BTCFi TVL soared from $304 million to $7 billion in 2024 — driven by new protocols and institutional inflows — but trust, risks, and infrastructure hurdles still hinder adoption. Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi), often referred to as BTCFi, is experiencing significant growth but still faces challenges. According to DefiLlama data, Bitcoin-based (BTC) DeFi protocols’ total value locked (TVL) went from $304.66 million on Jan. 1, 2024, to $6.5 billion by Dec. 31, 2024. As of publication, DefiLlama data shows that BTCFi has a TVL of $7.05 billion. This translates to an increase of more than 22 times. A report shared by Bitcoin smart contract layer Arch Network suggests that “this surge was fueled by new protocol launches, emerging token standards, institutional inflows, a major price rally pushing BTC to an all-time high, and the rise of liquid restaking.” Read more
Despite the rising DEX-to-CEX ratio, centralized exchanges still lead in the crypto spot market, posting $3.9 trillion in trading volume, compared to $877 billion for DEXs. Cryptocurrency traders have been moving away from centralized exchanges (CEXs) in favor of decentralized exchanges (DEXs), pushing the CEX-to-DEX ratio to a new all-time high. Spot trading volume on DEXs surged at least 25% in the second quarter of 2025 over the previous quarter, while CEXs volumes plunged almost 28%, according to the latest quarterly industry report by the crypto data aggregator CoinGecko. This shift drove the DEX-to-CEX ratio to a record high in Q2, rising from 0.13 in the previous quarter to 0.23, the report noted. Read more
This episode of the Clear Crypto Podcast uncovers how Bitcoin is shedding its passive role and becoming a usable financial tool through wrapped assets, bridges and new DeFi use cases. For years, Bitcoin (BTC) has remained in digital hibernation, meaning it is held tightly in wallets and admired as “digital gold,” though rarely used. According to StarkWare’s Bitcoin lead Ilia Volokh, that era may be ending. On the latest episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth Jenkinson dig into what it means for Bitcoin to evolve from a static store of value to a dynamic financial instrument. The conversation centers on how innovations like wrapped Bitcoin and trustless bridges may unlock new uses for the world’s most well-known cryptocurrency. Read more