# DeFi TVL Rebounds 37.9% in Q3 as Ether Gains Lift Value

By Enna Lee

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/25664
Published: 2026-09-30T07:08:34.000Z
Updated: 2026-09-30T07:08:34.000Z
Section: Investing

> Total value locked reached $95.42 billion by Sept. 26 as stablecoin supply rose modestly and Robinhood launched its Layer 2 network.

DeFi’s dollar-denominated value rose sharply in Q3, although the increase may reflect asset-price gains more than new demand for decentralized financial products.

DeFi TVL stood at $95.42 billion on Sept. 26, up $26.24 billion, or 37.9%, from June 30. The measure tracks the dollar value of assets deposited in decentralized finance protocols, so it can rise when existing holdings appreciate even if deposits do not grow at the same pace.

Ethereum-related TVL climbed from $37.35 billion to $53.54 billion during the quarter as Ether (ETH) rose 67%. Ethereum represented 56.1% of total DeFi TVL on Sept. 26, up from 54% at the end of June.

Stablecoin supply rose by only $2 billion during the quarter, reaching $311.6 billion from $309.6 billion. The contrast indicates that higher asset valuations accounted for part of the increase, rather than all of it reflecting new dollar capital.

Market activity also strengthened. Decentralized exchange volume rose 13% to $721.7 billion, while protocol fees increased 15% to $5.88 billion. Those gains show more trading and fee generation, but they do not establish a broad return of users or fresh capital.

The quarter also saw growth in tokenized stocks held in DeFi. The category reached approximately $252 million, including $82.1 million in Uniswap v3 and v4, $51.3 million in Kamino Lend and $33.8 million in Pendle.

Robinhood launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain on July 1. The network is an Ethereum Layer 2 built with the Arbitrum platform for decentralized finance and tokenized real-world assets. Robinhood identified Uniswap as a day-one partner and included lending and borrowing infrastructure at launch.

Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto and international, said, “Decentralized finance unlocks possibilities beyond what traditional finance can offer, but historically, it has required technical expertise to navigate.”

The third-quarter figures show a sharp recovery in dollar-denominated DeFi collateral and closer ties to tokenized assets. They do not yet demonstrate that users, new deposits or underlying economic activity increased at the same rate.