Ether (Eth) Establish a new historical maximum at $ 4,946 earlier this week, but the fuel of finance in the chain seems weaker than in previous cycles.
However, the total block blocked (TVL) Through the decentralized financing of the network (Defi) The ecosystem stagnated at $ 91 billion, significantly below the registration of $ 108 billion established in November 2021, according to Defillama data.
In terms of ETH, the gap is more acute: just under 21 million ETH are blocked on Tuesday, compared to 29.2 million ETH in July 2021. Even earlier this year, the figure exceeded 26 million ETH. That means that less tokens are actively linked in Defi that at any time since the protocol reached its maximum price.
The graphics show the disconnection. Dex volumes and perperos flows remain active, but have not returned to past peaks even with prices that break new records.
Collection liquidity of layer 2s
Part of the change is structural since the 2s layer draws inputs. Defi TVL of the base backed by Coinbase is standing at $ 4.7 billion, along with the growth of the referee and optimism. Capital efficiency has also changed the equation, with betting protocols such as the liquidity of Lido concentrate without requiring the same mass deposits that once inflamed unprocessed TVL.
“Although ETH reached new records, its TVL remains below the past records due to a more efficient combination of protocols and infrastructure, as well as a greater competition from other chains in the middle of a pause in retail participation,” said Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, in a telegram message.
“To claim those TVL peaks, we would need a resurgence in the commitment of a retail defi, the broadest adoption of the performance opportunities of Ethereum-Native and a deceleration in capital migration to the competing chains or the investments outside the chain.
In 2020 and 2021, TVL was the favorite growth metric of the market. “Defi Summer” converted performance agriculture into a speculative loop, with files flooding the manufacturer, AAVE, compound and curve in search of double and triple digits yields.
The rapid rise in TVL became a tachigraphy for the domain of Ethereum and, finally, a price impulse signal. But that dynamic seems weaker this cycle. The volumes in Dexs and the perpetual remain stable, but have not returned to levels that once defined the rupture of Ethereum.
Structural changes hit defi
Part of the change is structural. The increase in liquid bet protocols has made capital more efficient, concentrating liquidity without requiring bulk deposits that TVL once inflated.
Divergence also reflects how this cycle is conducted. ETF tickets, institutional assignments and macro positioning have been the dominant catalysts for the record price of ETH, with net assets in these products that jump from $ 8 billion in January to more than $ 28 billion from this week.
The activity of a retail defi, the fuel of the previous AUGES, has not yet followed. That leaves ETH that looks less like the center of basic cryptographic speculation and more as a macro asset.
For Eth Bulls, hope is that record prices eventually revive experimentation in the chain and remove capital from defi.
Until then, the gap between the value of the token and the use of the protocol serves as a reminder that this cycle develops differently. If the commitment in the chain does not return, ETH record prices could end up relying on the thinnest bases of what Bulls would like to admit.
