DeFi TVL Surpasses to $544B As Tether and Circle Lead the Rally

The decentralized finance (DeFi) market is observing renewed momentum, with the total value locked (TVL) has ascended to $543.96 billion, marking a 2.7% increase over the previous 30 days. This sudden increase shows a growing hunger for liquidity and trust in stablecoins, lending protocols, and staking platforms, although not all major players have experienced growth.

Top 5 companies & DAOs based on TVL:1. @Tether_to $175.7B2. @circle $73.1B3. @aave $67.7B4. @LidoFinance $38.4B5. @eigenlayer $19.8B pic.twitter.com/wjuyduJPaf

— Token Terminal 📊 (@tokenterminal) September 21, 2025

According to the recent details, Tether ($USDT) resists the undoubted market leader, increasing $175.7 billion in TVL, up 3.9% in the last month. Next one is Circle, issuer of USD Coin ($USDC), which has boosted to $73.1 billion, showing a majestic 9.9% growth Together, these two stablecoin giants account for about half of the DeFi market’s locked value, emphasizing the major role of stable assets in the ecosystem.

$AAVE Holds Strong at $67.7B as Lido and EigenLayer See Steeper TVL Drops

Aave ($AAVE), one of the largest lending protocols, holds $67.7 billion, undergoes a modest sink of 1.5%. At the time, Lido Finance ($LDO), the leading liquid platform, had struggled with sharp declines, with TVL dropping 9.6% to $38.4 billion.

Both these stablecoins, have a difference of holding $29.3 billion, which is a huge difference of holding assets. Furthermore, EigenLayer, the restaking protocol that has captivated considerable attention this year, saw its TVL drop by 12.1% to $19.8 billion.

TVL Fluctuations Mark DeFi’s Evolving Role in Liquidity and Yield Generation

The assorted performance indicates a moving landscape within DeFi, but stablecoins and lending remain strong, and staking-related platforms are seeing withdrawals amid market unpredictability. With TVL advancing to the $550 billion milestone, DeFi resumes to empower its foothold in the wider crypto economy, placing itself as a foundation for liquidity, yield generation, and decentralized financial services.

The whole report of past 30 days shows fluctuations in the price-values of these stablecoins. In this list, only, Tether and Circle show positive response to increase, while other three, Aave ($AAVE) Lido Finance ($LDO), and EigenLayer ($EIGEN) shows decline in which $EIGEN leads with 12.1% from other stablecoins.