Core DAO's DeFi total value locked (TVL) has fallen to a few million dollars, with nearly all of the remaining value concentrated in one protocol, @b14g_network. The Bitcoin dual-staking layer accounts for most DeFi activity on $CORE, leaving the @CoreDao_Org ecosystem highly exposed to problems at a single project.
One Protocol Holds Most of Core's Remaining TVL
DefiLlama data from 1 November put Core's total DeFi TVL at about $3.28 million, according to a cryptonews.net report. b14g accounted for $2.81 million, the bulk of the value locked on the chain. DefiLlama's chain page ranks b14g first among Core protocols, followed by Core Earn, a liquid staking product with about $107,500 in TVL.
That figure is far below levels recorded in earlier periods. A Reflexivity Research overview of the Core DAO ecosystem cited total TVL of $353.61 million at the time of its snapshot, with the lending protocol Colend alone holding $158.86 million. DefiLlama's chain page now lists bridged TVL at about $2.51 million and daily DEX volume at just $5,676.
Network activity metrics tell a similar story. The same DefiLlama page recorded $1,586 in chain fees paid over 24 hours, indicating very little economic activity even as transactions continue to be processed.
The b14g Exploit and Concentration Risk
The concentration became apparent after an incident on 31 October. Cryptonews.net reported that about 97 million CORE staked through b14g was withdrawn without authorization. b14g paused the affected contracts and said that $BTC staked through the protocol was unaffected.
Core DAO said the network itself was not compromised. In a statement on X, it said consensus, validators and staking contracts were operating normally, and that CORE staked directly with validators or through other protocols was unaffected. Core also said it was working with b14g and exchange partners to trace and freeze the funds.
Hokanews reported that the withdrawal request specified zero CORE tokens, which the staking code reportedly interpreted as a request to withdraw the full amount held in each order. The outlet valued the stolen tokens at roughly $1.47 million and said CORE fell 12% to an all-time low after the incident.
Recovery remains incomplete. Cryptonews.net said recovered tokens had not been distributed to users and that no claims process was open at the time of reporting. Exchange partners froze around 9 million CORE, while The Defiant estimated that about 19.9 million CORE sat outside both the fork recovery and the reported freezes. It stressed that this was a provisional reconciliation, not a confirmed loss.
The episode highlights the trade-off in concentrated ecosystems. Since a single protocol provides most of Core's DeFi TVL and a large share of its dual-staking flow, a flaw in that protocol affects the wider chain, not just its own users.
b14g's footprint across chains is much larger than its presence on Core. DefiLlama shows total TVL of about $312 million across chains, most of it on Bitcoin, with about $21 million on CORE.
Sources
DefiLlama: Core chain DeFi TVL, fees and protocol rankings
Cryptonews.net: b14g accounts for $2.81 million of Core's DeFi TVL after 97 million CORE exploit
Hokanews: CORE token hits all-time low after exploit on Bitcoin staking protocol
