Where You’ll Find the Next Crypto Winners (and Losers)
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| By Marija Matic |
One of my favorite crypto metrics to watch is fund flows.
That is, what assets the cash is flowing into.
With major cryptos trading off their all-time highs, naturally, the trading volume in them is also lower. Bitcoin, for example, has seen some $100 billion in outflows since its December peak.
However, the crypto market is still worth some $2.8 trillion right now. So, a lot of that money is staying in the crypto market.
So, where is it going?
One of those destinations is Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
DeFi is a $90 billion powerhouse in the crypto world, generating $50 million in fees in just the past 24 hours.
Not bad for an industry that effectively started its existence only five years ago!
But where exactly is all this money flowing into the DeFi universe, and what can it tell us about tomorrow's opportunities?
I’ll give you a hint. It’s flowing to where the users are.
Meet the Leaders of the DeFi Pack
Three biggest players in DeFi today fall into these categories:
- Lending giants are indeed giants. Consider that Aave (AAVE) has some $17.44B locked across 16 chains.
- Liquid staking providers are indeed liquid. This category includes Lido (LDO) with $15.31 billion and EigenLayer with $7.26 billion staked on them.
- Stablecoin innovators are seeing their innovation pay off quite nicely. Two examples are Sky (SKY) with $5.93 billion and Ethena (ENA) with $4.85 billion.
Some of these protocols are built on a single chain, while others have spread across multiple blockchains.
Watching how money and users move between these networks gives us valuable insights into where the market is heading next.
What the Money Flows Tell Us
In the past month, despite market turbulence, nearly half of the top 100 DeFi protocols actually grew their liquidity.
This tells us there's strong conviction in certain areas even when the broader market struggles.
Some of the Biggest Winners This Month
According to data from DefiLlama, some protocols have seen explosive growth of Total Value Locked in the past 30 days:
- Spark: Up 95% to $4.47B (yield-bearing stablecoins on four chains)
- ListaDAO: Up 84% to $800M (lending on the BSC chain)
- Ethereal: Up 80% to $898M (decentralized exchange on Ethereum)
- BlackRock BUIDL: Up 70% to $2.39B (tokenized securities fund)
- SKY: Up 55% to $5.93B (stablecoin on Ethereum)
Looking at just the past week, Uniswap (UNI) along with Solana's liquidity provider Kamino (KMNO) led the market with 9.44% growth.
That was followed by Solana's liquid staking protocols Sanctum and Jito (JTO). These achieved 7.55% and 6.94% growth, respectively.
As for future winners, here’s where we might expect to find them.
4 Key Trends to Watch
1. The Return of Established Networks
After a few months of hype around newer chains, we're seeing a significant shift back to established networks.
Solana's (SOL) ecosystem is booming again, especially in liquid staking.
While the SOL token's weekly price increase of 3% helped, the increased staking ratio shows users are regaining confidence in the network's future.
Active users on Solana have increased by 10% in just one week.
Similarly, the Hyperliquid (HYPE) network has roared back with 26% monthly user growth and a 50% monthly TVL increase to $617.5million. This pattern suggests users may be returning to proven protocols with established track records after experimenting with newer ones.
2. Berachain and Sonic: Hitting the Pause Button?
Berachain (BERA) initially exploded onto the scene, with a great community, becoming the seventh largest chain by DeFi TVL.
Their projects like Kodiak DEX (up 28% monthly to $1.27 billion) demonstrate how some new Layer-1 networks can rapidly attract capital.
However, Kodiak perfectly illustrates how raw TVL figures can be misleading when viewed in isolation.
With just a handful of large liquidity providers accounting for over 90% of funds, the impressive numbers mask a potentially fragile foundation when you look below the surface.
Additionally, signs of deceleration have emerged — the BERA token plummeted 50% in a month, while active users declined 13% over 30 days.
The critical question now is whether Bera’s apps can build sustainable liquidity and revenue streams before the mercenary capital migrates to the next opportunity.
In contrast, the more established but lower-TVL Sonic shows a different trajectory — strong 18.69% monthly user growth, though weekly momentum has cooled to just 1.72%.
For Sonic, the looming uncertainty revolves around liquidity behavior once the summer airdrop harvesting phase concludes.
The coming months will be decisive in determining whether either chain can sustain and grow meaningful liquidity beyond the hype cycles.
3. Play it Safer with Yield-Bearing Stablecoins
Spark protocol's remarkable 95% monthly growth shows investors want stability with returns at the times of uncertainty.
This shift suggests the DeFi market is maturing, with users focusing on smaller but consistent yields rather than just speculative moonshots.
4. Diversify or Die: The Multichain Strategy
Protocols spreading across multiple chains are showing greater resilience and longevity. AAVE operates on 16 chains and Euler (EUL) has expanded to nine — creating multiple liquidity sources and protection against chain-specific problems.
A Quick Tour of 5 Popular Chains
Ethereum: The Institutional Favorite
With $46.43 billion locked in DeFi and $122.44 billion in stablecoins, Ethereum remains the undisputed leader.
However, its growth has slowed compared to newer chains, and active addresses are down 6.82% over 30 days.
Ethereum's value currently seems more about security and institutional trust than retail use.
Solana: Retail Investors’ Favorite
Solana is seeing the strongest momentum in liquid staking protocols, partly fueled by SOL's price recovery.
Its high speeds and low fees continue attracting traders and yield hunters alike. This is evident in the jump in weekly active users.
BSC: The Bridge Builder
BSC leverages its connection to Binance's massive user base, with ListaDAO and Binance-staked SOL showing impressive growth.
It continues to serve as an important bridge between centralized and decentralized finance.
Berachain: The New Contender
Could Berachain be "the next Solana"? This project with great community has attracted significant initial liquidity.
Related story: Berachain: DeFi’s Next Big Layer-1?
However, the recent token price decline, along with stalled growth in user numbers, both raise questions about its staying power.
Hyperliquid: The Comeback Kid
After a substantial drop in liquidity in March, Hyperliquid has emerged as the absolute winner in recent growth.
Active users are up 26% in a week and 47% in a month. And TVL saw a 50% monthly TVL increase.
This dramatic resurgence suggests users are returning to the strongest earning protocols with proven revenue mechanisms.
Why This Matters for You
These metrics aren't just numbers — they show us where the market's attention is headed, which chains are seeing increased activity, and where yields might be most attractive.
By tracking these liquidity flows, you can spot emerging opportunities before they become obvious to everyone else.
Whether you're looking for yield, building a protocol or just trying to understand where crypto is heading next, following the money across chains gives you valuable insights that most traders miss.
Best,
Marija Matić
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