Bitcoin · The Block
Bitcoin DeFi demand concentrated in small-but-deep pockets, Rootstock exec confirms
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Bitcoin-based decentralized finance projects are narrowing their focus to niche user groups as liquidity continues to drain from the overall DeFi sector, according to Rootstock Labs Director of Institutional & Ecosystem Richard Green.
Key facts
- According to Green, and also in line with data from The Block, total value locked across DeFi protocols has fallen from roughly $180 billion last October to around $70 billion today
- This comes less than a week after Bitcoin Layer 2 project Botanix announced it would be shutting down its network, citing dwindling demand for Bitcoin-native DeFi and insufficient fees to keep
- Bitcoin-based decentralized finance projects are narrowing their focus to niche user groups as liquidity continues to drain from the overall DeFi sector, according to Rootstock Labs Director
- But Green said he doesn't see the closure as evidence that Bitcoin DeFi has completely disappeared
Summary
Speaking with The Block at last week's BTC Prague conference, Green said the crypto-native traders and hedge funds that used to be the easiest customers to pitch Bitcoin DeFi products to have mostly stepped back as capital flows out of the DeFi markets. "What we've seen within the DeFi space is a massive loss of liquidity and a big pullback on that," Green said. According to Green, and also in line with data from The Block, total value locked across DeFi protocols has fallen from roughly $180 billion last October to around $70 billion today. "The liquidity's gone," he said.