Maker Foundation CEO Rune Christensen (CoinDesk archives)
The total value of cryptocurrency locked in decentralized finance's (DeFi) oldest project has surpassed $1 billion for the first time.
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MakerDAO, which is also the sector's largest protocol by a margin of $271 million locked in, crossed above $1 billion at around 18:00 UTC on Sunday, according to analytics aggregator DeFi Pulse.
The milestone, which represents how much money has been committed and not earned, demonstrates a rising interest in MakerDao and DeFi projects alike.
Collateral, locked up in the form of etherETH$2,881.67 or BAT$0.1773, is used on Maker's protocol to undertake lending and generate DAI as debt against collateral.
Saying the news marked a "big day" for MakerDAO, David Freuden, co-author of "DAO: A Decentralized Governance Layer for the Internet of Value," told CoinDesk that innovation in DeFi will increasingly challenge the premise of centralized finance.
Maker's dominance over other projects in the sector stands at 27.1%, with the highly valued Compound protocol coming in second place at around $729 million total value locked up.
The DeFi industry has seen a significant rise in total value locked up with the sector's $1 billion milestone in all protocols having been surpassed on Feb. 7, now up by more than $3.3 billion at time of writing.
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
Bitcoin’s onchain data points to supply overhang and weak participation, while gold’s breakout is priced by markets as a durable macro regime shift.
What to know:
Gold’s surge above $5,000 an ounce is increasingly seen as a durable regime shift, with investors treating the metal as a persistent hedge against geopolitical risk, central bank demand and a weaker dollar.
Bitcoin is stuck near $87,000 in a low-conviction market, as on-chain data show older holders selling into rallies, newer buyers absorbing losses and a heavy supply overhang capping moves toward $100,000.
Derivatives and prediction markets point to continued consolidation in bitcoin and sustained strength in gold, with thin futures volumes, subdued leverage and weak demand for higher-beta crypto assets like ether reinforcing the cautious tone.