Sentora, the on-chain analytics firm, set off a fresh debate this week when it tweeted that “Ethereum now holds 62% of DeFi TVL, with dominance rising since April.” The short post, and the question that followed, captures a familiar tug-of-war in crypto markets: is this a renewed, durable return to Ethereum dominance, or a temporary concentration that faster/cheaper rivals can chip away at?
Data from DeFi aggregators show why Sentora’s claim is getting attention. DefiLlama’s dashboards put total DeFi value locked (TVL) across chains in the roughly $150 billion range, while Ethereum alone currently shows $92 billion parked in DeFi contracts, a figure that has climbed sharply since April and which sits in the same ballpark as Sentora’s 62% dominance call. That combination of a rising absolute TVL on Ethereum and a still-elevated global TVL explains the dominance percentage.
Part of the on-chain inflow is driven by a boom in liquid staking, protocols that let ETH holders earn staking yields while keeping a liquid claim via derivative tokens. Liquid staking TVL recently hit fresh records, with headline platforms (Lido among them) accounting for a meaningful share of Ethereum’s new TVL. Analysts point to this sector as a key reason Ethereum’s DeFi share has climbed so fast.
The renewed interest in Ethereum is not happening in a vacuum. ETH has been trading in the $4,500 range this month, recovering much of last year’s lost ground and drawing institutional and retail liquidity into on-chain products and staking vehicles. Price strength tends to amplify TVL flows (more fiat on ramps, bigger positions moved on-chain), and that feedback loop has helped Ethereum re-concentrate capital in DeFi.
Why Ethereum’s Lead Looks Durable
There are structural reasons Ethereum remains the go-to for DeFi. For instance, DeFi protocols benefit when they can interact freely, AMMs, lending markets and liquid staking stacks work best where capital and composability are deepest. Moreover, the rise of liquid staking increases ETH-denominated capital available for DeFi without locking assets away.
Despite alternatives, most major DeFi projects and the largest liquidity pools continue to be built on or anchored to Ethereum. These dynamics make it easier for Ethereum to re-capture and hold large shares of TVL once momentum starts, particularly in a bull phase or when staking yields and yields from liquid products are attractive.
That said, the landscape is far from static. Layer-2 networks (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base and others) and other L1s (Solana, BNB Chain, Tron, etc.) continue to attract users with lower fees and fast finality. Over the past year, many of these chains have launched ecosystem incentives, deepened DEX/lending offerings and created UX improvements that appeal to retail and mobile users. Several chains now appear in the top-ten by TVL, and flows can tilt quickly if a large new product (or yield opportunity) emerges off-Ethereum.
A practical point: dominance measured as a percentage can move even if Ethereum TVL stays flat; if other chains add or lose TVL, the percentage moves. That means small competitive gains on multiple chains can, over time, erode a single-chain majority even without an immediate collapse of Ethereum liquidity. Sentora’s tweet flagged a real and consequential shift: Ethereum looks to have regained a commanding share of DeFi TVL in recent months.
This move is driven in part by liquid-staking growth and renewed price/liquidity flows. But the crypto landscape is competitive. Layer-2s and alternative L1s are steadily improving their product suites and user experience, which means Ethereum’s lead is meaningful today but not unassailable tomorrow. The next few months of flows, particularly into L2s and liquid staking, will tell us whether the 62% figure is the start of a long-term trend or a cyclical concentration.
