The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) market has seen a significant boost of $10 billion, fueled by Ethereum’s ongoing rally, which has seen its value soar to $1,900. The surge in Ethereum’s value has significantly increased the market valuation of DeFi tokens within its ecosystem, leading to an increase in trading activity on decentralized exchanges such as SushiSwap and Uniswap.
SushiSwap experienced significant growth this week, with its value increasing by 58.55%. This increase is indicative of the broader trend within the Ethereum ecosystem, as investors continue to show interest in riskier, small-cap projects beyond the top 10 crypto market rankings.
The transition from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake on the Ethereum blockchain has played a critical role in this development. This transition has mitigated potential increases in gas fees that could have been triggered by Ethereum’s value growth. Layer 2 (L2) scaling protocols such as Optimism and Arbitrum have further improved the situation by alleviating network congestion on the Ethereum blockchain.
Emerging DeFi tokens such as Raydium, Opulous and Venus on the Ethereum Layer 1 blockchain have also contributed to the increase in overall DeFi market capitalization. As Ethereum continues its upward trajectory, experts predict further capital inflows into these DeFi tokens and the broader ecosystem.