Cardano’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem continues to lose momentum, even as many community members remain confident that the network is on the verge of a major turnaround.
According to DeFiLlama, Cardano’s total value locked (TVL) fell 1.70% over the past 24 hours to $68.17 million. Stablecoins account for the bulk of the network’s locked value, representing $64.21 million of the total.
Among Cardano’s DeFi protocols, Dano Finance leads with $14.15 million in TVL. Minswap follows with $13.18 million, while Liqwid ranks third at $12.36 million. Other projects contributing to the network’s TVL include WingRiders, Indigo, Slash Protocol, and Surf Lending.
Cardano Remains Far Behind Ethereum and Solana
Despite years of ecosystem development, Cardano still lags significantly behind the industry’s leading smart contract platforms.
For comparison, Ethereum currently secures $41.32 billion in TVL, while Solana hosts $4.78 billion. These figures underscore the substantial gap Cardano must close to become a major DeFi contender.
Even so, many supporters believe the network is approaching an inflection point that could reshape its position in the DeFi landscape.
Hoskinson Endorses AlphaGrowth’s Plan to Triple Cardano’s TVL
Amid the sluggish TVL performance, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson expressed confidence that the ecosystem can expand by complementing, rather than competing directly with other blockchains.
Notably, he highlighted AlphaGrowth’s Cardano PRIME initiative, a 12-month proposal designed to boost the blockchain’s DeFi expansion. The initiative aims to increase Cardano’s qualifying TVL by more than $200 million, raising it from a baseline of roughly $90 million to over $290 million within a year.
To fund the effort, AlphaGrowth has requested 120 million $ADA from Cardano’s treasury through on-chain governance. The proposal includes an 11 million $ADA fixed fee and up to 29 million $ADA in performance-based incentives tied to predefined growth milestones.
Beyond expanding liquidity, the PRIME initiative seeks to reduce ecosystem fragmentation, improve capital efficiency, and stimulate sustainable growth through higher user activity, increased protocol fees, and stronger on-chain engagement.
RealFi and Bitcoin DeFi Could Unlock Billions in TVL
Meanwhile, Hoskinson identified additional initiatives that could dramatically increase Cardano’s DeFi footprint and TVL.
One of them is RealFi, Cardano’s initiative to connect decentralized finance with real-world financial services, particularly in underserved markets. By bringing practical financial applications on-chain, RealFi aims to drive meaningful economic activity and broader adoption.
Hoskinson also pointed to Pogun, a Bitcoin DeFi project designed to bring Bitcoin liquidity into Cardano’s ecosystem, enabling BTC holders to participate in decentralized financial applications on the network.
According to Hoskinson, initiatives such as PRIME, RealFi, and Pogun could eventually attract billions of dollars in capital to Cardano.
“Once we get a few billion in TVL, I think the narrative changes, and people start looking at Cardano on its own merits,” Hoskinson said.
