What Is TVL? Total Value Locked in DeFi Explained
Updated: 2026-10-28 · Türkçe
TVL (total value locked) is the dollar value of assets held in DeFi smart contracts. It is the most common measure of how much a chain or protocol is used. Below is today's chain ranking, followed by how TVL is calculated and read.
TVL by chain today (total $87.76B)
| # | Chain | TVL | Share | 30d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethereum | $45.91B | 52.3% | −14.1% |
| 2 | Bitcoin | $6.19B | 7.1% | +39.2% |
| 3 | Base | $6.03B | 6.9% | −3.1% |
| 4 | Solana | $5.65B | 6.4% | −12.3% |
| 5 | Tron | $5.53B | 6.3% | −1.9% |
| 6 | BSC | $5.49B | 6.3% | −4.0% |
| 7 | Hyperliquid L1 | $2.44B | 2.8% | −7.5% |
| 8 | Arbitrum | $1.51B | 1.7% | +4.9% |
| 9 | Robinhood Chain | $1.13B | 1.3% | +11.7% |
| 10 | Monad | $959.0M | 1.1% | −5.9% |
All chains, largest protocols and 1-year chart → Data: DefiLlama
How is TVL calculated?
Each token amount held in a protocol's contracts is multiplied by its current price and summed: lending deposits, DEX liquidity pools, collateral vaults. A chain's TVL is the sum of its protocols. Aggregators such as DefiLlama use an open-source adapter per protocol.
What does rising TVL mean?
Either new money is deposited or the locked assets' prices rose. Because TVL is in dollars, it rises when ETH or SOL rise even without deposits.
Double counting and limits
The same asset can be counted twice — a liquid staking token deposited into a lending protocol appears in both. Aggregators remove this from chain totals, but summing protocol TVLs does not equal chain TVL. TVL shows usage, not safety or profitability. Educational only, not investment advice.
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Frequently asked questions
What is TVL?
Total value locked: the dollar value of assets locked in DeFi smart contracts, including deposits, liquidity pools and collateral vaults.
Is a chain with higher TVL better?
It is used more, not necessarily safer or more profitable. TVL also moves with prices.
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