defi
DeFi lending TVL climbs as on-chain credit markets mature
Fixed-rate vaults and institutional borrowers are changing the shape of decentralised credit, pulling total value locked back toward multi-year highs.
By Nadia Okonjo · Editor in chief · Jul 30, 2026 · 5 min read
Total value locked across decentralised lending protocols moved back toward multi-year highs this month, driven less by incentive programmes than by a structural shift toward fixed-rate products.
Borrowers with predictable funding needs have gravitated to term vaults, which quote a rate for a fixed duration rather than exposing the borrower to volatile utilisation curves.
Risk teams note that maturing credit markets bring familiar hazards: duration mismatch, concentrated collateral and correlated liquidations in stress.
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