Three of DeFi’s relatively young applications — Hyperliquid, EdgeX and Pump.fun — collectively returned $96.3 million to token holders over the last 30 days, according to data compiled by DefiLlama. The results underscore a shift in the sector’s focus from pure on-chain activity to actual earnings that can be distributed to holders.
Hyperliquid led the pack, distributing $50.95 million in revenue to token holders for the period, with zero incentives spent, DefiLlama’s figures show. Pump.fun ranked second, returning $22.09 million to holders from $38.81 million in total revenue. EdgeX distributed $23.26 million to holders from $8.26 million in protocol revenue, a pattern that suggests the project is leveraging reserves or alternative income streams to reward its holders.
On an annualized basis, the momentum is even more pronounced: Hyperliquid has generated $945.87 million in revenue over the past year, all returned to holders; Pump.fun sits at $481.15 million; and EdgeX at $236.42 million.
Across the broader DeFi landscape, other major protocols reported distributions as well: Chainlink returned $4.63 million to holders, Aerodrome $3.53 million and Uniswap $3.29 million, spread across 44 chains. PancakeSwap generated $3.94 million in revenue, but returned $2.48 million to holders while spending $905,260 on incentives.
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Crypto community now focuses on revenue
The data comes as revenue is becoming the metric that matters most in crypto, with token holders pushing protocols to justify their valuations through actual earnings rather than transaction volumes or network growth figures.
“Nobody cares that your chain does 10x the TPS anymore,” wrote Robbie Klages, co-founder of The Rollup, in a widely cited post on X. “The market is ‘show me the money right now.’ Treat it like a business, not a network-growth thesis.”
Another commentator on X framed the shift as potentially permanent: the move from a narrative-driven backdrop to a transparency of earnings could reprice projects that fail to demonstrate real revenue, especially in a rising-rate environment where capital becomes more expensive for speculative assets.
Top DeFi protocols by Holders Revenue. Source: DefiLlama
DeFi is becoming backend for onchain economy
Andre Cronje, founder of Yearn.Finance, described a future where DeFi resembles essential financial infrastructure rather than a speculative playground. In his view, stablecoins have grown into a $320 billion market led by Tether and Circle, decentralized exchanges are processing over $160 billion in monthly spot volume, and perpetuals are handling roughly $540 billion in monthly volume. Lending protocols like Aave, Morpho and Maple Finance collectively support around $28 billion in active loans, while real-world assets increasingly appear as on-chain collateral. “DeFi is no longer just competing for APY. It is becoming the backend for the onchain economy,” Cronje wrote on X.
The broader context is shaping how market participants assess risk and opportunity in the sector. As traditional finance channels scrutinize on-chain revenue and the sustainability of distributed earnings, observers are watching whether more protocols will translate engagement into verifiable cash flows that can be shared with holders.
For readers seeking deeper context on DeFi’s evolving role, Cointelegraph’s coverage on related topics remains a useful resource, including discussions around recovery plans and real-world asset integration within DeFi ecosystems.
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Notes: This article relies on data from DefiLlama for revenue distributions and is intended to reflect observed patterns in the DeFi sector. Citations include public posts and prior reporting from industry figures and outlets referenced above.
What to watch next: as more protocols publish holder distributions and audited revenue figures, investors will increasingly evaluate projects on earnings quality and sustainability rather than growth narratives. The next several quarters could reveal whether the current revenue-centric approach endures, or if broader market dynamics reintroduce balance between on-chain activity and real-world cash flows.
