ETHEREUM DEFI LAGS BEHIND, EVEN DURING ETH ATHS

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

Despite Ethereum reaching a new all-time high of $4,946, DeFi total value locked (TVL) remains at $91 billion, significantly below the $108 billion peak from November 2021, with only 21 million ETH locked compared to 29.2 million ETH during the previous cycle. The current ETH rally is primarily driven by institutional inflows through ETFs rather than retail DeFi activity that fueled previous cycles. Structural changes, including Layer 2 migration, more capital-efficient protocols like liquid staking, and increased competition from other chains, have fundamentally altered Ethereum's TVL dynamics.