Ether (Eth) Attach a new summit of all time to $ 4,946 earlier this week, but chain finance fuel seems lower than in previous cycles.
However, the total locked value (TVL) through decentralized finance of the network (Challenge) The ecosystem is dead at $ 91 billion, significantly lower than the 108 billion dollars record set in November 2021, according to Defillama Data.
In terms of ETH, the gap is clearer: just under 21 million ETH are locked on Tuesday, compared to 29.2 million ETH in July 2021. Even earlier this year, the figure exceeded 26 million ETH. This means that fewer tokens are actively linked to DEFI at any time, because the protocol has reached its prices.
The graphics show disconnection. DEX volumes and Perps flows remain active, but they did not return to past peaks, even with prices that break new records.
Layer 2 picks up liquidity
Part of the shift is structural because layer 2 draws entries. DEFIL TVL TVL Coinbase Base supported by Coinbase is $ 4.7 billion, in parallel with the growth of arbitrum and optimism. The effectiveness of the capital has also changed the equation, with ignition protocols such as the liquidity of the Lido concentrate without requiring the same bulk deposits which once inflated the raw TVL.
“Although the ETH reaches records of new heights, its TVL remains below previous records due to a combination of more effective protocols and infrastructure, as well as increased competition from other channels in the middle of a lull in detail,” said Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, in a telegram message.
“To recover these TVL peaks, we would need a resurgence of the commitment of the definition of retail sales, a wider adoption of the native yield opportunities of Ethereum and a slowdown in capital migration to competing chains or off -chain investments. Ethereum scale solutions also need to balance effectiveness with an incentive incentive To drive TVL growth, “added Ruck.
In 2020 and 2021, TVL was the favorite market metric of the market. “Defi Summer” transformed agriculture into a speculative loop, with flooding tokens in yields, Aave, composed and curve in search of double and triple figure yields.
The quick climb to TVL has become a shortcut for the domination of Ethereum and finally a price dynamic signal. But this dynamic seems lower this cycle. The volumes on the Dex and the perpetuates remain stable, but they did not return to levels which once defined the rupture of Ethereum.
Structural changes strike Defi
Part of the change is structural. The rise of liquid ignition protocols like the Lido made capital more effective, concentrating liquidity without requiring bulk deposits which once inflated TVL.
The divergence also reflects how this cycle is conducted. FNB entries, institutional allowances and the positioning of macro were the dominant catalysts for the record price of the ETH, net assets on these products from $ 8 billion in January to more than $ 28 billion from this week.
The activity of the DEFI, the fuel of previous booms, has not yet followed. This leaves ETH less resembling the center of basic cryptographic speculation and more like a macro asset.
For ETH bulls, hope is that record prices end up relying the experiment on the chain and bringing capital back to Defi.
Until then, the difference between the value of the tokens and the use of the protocol recalls that this cycle takes place differently. If chain engagement does not come back, ETH record prices could end up relying on thinner foundations than Bulls would not like to admit it.
