Analytics from Nansen present the growth and changes in DeFi space. As per the latest ranking by the company, Solana is ahead in terms of amount of value locked in DeFi with $23.01 billion. After Solana follows BNB Chain ($3.89 billion) Base ($3.29 billion) Ronado ($3.22 billion) and NEAR Protocol ($1.89 billion). The data shows us that both the existing and new players are doing their best to make their mark in on-chain finance.
Domination of Solana in DeFi
Solana has surged ahead of the competition, boasting over $23 billion in total value locked, and the reasons are clear. The transactions are extremely quick in the blockchain, and the fees are kept low which has caused it to become a go to for everyone, from day traders to large institutions. What’s particularly impressive is how Solana managed to pull $1.4 billion in revenue this year while keeping nearly 40 million addresses active on the network.
With its impressive transaction throughput of thousands of transactions per second and very low transaction fees, Solana provides extreme value to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and yield farming protocols as well. Jupiter and MarginFi for example have staked their claim on Solana and brought much-needed liquidity to the ecosystem, along with Marinade Finance. Regulatory OK for Solana ETFs on a spot basis in late 2025, Solana has successfully evolved from a speculative playground to an institutional platform.
BNB Chain and Layer-2 Solutions Surges
BNB Chain, being the second largest network in terms of TVL with 3.89 billion locked shows the longevity of Binance’s blockchain ecosystem. With an ideal combination of accessibility, speed and security, the platform has established itself in this area quickly and successfully. The most recent quarterly data shows that in Q-3 of 2021 BNB Chain has gained ground on its competitors with 4.32 million daily active wallets, and a 35.3% quarter-to-quarter increase in its number of daily transactions to 13.3 million.
BNB Chain prioritizes stablecoin infrastructure and utility agreements over competition. BNB Chain has become a hub for peer-to-peer and retail commerce transactions with stablecoin volumes topping 124 billion dollars daily. Base’s rise to the third-largest chain by TVL at 3.29 billion validates Layer-2 scaling techniques. Base, backed by Coinbase, has quickly attracted developers and customers wanting Ethereum’s security without massive gas prices.
Market Dynamics and Future Outlook
Ronado and NEAR Protocol being ranked among the top 5 highest TVL, some interesting findings can be had with regards to the present competitive spectrum. Although these platforms may not be as recognizable to many users compared to the other networks being listed here, the size and amount of capital that has been invested into these platforms and community is significant. The differential amount of the TVL on these networks indicates, in part, different trends in the DeFi space, where overall growth of DeFi has shown consistent growth.
Ethereum is at the top of all ecosystems in terms of ecosystem value, having a total value locked of over $93 billion. However, the rapid growth of Layer-1 and Layer-2 networks means that there is a promising sociability multi-chain future on the horizon. This diversity reflects both consumers and developers having a compromise of security, speed, low-cost, and maturity of the ecosystem. Competition amongst networks on technological specs, developer tooling, depth of liquidity, regulatory positioning and real-world integration.
Conclusion
The Nansen rankings show that blockchain economics has changed to favor networks with unique value propositions. Solana’s $23 billion TVL, BNB Chain’s $3.89 billion, and Base’s $3.29 billion depict robust ecosystems with millions of active users creating actual economic activity. Investors, developers, and users exploring this field should know that decentralized finance is multi-chain. Success will go to those who understand network strengths and can deploy funds or design applications that use them.
