DeFi TVL Plummets 27%, AI and Social Apps Surge in Q1

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector experienced a significant downturn in the first quarter of 2025, with total value locked dropping by 27% compared to the previous quarter. This decline was primarily driven by economic uncertainty following recent events like the Bybit exploit and Ethereum’s price drop. Ethereum itself saw a 37% plunge, reaching just $96 billion in TVL, while other leading platforms like Sui suffered even greater losses. 2025 data from DappRadar shows that stablecoin-heavy blockchains experienced particularly sharp reductions, impacting protocols such as Solana and Tron.