As of May 7, Ethereum’s portion of the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) dropped from 63.5% at the beginning of 2025 to around 54%, nearing its lowest since May 2025. According to DefiLlama, Ethereum’s TVL stands at $45.4 billion, while other chains have carved out specific niches such as decentralized exchange flows, stablecoin settlements, Bitcoin collateralization, consumer onboarding, and perpetuals trading.
Solana holds a 6.66% share of DeFi TVL, followed by BNB Chain with 6.60%, Bitcoin at 6.35%, Tron at 6.17%, Base at 5.44%, and Hyperliquid at 1.81%. This distribution illustrates the transition from Ethereum’s initial dominance to a network of specialized platforms.
BSC has built its position through Binance-linked distribution, with PancakeSwap volume increasing by 539.2% in Q2 2025, reaching $392.6 billion and accounting for 45% of top-10 DEX volume as trades are routed directly via Binance Alpha. DefiLlama reports BSC’s TVL at $5.55 billion and a 24-hour DEX volume of $739.6 million. This integration is deepened through Binance Alpha Earn, allowing liquidity provision to PancakeSwap V3 from the Binance Wallet, with trading embedded in the Binance Exchange interface.
Tron focuses on stablecoin settlement, holding $89.6 billion in stablecoins with 97.86% being USDT, despite a modest 24-hour DEX volume of $55.5 million. Its $5.19 billion DeFi TVL underrepresents its role as the chain with the largest stablecoin flows, functioning as a dollar-settlement rail.
Bitcoin’s DeFi TVL is $5.34 billion, with dominance at 6.35%, up by 13.4% over 30 days, despite low DEX volume of $338,516. This supports Bitcoin’s emerging role in generating yield and collateralizing capital through lending protocols.
Base operates as a layer-2 (L2) Ethereum solution on the OP Stack with global distribution via Base App across 140 countries. DefiLlama reports Base TVL at $4.58 billion, stablecoins worth $4.93 billion, and a 24-hour DEX volume of $854.97 million. Coinbase routes activity through its consumer layer while maintaining Ethereum’s security model.
Hyperliquid exemplifies liquidity organized around execution quality with $1.52 billion in TVL, $9.37 billion in 24-hour perpetuals volume, $42.4 billion over seven days, and $8.94 billion in open interest, forming a self-contained DeFi center focused on on-chain order books.
Solana operates as a high-throughput trading venue with $15.26 billion in 24-hour chain trading volume, the largest of any chain, distributing flow across various applications. Its continued scale highlights its role as a broad-based competitor within DeFi.
Ethereum maintains control over blue-chip lending protocols and stablecoin liquidity pools. Over the past 30 days, Ethereum’s TVL grew by 13.9%, with Bitcoin at 13.4%, Base at 10.5%, Hyperliquid at 7.3%, Tron at 6.8%, and BSC at 2.9%. This indicates simultaneous expansion across multiple chains.
Two potential paths for Ethereum’s market share exist: a recovery to 55%-58% by end-2026 if stablecoin-heavy activity expands or compression towards 46%-50% if specialized venues grow more rapidly. Ethereum’s $165.5 billion stablecoin base and institutional integrations provide resilience, reinforcing its core DeFi balance sheet despite challenges from emerging chains.