DeFi Takes Center Stage in the US: Total Value Locked Hits $99 Billion

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is revolutionizing the way consumers and businesses interact with financial services in the US. In 2026, a small business owner in Brooklyn can deposit stablecoin into a lending protocol on a Tuesday evening and earn interest that updates block by block, without any application form or bank holiday delay.

This is not a thought experiment, but a practical reality of DeFi in the US. Total value locked in DeFi protocols reached $99 billion in 2025, with North America holding 36 to 43 percent of the regional share. The global DeFi market size is expected to grow from $26.94 billion in 2025 to roughly $37 billion in 2026.

DeFi refers to financial services built on smart contracts that run on public blockchains. These smart contracts enable users to hold, lend, borrow, swap, or stake assets without the need for intermediaries. The most common DeFi primitives are decentralized exchanges, lending pools, yield aggregators, and derivatives markets.

US consumers can access financial primitives without account opening processes or geographic restrictions, but they also take on responsibility for holding private keys, evaluating smart contract risk, and navigating tax reporting. The IRS treats DeFi income and swaps as taxable events for US persons.