Bitcoin DeFi TVL up 2,000% amid bumper 2024 for BTC price, adoption
2025-01-17
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Bitcoin-based decentralized finance applications saw a breakout year in 2024 after the April halving, with the industry’s value experiencing a 22-fold increase driven by infrastructure development and soaring Bitcoin prices.
Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi), also known as BTCFi, is a new technological paradigm that aims to bring DeFi capabilities to the world’s first blockchain network.
The total value locked (TVL) in the Bitcoin BTCUSD network saw more than a 2,000% increase during 2024, from $307 million in January to top $6.5 billion on Dec. 31, 2024, DefiLlama data shows.
The 2,000% increase marked a “breakout year for the sector,” according to Binance Research.
The increase is mainly attributed to growing developments around Bitcoin staking and restaking platform Babylon, which controls over 80% of TVL in BTCFi, Binance Research told Cointelegraph:
Babylon was seen as a significant opportunity for Bitcoin-based DeFi, thanks to introducing Bitcoin-native staking for the first time in crypto history.
Babylon’s TVL soared 222% in two months, from $1.61 billion on Oct. 22, to over $5.2 billion on Dec. 31, 2024.
Interest in building DeFi capabilities on the Bitcoin network has been growing since the 2024 Bitcoin halving, which introduced the Runes protocol — the first fungible token standard on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Bitcoin ETFs and soaring crypto valuations: a net positive for BTCFi
The debut of the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was “historically successful,” adding significant momentum to Bitcoin price and the wider Bitcoin DeFi movement, according to a research report by Binance, published on Jan. 17.
The ETF approval attracted a new source of institutional demand for Bitcoin, which helped Bitcoin’s price rise over 121% last year, significantly contributing to the growth of the BTCFi sector.
Bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 record high on Dec. 5, just a month after Donald Trump won the 2024 United States presidential election.
Bitcoin’s soaring valuation and growing popularity have invited more capital in Bitcoin-native DeFi applications, Binance Research told Cointelegraph:

Flashing another optimistic sign for institutional adoption, the report revealed that the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, controls over 50.3% of the total assets under management (AUM) among all Bitcoin ETF issuers.
Fidelity is in second place, controlling over 23.6% of the US Bitcoin ETF market.