Ethereum Lost 15% of DeFi TVL in One Month: Where Did the Capital Go?
Data from DefiLlama shows Ethereum losing DeFi capital while Base, BSC, Tron, and Bitcoin DeFi steadily increase their market share.
Summary:
- Ethereum’s DeFi TVL fell to $45.608 billion.
- Ethereum’s share of DeFi shrank from 61.50% to 53.15% over nine months.
- Base, BSC, Tron, and Bitcoin DeFi absorbed 91% of Ethereum’s lost share.
- Base added 2.26 percentage points, while Solana lost 0.32.
- Bitcoin DeFi posted the strongest monthly growth at 8.56%.
- Arbitrum lost 18.12% of TVL in just one month.
Who Absorbed Ethereum’s Lost Share?
In August 2025, Ethereum controlled 61.50% of the entire DeFi total value locked (TVL). By May 2026, that share had fallen to 53.15%, according to DefiLlama data – a decline of 8.29 percentage points over nine months.
TVL (Total Value Locked) measures the total value of assets locked in DeFi protocols such as exchanges, lending platforms, and staking applications. The metric is often used to measure liquidity, activity, and confidence within a blockchain ecosystem.
Four networks – Base, BNB Smart Chain, TRON, and Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure – absorbed 91% of Ethereum’s lost share between August 2025 and May 2026.
Interestingly, three of those four networks are rarely discussed in mainstream DeFi conversations as Ethereum’s primary competitors.
The network that captured the largest portion of Ethereum’s lost TVL was not Solana, but Base – Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 network – which added more than two percentage points while Solana lost 0.32.
The breakdown of those 8.29 points is clearly visible in the data:
- Base rose from 3.08% to 5.34%.
- BSC increased from 4.56% to 6.54%.
- Tron climbed from 4.22% to 6.01%.
- Bitcoin DeFi grew from 4.64% to 6.18%.
Combined, those four segments absorbed 7.54 of the 8.29 percentage points Ethereum lost.
The remaining 0.75 points were distributed among newer entrants such as Provenance, MegaETH, and Plasma — networks that barely appeared consistently in rankings nine months earlier.
Solana, despite often being framed as Ethereum’s main competitor, recorded a net decline of 0.28 percentage points during the same period, falling from 7.03% to 6.75%.
Not Just a Market Share Story
Ethereum’s 15.13% drop in TVL in just one month is not simply about losing market share. It is a story of capital outflows.
The distinction matters.
A market leader losing relative share in a growing market reflects normal competition. But a leader losing actual capital sends a much stronger structural signal.
Ethereum’s TVL stood at $45.608 billion on May 10. One month earlier, it was approximately $53.7 billion.
The capital did not disappear. It simply moved elsewhere.
Data from the past nine months shows where that capital has consistently flowed: toward Base, BSC, Tron, and DeFi infrastructure built on top of Bitcoin.
The monthly data makes the trend even clearer.
The largest monthly gains came from:
- Bitcoin DeFi: +8.56%
- Base: +7.25%
- Tron: +4.65%
- BSC: +4.27%
- Solana: +1.27%
The largest declines came from:
- Provenance: -20.50%
- Arbitrum: -18.12%
- Ethereum: -15.13%
The pattern repeats the same trend seen over the past nine months: capital is gradually shifting away from Ethereum’s main chain and some of its largest Layer-2 solutions toward newer infrastructures and competing networks.
Base Is Growing While Arbitrum Loses Ground
Base’s 7.25% growth while Arbitrum lost 18.12% during the same month may be the clearest indication that capital is not leaving the Ethereum ecosystem evenly.
It is being redistributed within it.
Both Base and Arbitrum are Layer-2 networks built on Ethereum. Both rely on Ethereum for final settlement and security.
Capital moving between them is not exiting the ecosystem. It is simply choosing a different layer within it.
The nine-month data confirms this dynamic. Arbitrum declined from 2.14% to 1.84%, while Base gained market share.
The practical significance is important. Arbitrum’s decline does not prove Ethereum is losing its entire position. Instead, it suggests Base has found a competitive advantage – whether through lower fees, stronger developer tools, Coinbase’s distribution network, or a combination of all three.
READ MORE: Crypto ETF Flows Turn Negative as Bitcoin Demand Reverses
Base is now the sixth-largest DeFi network by TVL, with $4.585 billion.
That represents a major structural shift within the segment regardless of what happens between Ethereum and its external competitors.
The DeFi Market Is Becoming Increasingly Fragmented
Sui has completely disappeared from the visible top rankings between August 2025 and May 2026, replaced by Provenance,
MegaETH, and Plasma – three networks that were practically irrelevant nine months earlier.
This is one of the clearest signs that the DeFi market is not consolidating, but becoming increasingly fragmented.
In August 2025, the leading 11 networks controlled almost the entire TVL market. By May 2026, new entrants had already managed to take positions at the expense of established names.
The number of networks with meaningful TVL is growing rather than shrinking.
Ethereum’s decline does not appear to be a story of one dominant network defeating another. Instead, it reflects an expanding market where the number of viable competitors continues to increase.
The question is no longer whether Ethereum is losing ground to one specific rival. The data suggests that is not happening.
The real question is whether Ethereum can maintain a share above 50% while the number of sustainable DeFi networks keeps growing.
In August 2025, Ethereum’s share stood at 61.50%. By May 2026, it had fallen to 53.15%. That implies a relatively steady decline of roughly one percentage point per month.
A signal that the decline is beginning to stabilize would be Ethereum holding above 53% for two consecutive months while recovering TVL above $50 billion.
The opposite signal would be a drop below 50% within the next three months. That would suggest fragmentation is still accelerating and the market has not yet found a stable floor for Ethereum’s share.
The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
