DeFi is in a paradoxical position of being intensely distrusted after the events of 2022 while remaining foundational for future blockchain applications.
On the one hand, DeFi projects had countless hacks and one of the most disastrous collapses in tech/internet history with Terra. Combined with macro conditions, these factors caused the DeFi market to decline significantly, even more than other blockchain sectors, last year.
On the other hand, you can’t have GameFi without DeFi, and NFT marketplaces are increasingly integrating DeFi elements like staking and tokenization.
In the year’s second half, NFTs and GameFi overtook DeFi in public and investor interest. However, DeFi is far from dead. Even though the vast majority of DeFi projects ceased to be active (as this list will show), several protocols and categories performed well, indicating that—weathering the storm so far—they are likely to survive the bear market and thrive in the future.
In the spirit of DYOR, we’ve collected the most important stats about DeFi from 2022, so you can look into the industry. By looking back on the year, you can make smarter investments and analyses in the future.
