Today on DeFi Llama, I analyzed the three largest protocols by Total Value Locked (TVL): Lido, Aave, and MakerDAO. Each one represents a different pillar of the DeFi ecosystem, and together they form the foundation of the current decentralized financial system.

1️⃣ Lido – The new “bank” of staking - Lido dominates the ranking with more than 30% of the total TVL. It allows users to perform liquid staking of ETH and other assets, receiving liquid tokens such as stETH in return.What stands out about Lido is how it turned a technical process into a yield-generating opportunity: it blends security, liquidity, and participation in Ethereum’s consensus. In traditional finance terms, it’s like a time deposit that keeps earning interest without locking your funds.

2️⃣ Aave – The decentralized credit market - Aave is the most established lending & borrowing protocol in DeFi. It replicates the logic of traditional banking, but without intermediaries: users supply liquidity to earn interest, while others borrow by posting collateral.Aave’s key strength lies in its risk management — each asset has a defined Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio, and liquidations happen automatically and transparently. From a financial perspective, Aave operates like a hybrid between a commercial bank and a money market, but fully programmable.

3️⃣ MakerDAO – The decentralized central bank - MakerDAO completes the trio of DeFi giants. It enables the creation of DAI, a decentralized stablecoin backed by crypto collateral.MakerDAO acts as an algorithmic central bank, regulating DAI’s supply and maintaining its peg to the dollar through economic incentives and interest rate policies. In essence, it represents decentralized monetary policy at work.

Conclusion: Lido, Aave, and MakerDAO serve as the core pillars of modern DeFi — staking, credit, and stable money.Analyzing them is key to understanding how capital flows in a financial ecosystem with no banks or borders. As DeFi continues to evolve, these projects remain the benchmark of trust, transparency, and innovation shaping the future of global finance.

Insight of the day: What stood out to me most is how these protocols mirror traditional financial institutions — yet they do it through open, transparent, and programmable architecture.

Today on DeFi Llama, I analyzed the three largest protocols by Total Value Locked (TVL): Lido, Aave, and MakerDAO. Each one represents a different pillar of the DeFi ecosystem, and together they form the foundation of the current decentralized financial system.

1️⃣ Lido – The new “bank” of staking - Lido dominates the ranking with more than 30% of the total TVL. It allows users to perform liquid staking of ETH and other assets, receiving liquid tokens such as stETH in return.What stands out about Lido is how it turned a technical process into a yield-generating opportunity: it blends security, liquidity, and participation in Ethereum’s consensus. In traditional finance terms, it’s like a time deposit that keeps earning interest without locking your funds.

2️⃣ Aave – The decentralized credit market - Aave is the most established lending & borrowing protocol in DeFi. It replicates the logic of traditional banking, but without intermediaries: users supply liquidity to earn interest, while others borrow by posting collateral.Aave’s key strength lies in its risk management — each asset has a defined Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio, and liquidations happen automatically and transparently. From a financial perspective, Aave operates like a hybrid between a commercial bank and a money market, but fully programmable.

3️⃣ MakerDAO – The decentralized central bank - MakerDAO completes the trio of DeFi giants. It enables the creation of DAI, a decentralized stablecoin backed by crypto collateral.MakerDAO acts as an algorithmic central bank, regulating DAI’s supply and maintaining its peg to the dollar through economic incentives and interest rate policies. In essence, it represents decentralized monetary policy at work.

Conclusion: Lido, Aave, and MakerDAO serve as the core pillars of modern DeFi — staking, credit, and stable money.Analyzing them is key to understanding how capital flows in a financial ecosystem with no banks or borders. As DeFi continues to evolve, these projects remain the benchmark of trust, transparency, and innovation shaping the future of global finance.

Insight of the day: What stood out to me most is how these protocols mirror traditional financial institutions — yet they do it through open, transparent, and programmable architecture.