TVL Distribution: How Crypto Liquidity Is Spread Across Chains and Protocols

When you hear TVL distribution, the way total value locked is spread across decentralized finance protocols and blockchain networks. It’s not just a number—it’s a map showing where real money lives in crypto. High TVL doesn’t mean a project is safe. It just means people have deposited a lot of money there. But who’s holding it? Where’s it going? And why do some chains have 80% of the pie while others fight for scraps?

Total value locked, the sum of all crypto assets deposited in DeFi smart contracts is the closest thing we have to a heartbeat for decentralized finance. But that heartbeat isn’t steady. Some protocols like Uniswap or Aave pull in billions because they’re simple, reliable, and have been around long enough to earn trust. Others? They spike overnight with fake yields, then vanish. TVL distribution exposes this imbalance. It shows you which chains—like Ethereum, Solana, or Arbitrum—are the real hubs, and which are just temporary stops for speculative cash.

DeFi liquidity, the availability of funds for trading, lending, and staking across decentralized platforms doesn’t move randomly. It follows incentives, risks, and regulations. When Singapore cracks down on exchanges, liquidity shifts. When Kazakhstan cuts power to miners, capital flows into stablecoin farms. When China blocks Alipay and WeChat Pay, users turn to P2P bridges. TVL distribution changes in real time, reacting to laws, tech upgrades, and even scams. The projects with strong, stable TVL aren’t the flashiest—they’re the ones that survive when the hype dies.

You’ll find posts here that dig into exactly this. You’ll see how blockchain liquidity, the flow of assets across different distributed ledger networks gets squeezed by bans in Algeria and Afghanistan, or how it gets funneled into fake airdrops that look like real opportunities. You’ll learn why a token with zero circulating supply can still show up with high TVL on a sketchy DEX—and why that’s a red flag. You’ll see how institutional players are quietly moving billions into regulated DeFi, changing the shape of the entire landscape.

TVL distribution isn’t a vanity metric. It’s a clue. It tells you where the smart money is hiding, where the risks are buried, and where the next wave of innovation might emerge. Below, you’ll find real cases—no fluff, no hype—just what’s actually happening with the money in crypto right now.