TVL vs market cap
For DeFi protocols that have a governance or utility token, this chart compares the total value locked in the protocol (x-axis: TVL in billions of USD) against the ratio of TVL to market cap (y-axis). The ratio is descriptive: how many dollars of real value (locked liquidity) sit behind each dollar of market capitalization.
Raw data
| Protocol | TVL | TVL ÷ market cap ratio |
|---|---|---|
| LDO · Lido | 21.3B | +66.77 |
| AAVE · Aave V3 | 14.7B | +10.41 |
How to read this chart
- High ratio (> 1) — TVL exceeds market cap. There's more locked value than the market is pricing into the token. Sometimes signals undervaluation; sometimes signals that token has limited upside if cap-rate ever returned to historical norms.
- Mid ratio (0.5 – 1) — TVL and market cap are roughly comparable. Common for established DeFi blue chips trading near book value of locked assets.
- Low ratio (< 0.5) — Market cap is much larger than TVL. The token's pricing reflects expected future TVL growth, governance/fee value, or speculative premium.
Ratio interpretation depends heavily on protocol design. A lending protocol's TVL means something different from an AMM's TVL. Use this as one input among many, not as a standalone valuation metric.
Data sources
Caveats
- Some protocols have multiple tokens or none — those are excluded entirely from this chart.
- Wrapped/derivative tokens (stETH, WBTC) inflate raw TVL across multiple protocols; this is not deduplicated here.
- Fully-diluted vs circulating mcap can differ dramatically. We use circulating mcap, which is the more conservative figure for newer projects with vesting.
- For some protocols (Lido, Aave) TVL is mostly user deposits — the protocol is a service, not a balance-sheet holder. The ratio there reflects "how busy is this service" more than "how much equity backs the token".