BNB News Today: Institutions Pump $46B into Stablecoins, Boosting DeFi TVL to Record $237B as Retail Users Flee

DeFi total value locked (TVL) surged to a record $237 billion in the third quarter of 2025, driven by institutional capital inflows into stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, while daily active DApp wallets declined 22% amid waning retail engagement, according to DappRadar. The report highlights a growing divergence between institutional liquidity accumulation and user activity, with DeFi protocols locking record assets even as decentralized application (DApp) usage contracted.

Stablecoins were a primary catalyst for the TVL surge, with $46 billion in inflows during Q3, led by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. New infrastructure, such as Plasma-a layer-1 chain designed for stablecoins-contributed $8 billion in TVL within its first month. Regulatory clarity from the U.S. GENIUS Act and advancements in RWA tokenization also spurred institutional adoption. However, DApp engagement metrics fell sharply: daily unique active wallets averaged 18.7 million, down 22.4% from Q2, with SocialFi and AI-focused DApps losing over 1.7 million and 1.5 million users, respectively [1].

Ethereum maintained its dominance as the largest DeFi network, holding $119 billion in TVL despite a 4% quarterly decline. BNB Chain emerged as a key growth driver, with its TVL rising 15% to become the third-largest network, fueled by the launch of perpetual decentralized exchange Aster. Solana, however, saw its DeFi TVL contract 33% to $13.8 billion. DappRadar attributed BNB Chain's gains to institutional participation in tokenized assets and cross-chain integrations but noted skepticism from data aggregators like DefiLlama, which delisted Aster due to concerns over volume integrity [2].

The report underscores structural shifts in DeFi adoption. Institutional capital is increasingly prioritizing liquidity depth over user activity, with stablecoin platforms and RWA tokenization attracting large-scale deposits. Meanwhile, retail engagement remains fragmented, with AI and SocialFi DApps struggling to retain users. DappRadar observed that "every category noted a drop in active wallets," but the decline was most pronounced in AI and SocialFi, reflecting broader market fatigue with speculative use cases [1].

Network dynamics further illustrate this trend. While Ethereum's TVL remained resilient, its DApp activity lagged, and Solana's DeFi ecosystem contracted. BNB Chain's growth, however, signaled a shift in institutional preferences, with Aster's rapid adoption highlighting the potential for specialized DeFi infrastructure. The interplay between TVL growth and user attrition raises questions about the sustainability of DeFi's institutional-driven model, particularly as data integrity and cross-platform validation become critical concerns [2].