The decentralized finance (DeFi) space has seen a significant decline in revenue across major protocols in March, reflecting a broader slowdown in on-chain activity and trading volumes across various blockchains. According to industry data from Defillama, Solana-based DeFi platforms like Pump.fun, Jito, and Raydium collectively generated around $42 million in revenue in March, marking a 55% drop from February and a steep 75% decrease from their peak in January.
Similarly, on BNB Chain, leading protocol PancakeSwap reported a revenue of just $21 million in March, representing a 54% decrease compared to the previous month. Ethereum-based protocols such as Ethena, Lido, Aave, Curve, Compound, and Sushi also experienced losses, with a total revenue of $24.5 million in March—down over 52% from February and 65% since January. MakerDAO, now known as Sky, was the only major protocol that saw an increase in revenue, reporting $10 million in March, an 11% rise from the previous month.
The decline in protocol revenues aligns with the performance of DeFi tokens year-to-date. The GMCI’s DeFi Index (GMDEFI), which tracks a basket of DeFi-related tokens across multiple chains, has decreased by 40% in 2025. This index includes assets from projects like Uniswap, Aave, Jupiter, Ethena, Maker, and PancakeSwap.
Analysts attribute the slump in DeFi revenues to reduced user engagement, fewer transactions, and broader market headwinds impacting crypto activity. Additionally, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi has dropped over 30% since its peak in December, signaling growing market uncertainty and waning investor confidence. Currently, DeFi’s TVL stands at $94.49 billion, down from its peak of $137 billion on December 17.
The downturn in the DeFi market mirrors the overall pullback in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin and Ether prices experiencing significant declines. Regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. also poses challenges for the future of DeFi. Dan Greer, co-founder of DeFi App, emphasized that resolving regulatory issues is crucial for mass adoption of DeFi, as it represents a potential evolution of the global financial system. Failure to address these barriers may drive talent and innovation offshore, impacting the growth of the DeFi ecosystem.