🔥 How to Really Value Crypto Using DeFi Metrics
For years, crypto was priced on charts, hype, and narratives. BTC $BTC set the tone and everything else followed sentiment. The strongest signal now is onchain fundamentals.
DeFi is radically transparent. Revenues, fees, deposits - all visible in real time on-chain.
And often, these metrics move long before price does.
Key DeFi metrics to watch:
▪ TVL - how much capital users trust the protocol with. Not perfect, but a solid proxy for scale and confidence.
▪ Fees / Revenue / Holder Revenue - what users pay, what the protocol keeps, and what token holders actually earn. Critical for token valuation.
▪ Volume - real user activity. Market share matters more than absolute numbers.
▪ Open Interest - how much capital is truly committed to derivatives. A key signal for depth and resilience of perp platforms.
▪ Stablecoin Supply - net capital inflows into the ecosystem. One of the strongest leading indicators.
▪ App Revenue (Network GDP) - how much real economic activity a blockchain generates.
How to use this in practice:
▪ Look for consistent growth, not one-off spikes
▪ Track stocks + flows (TVL with revenue, OI with volume)
▪ Factor in unlocks and incentives - they often create price pressure
🔻 If deposits and revenues grow together, the project is truly scaling
🔻 If only activity grows, it may be artificially stimulated
