Total Value Locked (TVL)
The total worth of crypto deposited in a protocol or across DeFi, used as a rough gauge of size and trust.
Total value locked, or TVL, adds up the assets sitting inside DeFi smart contracts, such as funds in lending markets and liquidity pools. Analysts watch it as a quick measure of how much capital a protocol or the whole sector commands. DeFi TVL peaked near $180 billion in late 2021.
It is a useful number but an imperfect one. TVL is priced in dollars, so it swells and shrinks with token prices even when no money actually moves. Double-counting is common too, since one deposit can be wrapped and re-deposited across several protocols.
Related terms
Financial services run by code on public blockchains, letting people trade or borrow without a bank.
Liquidity PoolA pot of tokens locked in a smart contract that traders swap against, with prices set by a formula.
StakingLocking up tokens to help secure a proof-of-stake network and earn rewards, similar to interest on a deposit.
Lending ProtocolA DeFi platform where users deposit crypto to earn interest and others borrow against collateral, all managed by smart contracts.