The Composition of TVL Has Transformed
At the 2021 peak, DeFi's TVL was centered on liquidity mining and algorithmic stablecoins. The 2026 peak is composed of RWA (particularly tokenized government bonds), Restaking-derived LRTs, and Intent-based trading infrastructure.
As a result, DeFi's yield structure has shifted from "unstable returns tied to crypto price movements" to "TradFi yields + limited crypto premiums." This has effectively removed institutional entry barriers.
Where Risk Concentrates
The concentration of RWA and LRT, the centralization of Intent Solvers, and stablecoin issuers' dependence on reserve assets. This new TVL landscape carries new single points of failure — a situation that cannot be dismissed as "healthy growth."