Overview
- Ethereum holds 54% of decentralized finance total value locked, or $45.4 billion, as of May 7, 2026, down from 63.5% at the start of 2025.
- Four rivals cluster near 6% each — Solana 6.66%, BNB 6.60%, Bitcoin 6.35%, Tron 6.17% — with Base at 5.44% as Coinbase’s Ethereum layer‑2 and Hyperliquid at 1.81%.
- BNB’s PancakeSwap draws exchange flow through Binance integrations such as Alpha Earn and embedded DEX trading, while Tron acts as a dollar rail holding $89.6 billion in stablecoins with a 97.86% USDT share.
- Hyperliquid’s weight comes from trading rather than TVL, with $9.37 billion in 24‑hour perpetuals volume and $8.94 billion in open interest on $1.52 billion locked, with perpetuals being futures that have no expiry.
- Analysts outline two paths for late 2026, with Ethereum’s share either edging back to 55%–58% or slipping to 46%–50% based on whether lending and stablecoins outgrow specialist venues.