DeFi Used to Be Crypto’s Hottest Sector. Now It’s Facing a Big Downturn.

  • The once hottest sector in crypto faces months-long stagnation
  • Initiatives expected to struggle amid fall in trading volume
Photographer: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
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Declining interest in decentralized finance is calling into question whether it really is the next frontier of crypto.

DeFi projects — such as peer-to-peer lending or decentralized autonomous organizations — were assumed to be the beneficiary of FTX’s collapse last year when investors pulled billions of dollars out of cryptocurrencies. But a closer look shows that hasn’t been the case, even though DeFi tokens have historically outperformed the sector.