Altcoins and DeFi tokens have been on a tear for the last two weeks and as the end of August approaches many projects are seeing their tokens reach for new all-time highs.
Data shows that a majority of the top-10 DeFi tokens gained more than 20% in the past 30-days, with projects like Bancor (BNT) and THORChain (RUNE) seeing gains in excess of 115%.
Interoperability-focused projects that offer cross-chain bridges and lucrative liquidity mining pools are seeing an influx of funds right as DeFi’s TVL hit a new all-time high.
Here’s a look at some of the factors behind the current boost to DeFi tokens and the projects that are leading the way in terms of protocol upgrades and cross-chain interoperability.
Total value locked reaches a new all-time high
Data from DeFi Llama shows that the total value locked (TVL) in all DeFi protocols reached a new all-time high at $157.06 billion on Aug. 22 and many analysts believe TVL is one of the best measures of sentiment within the DeFi ecosystem.
During the previous run-up, the TVL reaching an all-time high coincided with the surging prices of Bitcoin and Ether (ETH), which both reached their all-time highs around the same time.
This time around, Bitcoin and Ether are more than 24% below their all-time highs yet the total value locked in DeFi has surpassed its previous record.
This suggests that popular DeFi-related tokens with multi-faceted utility within the crypto and DeFi ecosystem have attracted investors’ attention. Typically, Uniswap (UNI) and SushiSwap (SUSHI) lead among DeFi tokens but a few other strong gainers this week include a 22% increase for Convex Finance and a 17.84% increase from PancakeSwap.
Related: This time it’s different: When DeFi meets NFTs
New protocols attract attention
The past 3 months have also seen the arrival of popular new DeFi protocols like DinoSwap and the rise of Ethereum-network competitors like Avalanche (AVAX) that have brought fresh energy and funds to the DeFi ecosystem.
cointelegraph
