Gate Decentralized Finance Daily ( September 25: Total TVL across the network falls below $150 billion; Aster's daily protocol fees reach a new high.

On September 25, the crypto market continued its downward trend, with BTC falling below $112,000 and ETH briefly losing the $4,000 mark. The total DeFi TVL across the network dropped below $150 billion to $148.498 billion, a daily decrease of 2.34%. Against the backdrop of overall funding pressure, the Aster protocol set a new record with a daily fee of $12.92 million, becoming the market focus; the large withdrawals by Whales also drew community attention. Meanwhile, Ethena secured additional funding from Middle Eastern capital, continuing the stablecoin narrative's popularity, while Solana and BSC are in fierce competition for DEX trading volume, indicating a structural differentiation in the market.

###DeFi Market Overview

(Source: DeFiLlama)

Total DeFi TVL across the network: Today (September 25), the crypto market has not yet emerged from its downturn, with BTC falling below $112,000 and ETH briefly dropping below the $4,000 mark; the total DeFi TVL across the network has fallen below $150 billion, currently at $148.498 billion, a 24H decrease of 2.34%.

DEX 24-hour volume: approximately $20.445 billion, with the top three being: PancakeSwap ($5.753 billion), Uniswap ($3.996 billion), HumidiFi ($2.137 billion).

###Popular Protocols and On-Chain Performance

Based on TVL, the top ten DeFi protocol data is as follows:

(Source: DeFiLlama)

The data performance of the top-ranked protocols are as follows:

Aave: TVL approximately 39.196 billion USD, decreased by 6.74% in the past week.

Lido: TVL approximately 34.386 billion USD, decreased by 12.56% in the past week.

EigenLayer: TVL approximately $16.767 billion, decreased by 14.16% in the past week.

Ethena: TVL approximately 14.504 billion USD, increased by 5.11% over the past week.

Pendle: TVL approximately 8.541 billion USD, decreased by 34.95% in the past week.

In addition, the top ten projects by protocol fees in the past 24 hours are as follows:

(Source: DeFiLlama)

Among them, Aster's protocol fees reached 12.92 million USD in the past 24 hours, setting a new historical high, second only to Tether; Uniswap ranked fifth with protocol fees of 4.63 million USD in the past 24 hours; Jupiter ranked sixth with 3.41 million USD.

###Project News Review

1. The perpetual contract DEX StandX announced that it will distribute limited edition "ASTER" identities to ASTER holders in the StandX Discord community. There is currently a seven-day window for verification to claim the identity, which may offer potential rewards in the future.

2. Ethena Labs officially announced that the Season 4 airdrop event has ended this morning, and the Season 5 airdrop event will start on September 24. Users have begun to automatically accumulate Season 5 points. Similar to previous seasons, users who participated in the Ethena reward program will automatically receive a reward bonus for Season 5. Season 5 will last for about six months. The details and specific dates for the reward distribution of Season 4 will be announced later, and the initial reward data for Season 5 along with preliminary statistics for Season 4 will soon be displayed on the official website.

3. M2 Capital Limited, the investment arm of M2 Holdings headquartered in the UAE, has invested 20 million USD in the governance token ENA of Ethena. This move highlights the group's efforts to build new digital asset infrastructure in the Middle East and seek a greater role in global finance.

Ethena is best known for its crypto-native synthetic dollar USDe and its yield-generating version sUSDe. Both are collateralized by crypto assets and utilize hedging strategies to reduce volatility. Since its launch in 2024, the protocol has attracted over $14 billion in deposits, reflecting strong market demand for products that combine stablecoin characteristics with yield capabilities.

M2 Holdings' affiliated company M2 Global Wealth will incorporate Ethena into its wealth management portfolio. The group stated that this provides clients with a regulated way to access the returns from emerging digital assets.

4. Faraday Future founder Jia Yueting stated on the X platform that the DEX market is maturing, and success no longer solely depends on the narrative of "decentralization," but on whether it can provide a user experience close to that of CEX, supported by a truly community-driven incentive mechanism. He noted that the success of Aster has validated this logic and is the core idea he adhered to when designing the Best Trade DeAI Agent.

5. The all-channel trading platform Based tweeted that the first Launchpad of the Hyperliquid platform has ended, with an oversubscribed public sale reaching 110 times, raising a total of 73 million USD. The first project UPHL will be listed for trading on HyperCore at 4:00 UTC on September 26, and users can claim tokens after the listing. The airdrop claiming window will open at 6:00 UTC, supporting instant claiming or choosing to lock up for higher multiple rewards.

6. In response to the on-chain analyst report from yesterday (September 24) stating "Unipcs built a position of 3.241 million ASTER, approximately 7.319 million dollars," crypto KOL Unipcs clarified that he had purchased 3,245,933.37 ASTER as early as the 17th, with an average cost of 0.0922 dollars. The token transfer is "to consolidate tokens and transfer most of them to a public wallet."

Unipcs also stated that a lot of sharing had been done in at least six different groups early in the trading. "I just didn't share on X because I was tired of those who throw tantrums because they need help, and the complainers and crybabies who refuse to take responsibility for their trades."

7. A certain whale address has withdrawn 26 million ASTER from Gate, worth 59 million USD. Currently, that address holds 50 million ASTER, worth 115 million USD, with a profit of 9.92 million USD.

8. Suspected ENA treasury company StablecoinX withdrew 11.87 million ENA from CEX, valued at 7.2 million USD.

9. CZ stated on social media, "Now everyone wants to do Perp DEX. More participants will lead to a faster expansion of the market size, with all boats rising with the tide. In the long run, only the best builders will succeed. The era of Perp DEX has arrived."

###Overview of Major Eco-Leading DeFi Projects

Solana DEX's 24-hour volume remains at the top, approximately 4.988 billion USD, with the top three projects being:

HumidiFi ($1.347 billion), Meteora ($1.251 billion), Raydium ($615.71 million);

BSC DEX 24-hour volume is second only to Solana, ranking second; it has grown by 46.48% in the past week, approximately 4.88 billion USD, with the top three projects being:

PancakeSwap ($3.675 billion), Uniswap ($2.379 billion), THENA ($48.23 million);

Ethereum DEX 24-hour volume ranks third, at approximately $3.915 billion, with the top three projects being:

Uniswap (2.26 billion USD), Fluid (2.019 billion USD), Pendle (553.14 million USD).

###Gate DeFi Sector Token Market Data

According to the Gate market page data, the price performance of the top ten tokens in the DeFi sector is as follows:

(Source: Gate DeFi Market Trends)

As of September 25, the crypto market is still showing weakness, with DeFi sector tokens experiencing mixed performance, specifically:

WLFI is currently priced at 0.1987 USD, with a 24-hour fall of 2.5%;

UNI is currently reported at 7.75 USD, with a 24-hour fall of 4.51%;

AAVE is currently reported at $269.50, with a 24-hour fall of 2.83%;

MYX is currently reported at 9.63 USD, with a 24-hour increase of 1.66%;

INJ is currently reported at 11.91 USD, with a 24-hour fall of 4.02%;

CRV is currently reported at 0.6702 USD, with a 24-hour fall of 2.64%;

MORPHO is currently reported at 1.67 USD, with a 24-hour fall of 6.63%.

###Market Trend Analysis

TVL falls below key threshold, funds continue to flow out The total DeFi TVL across the network has dropped to 148.498 billion USD, with Aave, Lido, and EigenLayer experiencing weekly declines of over 6%, and Pendle dropping nearly 35%, indicating that the overall market is under strong pressure. Only Ethena maintained a weekly growth of 5.11%, highlighting the relative resilience of the stablecoin sector.

DEX volume falls from high, Solana and BSC face off The total daily DEX trading volume across the network is $20.445 billion, down from yesterday. Solana leads with $4.988 billion, while HumidiFi and Meteora both surpass $1 billion; BSC's trading volume surged 46.48% this week, nearing Solana's level, with PancakeSwap dominating at $3.675 billion. Ethereum DEX maintains $3.915 billion, with Uniswap and Fluid firmly in the top two.

Aster protocol fees hit an all-time high, whales are active Aster's 24-hour fees reached $12.92 million, second only to Tether, far surpassing Uniswap and Jupiter, indicating the market's high dependence on its derivatives and trading depth. At the same time, whale addresses withdrew 26 million ASTER (worth $59 million) in a single day, raising the total holdings to $115 million, triggering market concerns about concentration risk.

Ethena Gains Middle Eastern Capital Injection, Strengthening Stablecoin Narrative M2 Capital invests $20 million into ENA, indicating that traditional capital is accelerating its layout in the DeFi stablecoin sector. The dual mechanism of USDe and sUSDe continues to attract institutional deposits, with total locked value exceeding $14 billion, maintaining a growth trend.

###Analyst Views

Aster remains highly popular, with increased volatility risk Analysts believe that Aster's protocol fees have reached new highs, indicating that its trading demand and ecological activity are in a period of explosion. However, the concentration of Whale holdings and large withdrawals have intensified market concerns about short-term price fluctuations, and investors need to follow its token distribution and liquidity stability.

Stablecoins and Yield Narratives as Safe Havens Under the downward pressure of TVL, Ethena has received institutional funding and continuous inflow of users, indicating that the market is more inclined towards stable yields and risk-resistant assets. Analysts believe that Ethena's narrative is taking over the safe-haven demand following some capital outflows.

Solana and BSC Form Dual Core Pattern in DEX Solana maintains its leading position with an efficient experience, but the surge in volume on BSC within a week shows its ecosystem is expanding rapidly, potentially forming a dual core pattern alongside Solana in the future. Ethereum is gradually losing its trading dominance in a high-fee environment.

The overall market is in a cautious wait-and-see stage Although hot topics keep emerging, the continuous decline in TVL indicates that the overall funds remain conservative. Analysts point out that in the short term, the market will continue to rely on the narratives and incentives of individual projects, but risk management should be the primary consideration for investors.