The decentralized finance (DeFi) market has seen a significant shift in recent times, with a growing focus on real earnings rather than speculative growth.
According to data from DefiLlama, top DeFi platforms have distributed over $96.3 million to token holders in the last 30 days. This trend indicates that investors are now looking for protocols that generate genuine revenue, rather than just relying on promises of high transaction speeds or inflated user activity metrics.
Hyperliquid led the group, distributing $50.95 million to its users, followed by Pump.fun with $22.09 million in payouts from $38.81 million in revenue. EdgeX reported a significant increase in protocol revenue, up from $8.26 million to $23.26 million, suggesting that it may have access to additional funding sources.
This shift towards real earnings is reflected in the way investors are evaluating DeFi projects. Rather than focusing solely on metrics such as TVL (Total Value Locked) or daily users, they are now looking for protocols with clear revenue models and sustainable business performance.