocurrency brokers affecting decentralized exchanges.

Stablecoins: The stablecoin market grew by 1%, supported by the progress of the STABLE Act in the United States, which establishes rigorous federal oversight and strict reserve requirements for stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, temporarily banning algorithmic variants. USDC expanded its market share to 26.2%, surpassing USDT.

Growing Ecosystems: BNB, Solana, and Tron chains recorded TVL gains, while Ethereum and Arbitrum lost market share. Users are increasingly favoring platforms that offer faster and cheaper transactions, reshaping the competitive dynamics between DeFi networks.

Emerging Projects: Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is gaining attention with its innovative lending solutions and a presale fundraise of over $8.5 million. The project offers a unique buy-and-hold model, allowing users to earn passive yield while maintaining the liquidity of their assets.

Institutional Integration: BlackRock's institutional digital liquidity fund, sBUIDL, announced its first direct integration with a DeFi protocol via Euler on Avalanche. This initiative, launched by Re7 Labs and Securitize, offers additional AVAX incentives for participating users, strengthening the value proposition for sBUIDL holders.