In August, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols’ monthly fee revenues dropped by 24.4% compared to July, reaching their lowest level since February. According to The Block’s data, DeFi protocols’ August revenues were recorded at $288.38 million. This revenue threshold was significantly below July’s $381.45 million and March’s $494.14 million levels, yet still above February’s $265.18 million.
Lido Takes the Lead
DeFi protocols’ revenues are considered an important indicator in evaluating a protocol’s popularity and usage. In August, Lido led with $76.18 million in revenue, followed by Uniswap, Jito, and PancakeSwap.
Market researcher Nick Ruck stated, “Users are struggling to find sustainable yields as annual return rates from liquid restaking token (LRT) strategies have declined in recent months, leading more investors to memecoins.” Ruck also noted that DeFi protocols have not offered significant innovations recently and highlighted that Uniswap is preparing to release its V4 version, while other protocols like Euler and Bunni continue to develop new versions.
The total revenue of DeFi protocols fell by 19.7% in August, dropping to $59.53 million. This marks a significant decrease from July’s $74.15 million, and it is the lowest revenue level since February.
Bitcoin Miner Revenues Also Decline
In August, Bitcoin miner revenues also declined, totaling $851.36 million, with $20.76 million coming from pure transaction fees. This figure represents a roughly 10.5% drop compared to July’s $951.11 million revenue. Miner revenues, which reached record levels of over $2 billion in March, continued to decline in August.
The decline in miner revenues coincided with a period of volatility for Bitcoin. Factors such as uncertainties related to the US elections, outflows from spot exchange-traded funds, and a lack of upward catalysts in the cryptocurrency market contributed to this decline. Last month, JPMorgan revised its price targets for Bitcoin miners downward to reflect the price drop and the increase in the network’s fundamental hashrate.
