TVL (DEX)

Total Value Locked (TVL) on a decentralized exchange (DEX) is the total dollar value of digital assets deposited into liquidity pools, representing the capital available for trading and fee generation.

What is TVL (DEX)?

TVL on DEXs measures the aggregate market value of tokens locked in smart contract liquidity pools across protocols like Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Sushiswap, primarily on chains such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana. It serves as a key indicator of a DEX’s liquidity depth, user adoption, and market health, calculated by summing the USD-equivalent value of pooled assets (e.g., ETH/USDC pairs) using real-time oracle prices. As of September 28, 2025, total DEX TVL stands at $22.762 billion, supporting $13.985 billion in 24-hour trading volume, per DeFiLlama data. This figure reflects a 15% quarterly growth, driven by layer-2 adoption and stablecoin integrations.

For instance, Uniswap V3 holds $4.5 billion in TVL across 15+ chains, enabling $4 billion monthly volume with 0.3% fees distributed to liquidity providers. PancakeSwap on BNB Chain commands $2.1 billion TVL, processing 7.4 million unique users in Q2 2025 and yielding 10-15% APY for LPs in high-volume pools like CAKE/BNB. Aster, a perp DEX aggregator, reached $6.7 billion TVL in September 2025 by consolidating liquidity from PancakeSwap and others, facilitating $500 million daily perps volume with 0.05% fees. These metrics highlight TVL’s role in reducing slippage—e.g., a $10,000 swap in a $1 billion TVL pool incurs <0.1% slippage versus 2% in a $50 million pool.

Risks include TVL inflation from token emissions or depegging events, as seen in a 2024 stablecoin crash dropping Curve’s TVL by 20% ($800 million loss). Users should verify TVL via audited sources like DeFiLlama, accounting for bridged assets (e.g., 30% of Ethereum DEX TVL from layer-2s), to assess true liquidity in DeFi’s $123.6 billion ecosystem.

Below are five important DEX-related terms not included in the provided list, tailored to the digital asset and blockchain glossary format with a focus on concrete information and fact-checked details, using “digital asset” where applicable.