Welcome to the second of PYMNTS’ eight-part series on decentralized finance (DeFi).
Over the coming days, we’ll be looking at every part of DeFi — the biggest, hottest, most rewarding and riskiest part of the blockchain revolution.
At the end of it, you’ll know what DeFi is, how it works, which projects and blockchains are leading the way, and the risks and rewards of investing in it.
See Part 1: What Is DeFi?
So, what are the top DeFi platforms by total value locked (meaning invested)?
Maker $19.03 billion
Curve Finance $15.36 billion
InstaDApp $12.25 billion
Aave $12.18 billion
Compound $11.38 billion
Convex Finance $9.99 billion
UniSwap $8.29 billion
yearn.finance $4.23 billion
SushiSwap $3.73 billion
Liquidity $2.84 billion
We’re not just going to be running down the top 10 by total value locked — meaning invested. Rather, we’ll look at some of the important platforms in each category and give you a taste.
A good resource is DeFi Pulse, which shows the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi projects — currently $105 billion — as well as lists nearly 130 projects by TVL. Its DeFi List breaks out even more projects by type, such as lending, trading and derivative exchanges, payments, wallets, stablecoins and many more. There are also sections for education sites, webcasts, podcasts and newsletters.
MakerDAO
Any discussion of DeFi begins with Maker.
Started in 2014, Maker is one of the oldest DeFi projects, and the biggest, with $19.3 billion in total value locked — which gives it about 18% of the dollars invested in DeFi projects at present.
Maker has two parts. First, it is a lending…
