Bitget App
Trade smarter
Buy cryptoMarketsTradeFuturesEarnSquareMore
DeFi Tokens Surpass Exchange Coins in Market Cap

DeFi Tokens Surpass Exchange Coins in Market Cap

CoinomediaCoinomedia2025/08/12 13:40
By:Aurelien SageAurelien Sage

DeFi tokens overtake exchange-based tokens in market cap for the first time since 2024. What’s driving this shift?What’s Driving the DeFi Surge?The Road Ahead for DeFi

  • DeFi tokens surpass exchange coins in value.
  • First time since 2024 this shift occurred.
  • Driven by investor demand and adoption.

For the first time since 2024, DeFi tokens market cap has overtaken exchange-based tokens. This milestone reflects changing investor sentiment and a renewed focus on decentralized finance as a core part of the crypto ecosystem.

Data shows that DeFi tokens — representing decentralized lending, trading, and yield protocols — have steadily grown in value over the past months. In contrast, exchange-based tokens tied to centralized platforms have faced slower growth due to regulatory pressures and declining trading volumes.

What’s Driving the DeFi Surge?

The DeFi tokens market cap boost is largely fueled by:

  1. Increased on-chain activity: More users are turning to decentralized protocols for borrowing, lending, and trading without intermediaries.
  2. Layer 2 adoption: Faster and cheaper transactions on Layer 2 networks make DeFi more accessible.
  3. Yield opportunities: Investors seeking better returns are moving capital from centralized platforms to DeFi protocols offering competitive APYs.

This shift also signals a trust recovery in decentralized models following the turbulence of 2022–2023, where centralization risks became more apparent after multiple exchange failures.

The Road Ahead for DeFi

If this trend continues, DeFi tokens market cap could maintain or even widen its lead over exchange-based coins. However, competition remains intense, and both sectors will likely evolve with new innovations and regulations.

For investors, the current crossover is a reminder that market dynamics can shift rapidly, and diversification across different crypto sectors remains key.

Read Also :

  • SEC Resolves Legal Battle with Ripple
  • DeFi Tokens Surpass Exchange Coins in Market Cap
  • CPI Data Set to Jolt Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Altcoins
  • Monero Faces Major 51% Attack from Qubic Mining Pool
0
0

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

PoolX: Earn new token airdrops
Lock your assets and earn 10%+ APR
Lock now!

You may also like

A decade-long tug-of-war ends: "Crypto Market Structure Bill" sprints to the Senate

At the Blockchain Association Policy Summit, U.S. Senators Gillibrand and Lummis stated that the "Crypto Market Structure Bill" is expected to have its draft released by the end of this week, with revisions and hearings scheduled for next week. The bill aims to establish clear boundaries for digital assets by adopting a classification-based regulatory framework, clearly distinguishing between digital commodities and digital securities, and providing a pathway for exemptions for mature blockchains to ensure that regulation does not stifle technological progress. The bill also requires digital commodity trading platforms to register with the CFTC and establishes a joint advisory committee to prevent regulatory gaps or overlapping oversight. Summary generated by Mars AI. The accuracy and completeness of this summary, generated by the Mars AI model, is still being iteratively updated.

MarsBit2025/12/12 11:17
A decade-long tug-of-war ends: "Crypto Market Structure Bill" sprints to the Senate

Gold surpasses the $4,310 mark—Is the "bull frenzy" returning?

Boosted by expectations of further easing from the Federal Reserve, gold has risen for four consecutive days. Technical indicators show strong bullish signals, but there remains one more hurdle before reaching a new all-time high.

Jin102025/12/12 11:11
Gold surpasses the $4,310 mark—Is the "bull frenzy" returning?

Trend Research: Why Are We Still Bullish on ETH?

Against the backdrop of relatively accommodative expectations in both China and the US, which suppress asset downside volatility, and with extreme fear and capital sentiment not yet fully recovered, ETH remains in a favorable "buy zone."

深潮2025/12/12 10:15
Trend Research: Why Are We Still Bullish on ETH?
© 2025 Bitget