Lending apps bring the most active business to Ethereum and Solana, with peak value locked.
Ethereum is still far from its goal of becoming a ‘one trillion chain’, but it remains the L1 network with the most significant share of the crypto business. Based on recent data, Ethereum apps hold over $330B in user deposits.
Ethereum’s apps signal significant on-chain activity, as they become the L1 with the largest share of user deposits. Based on Token Terminal data, Ethereum carries $330B in user deposits, following a rush to DeFi activity. Token Terminal has included Tether as the leading app in terms of value locked, but also ranked other DeFi and general apps.
Ethereum still has a $250B lead on TRON, and remains unsurpassed by other L1 or L2. The main reason is that the network is well-connected to multiple centralized and decentralized facilities. This allows all users and traders to be confident in the available liquidity and plan more ambitious DeFi moves.
For Ethereum, economic activity is moving back on-chain, with constant growth in app revenues. Following the 2021 cycle with novelty games and NFTs, this time, highly liquid DeFi apps produce higher revenues. The growth of ETH above $4,000 also feeds into the TVL value. Another ETH rally may boost the liquidity and activity in the ecosystem.
On peak days, Ethereum apps have historically produced over $42M in revenues. During the 2024 and 2025 bull cycles, there is a higher baseline for daily fees. Ethereum’s main L1 chain still carries the bulk of activity, with 12.98% of fees coming from L2 chains.
Other data accounts for over $91B in value locked on DeFi apps. Ethereum also carries liquidity through its stablecoin supply, as it still remains the leading network for USDT and USDC distribution. Tether is ranked as the top business on Ethereum, as the company considers itself a driver of RWA tokenization.
Ethereum still faces the question of whether value locked translates into business activity. Currently, there are days when Solana apps lead the ranks in terms of daily fees. However, locked liquidity also shows user confidence and liquidity.
During some periods, Solana has surpassed Ethereum in daily fee production, despite having 1/10th of value locked. The chain was viewed as the more successful economic model, producing high fees based on meme activity.
However, Ethereum’s deep liquidity and stablecoin supply proved attractive to whales, who move more value through the ecosystem compared to Solana. While on-chain activity with low costs is attractive, Ethereum is making a return as a chain for finance.
Following the top stablecoins on Ethereum and Solana, lending apps are currently the booming crypto business on both chains.
Aave is the second-best app on Ethereum, recently reaching record value locked at around $40B. Aave surpassed the performance from the previous bull market, achieving growth without market-shaking liquidations. Daily Aave fees are also at a historical high, with a higher baseline of over $3M daily.
