DeFi Hits Record Highs, NFT Market Resurfaces, and Dapps Experiencing Summer Slump
Date: 2025-08-11 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS
The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi projects reached $270 billion for the first time at the end of July, ending the month at $259 billion, up a third from June, according to a report from DappRadar. The tokenized equity space saw particularly strong growth, with the number of wallets involved increasing from about 1,600 to 90,000, and the market cap rising by 220%. Experts called this a sign that real-world assets (RWA) in tokenized form are starting to reach critical mass.
Ethereum remains the leader in DeFi with a TVL of $166 billion. At the same time, the staking yield on the network rose to 29.4% per annum, which analysts attribute to the growth of user confidence. Solana's figure was $23 billion, and the Hyperliquid platform provided a third of the network's monthly revenue.
Return of interest in NFT
In July, the dynamics of the NFT market outpaced DeFi: trading volume increased by 96% and reached $530 million, although the number of transactions decreased by 4% to $5 million. The average token price doubled over the month, rising from $52 to $105. Investors showed the greatest interest in NFT "blue chips", where large holders play a significant role.
On Ethereum, the Blur marketplace retained its leadership in trading volume, occupying about 80% of the daily share. OpenSea remained ahead in terms of the number of active users with 27 thousand traders per day. According to experts, NFTs are gradually moving away from the image of a speculative commodity, turning into a tool for identification, ticketing services, games and integration with RWA.
Summer slump of dapps
The number of unique active wallets (UAW) in July decreased by 8%, to 22 million. The largest drop was observed in the decentralized social networks segment - minus 27%, to 2.8 million users. InfoFi platforms like Farcaster and the new Base app remain niche for now, and strict moderation of communities hinders the influx of newcomers. However, analysts believe that in the long term, this category can take a key place in Web3, given the success of the "creator economy" in traditional media.
The artificial intelligence sector lost 14% of its audience (4.1 million UAW), DeFi - 6%. Against this background, GameFi showed a slight increase of 2%, which distinguishes it from the general decline in activity.
The July data clearly shows that despite the seasonal downturn in dapps, interest in DeFi and NFTs is not only continuing, but is rapidly gaining momentum.
