While Ethereum maintains its undisputed top spot in TVL, competition is heating up for the next few spots. TRON, along with powerful challengers, are emerging and attracting billions of dollars into their respective crypto ecosystems.
Tron and BNB Chain: the ambiguous winners of TVL
Immediately behind Ethereum, we find TRON in second place and BNB Chain in third place in terms of TVL. These two networks have largely benefited from the craze around algorithmic stablecoins in 2023.
Projects like USDD on TRON or BUSD on BNB Chain have attracted many users seduced by the promise of high returns. Despite the risks posed by the instability of these assets, crypto investors have flocked to these platforms offering enticing yield farming opportunities.
It remains to be seen whether this value remains locked in over the long term or whether it evaporates as quickly as it arrived. Because, TRON and BNB Chain remain synonymous with risk for many in the crypto sphere. But for now, these networks are ranked well behind Ethereum.
Challengers asserting themselves in the DeFi market
What follows is a motley mix of rival layer 2 and blockchain solutions. We find in this top 10 Arbitrum, Solana, Blast, Optimism, Avalanche, Polygon, Base, Cardano. What these projects have in common is that they have succeeded in building attractive DeFi ecosystems and draining billions of dollars of secure value.
For example, Polygon has established itself as a popular option for decentralized yield farming thanks to negligible crypto transaction fees. For its part, Solana is banking on speed and throughput to attract ambitious DeFi projects. As for Avalanche, it has been able to build a reassuring image of an “Ethereum compatible” chain.
There is no shortage of outsiders either, as evidenced by the emergence this year of networks such as Near, Harmony, or newcomers Base, Blast or Aptos in the top 15 TVLs. Proof if any were needed that the DeFi space remains open to innovation.
Driven by the craze for crypto, the DeFi ecosystem continued to grow in 2023. At the same time, a myriad of challenger blockchains like TRON emerged. But if Ethereum remains unquestionably the leader, the competition promises to be tough between the contenders for second place. This, in a Wild West where caution remains essential. The next few months promise to be decisive in determining which networks will be sustainable.
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