Top 10 DeFi Protocols Hold 89% of $313 Million in Tokenized Equities

The 10 largest decentralized finance protocols held 89% of $313 million in tokenized equities on Oct. 15, showing that the value held in blockchain-based markets was concentrated among a small group of platforms.

The total was about 20 times the $15.5 million balance on Jan. 1. Lending and borrowing markets accounted for $51.3 million, while spot decentralized exchange pools held $77.9 million. Saturn held $50.9 million, Figure Markets Exchange $48.9 million and Pendle yield markets $42.6 million.

The Oct. 15 balance was about 19% above a Sept. 30 tally of DeFi holdings, which put the total at $262.4 million. The figures describe assets held in protocols at each snapshot, rather than cumulative deposits over the period.

TVL is the dollar value of assets held in a protocol’s smart contracts. The balance can change as asset prices move, or as users deposit and withdraw assets. A roughly 20-fold increase in the balance therefore does not, by itself, mean net deposits also rose 20-fold.

The broader tokenized-equity market reached $3.8 billion in the week of Oct. 5, up from $654 million in the week of Jan. 5. DeFi holdings represented about 8% of that market by Oct. 15. The market-wide and DeFi figures refer to different dates.

Product terms also vary. Robinhood’s Stock Tokens are debt securities that provide economic exposure to underlying securities but no legal or beneficial rights in them. Robinhood does not offer these tokens in the U.S., including to U.S. persons.