Although the 2022 crypto winter has been especially cold in decentralised finance (DeFi) land, the DeFi industry is set to boom this year, with revenue reaching record highs.
According to data presented by BitcoinCasinos.com, global DeFi revenues are expected to jump by 226% year-over-year and hit $16,9-billion in 2023.
DeFi activity has had a solid start to 2023, driven by a broader market recovery. With the trading volume and the number of users recovering to pre-2022 levels, the market projections for 2023 and the following years have become more optimistic.
According to Statista data, global DeFi revenue dropped to $5,2-billion last year amid the crypto winter, down from $6,1-billion reported in 2021. However, 2023 is set to witness a three-digit growth, with revenue surging by 226% year-over-year to $16,9-billion.
Statista expects the entire market to continue growing by a CAGR of 19,6% in the next four years, resulting in a total volume of $34,7-billion by 2027.
The average revenue per user in the DeFi market was $2 026 in 2023. This value is set to jump over $3 700 in the next four years. According to a Statista survey, the entire market will also witness double-digit user growth.
In 2019, there were around 160 000 DeFi users. Two years later, this figure surged to 8,54-million worldwide.
After a huge drop in 2022, and the number of users falling to 5,79-million, 2023 is set to witness considerable user growth in the DeFi space. Statista expects more than 2,5-million new users this year, pushing the total user count to 8,37-million.
By 2027, this figure is expected to jump to over 9,3-million.
Crypto prices have surged in value over the past five months, pushing the total value locked in DeFi (TVL) way above the levels seen in the first weeks of 2023.
According to CoinMarketCap and Trading View data, the total value locked in DeFi amounted to $30,8-billion in January. After rising to $53,8-billion a month later, this figure plunged to $41,7-billion in March. However, the last two months have brought a recovery, with TVL in DeFi reaching $53,9-billion on April 18, the highest value this year. Although this figure slipped to $43,6-billion last week, this still represents a 40% increase year-to-date.
Around 58% of the total value locked in DeFi is tied to Ethereum. Tron is the second-largest blockchain in TVL size, with 11,96% of the total value locked. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ranked third with 9,36% of the total value. Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism are the next largest blockchains, with 4,9%, 2,13%, and 1,88% share of TVL.