On September 4th, the overall trend of the DeFi market is steady with a slight rise, and the TVL has increased slightly, with major protocols showing stable performance. DEX volume has declined for a consecutive week, and the short-term trading enthusiasm in the market has decreased, but financing activities and Layer 2 incentive programs highlight the long-term development trend.
The Uniswap community governance framework upgrade proposal, Linea token issuance, and Arbitrum incentive program inject new positive expectations into the market. The token price performance in the DeFi sector shows significant differentiation, with AAVE and Morpho performing well, while WLFI experiences increased volatility, indicating that the current market is still primarily focused on structural opportunities.
Decentralized Finance Market Overview
(Source: DeFiLlama)
Total DeFi TVL: approximately $153.117 billion, 24H slight rise of 0.96%.
DEX 24-hour volume: approximately $14 billion, down 24.04% over the past week, with the top three being: Uniswap ($3.651 billion), PancakeSwap ($2.352 billion), Meteora ($1.017 billion).
Popular Protocols and On-Chain Performance
Based on TVL, the top ten DeFi protocols are as follows:
(Source: DeFiLlama)
The data performance of the top-ranked protocols is as follows:
Aave: TVL approximately $39.464 billion, daily rise 0.47%, 24-hour fees approximately $3 million;
Lido: TVL approximately $37.887 billion, daily rise of 0.98%, 24-hour fees approximately $3.05 million;
EigenLayer: TVL approximately $19.109 billion, daily rise of 1.41%, 24-hour fee approximately $549,000;
Ethena: TVL approximately 12.771 billion USD, daily rise 0.7%, 24-hour fees approximately 81,503 USD;
ether.fi: TVL approximately $11.157 billion, daily rise of 1.36%, 24-hour fees approximately $901,000.
Project News Review
According to the governance page of Snapshot, the Uniswap community voted to approve the "Establish DUNI Legal Entity" temperature check proposal, which will undergo a second vote on-chain. Uniswap intends to use a decentralized non-registered non-profit association (DUNA) registered in Wyoming as the legal structure for the governance protocol and to establish a legal entity named "DUNI."
DUNI aims to maintain a decentralized governance structure while supporting off-chain operations such as signing contracts, hiring service providers, and fulfilling regulatory and tax obligations. This entity will recognize the binding effect of on-chain governance proposals, providing members with certainty in legal structure and liability protection, while not affecting the core mechanisms of the Uniswap protocol, UNI token, or on-chain governance. In the vision of the evolution of Uniswap governance, governance can unlock protocol fees, fund innovation, establish partnerships, and confidently address legal obligations.
According to official news, Jupiter has launched the Airdrop Checker tool, which supports one-click queries for potential airdrops in the Solana ecosystem.
ArbitrumDAO announced the first season of its $40 million Decentralized Finance revival incentive program (DRIP), allocating up to 24 million ARB to accelerate the rise of decentralized finance on the Arbitrum network.
DRIP Season 1 focuses on leveraged looping strategies for yield-generating ETH and stablecoins, with incentives flowing to leading lending protocols including Aave, Morpho, Fluid, Euler, Dolomite, and Silo. Users will earn ARB rewards by borrowing selected ETH and stablecoin collateral (including weETH, wstETH, sUSDC, and syrupUSDC).
The first season of DRIP focuses on leveraging circular strategies for yield-generating ETH and stablecoins, directing incentive mechanisms towards leading lending protocols. Users will earn ARB rewards by borrowing selected ETH and stablecoin collateral. DRIP spans four seasons, with a total budget of 80 million ARB.
The Ethereum startup Etherealize announced the completion of a $40 million financing round, led by Electric Capital and Paradigm. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and the nonprofit organization Ethereum Foundation, dedicated to the development of the Ethereum protocol, also supported Etherealize through an early grant, with IOSG Ventures participating. This financing round consists of equity and token warrants.
In early 2025, Raman co-founded Etherealize with long-time Ethereum developer and researcher Danny Ryan, Ethereum supporter Grant Hummer from the traditional finance sector, and Ethereum security engineer Zach Obront. The name Etherealize combines the words Ethereum and realize. Etherealize aims to attract Wall Street to delve deeper into the crypto space, with new funds for financial institutions to build products and infrastructure on Ethereum.
The top Ethereum Layer 2 network Linea, launched by Consensys, took three years to introduce its native token. The airdrop query has officially gone live, and the TGE will take place on September 10th. Linea officials stated that the relationship between LINEA and ETH is akin to that of silver and gold. It will empower the Ethereum ecosystem through a native income mechanism of cross-chain assets, a dual-token burn model (ETH + LINEA), value return to the first layer network, and sustainable funding support for open-source software, building the Layer 2 network centered around ETH, indicating that the dual goals of scaling and strengthening Ethereum are inseparable.
Overview of Major Leading DeFi Projects
Ethereum DEX 24-hour volume remains in first place, approximately 3.668 billion USD, down 28.94% over the past week, with the top three projects being:
Solana DEX ranks second in 24-hour volume, with approximately $3.57 billion, a decline of 16.62% over the past week, with the top three projects being:
According to the data from Gate's market page, the price performance of the top ten tokens in the DeFi sector is as follows:
(Source: Gate DeFi market行情)
As of September 4, at the time of writing, the cryptocurrency market has slightly rebounded, with Ethereum leading the major coins. In the DeFi sector, WLFI is leading the decline, specifically:
UNI is currently reported at 9.4 USD, with a 24-hour decline of 0.39%;
AAVE is currently reported at $319.99, with a 24-hour rise of 0.82%;
WLFI is currently reported at 0.1766 USD, with a 24-hour drop of 22.47%, indicating a high level of retracement.
INJ is currently priced at 12.92 USD, with a 24-hour decline of 1.1%;
CRV is currently reported at 0.7623 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 0.11%;
MORPHO is currently reported at 1.97 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 3.66%.
The total DeFi TVL across the network is $153.117 billion, with a 24-hour rise of 0.96%; the daily trading volume of DEX has dropped to $14 billion, down 24.04% compared to last week. Funds remain cautious, with liquidity concentrated in leading protocols such as Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Meteora, and the overall market sentiment is cautious.
Arbitrum Incentive Program Empowers Decentralized Finance Ecosystem
ArbitrumDAO has launched a DeFi revitalization incentive program (DRIP) with a total of 80 million ARB. In the first quarter, 24 million ARB will be allocated as rewards for leveraged strategy users, which is expected to significantly improve on-chain capital efficiency. Linea has announced its token issuance plan and opened airdrop check, and it may become a focus of the Layer 2 ecosystem in September.
WLFI is experiencing high popularity but is under short-term pressure, with a drop of over 22% in the last 24 hours
The WLFI market is active, but the token price has dropped 22.47% in the last 24 hours, facing short-term correction pressure. Analysts expect that as the market digests short-term fluctuations, the long-term narrative for WLFI remains supported.
Top protocol funds continue to rise
Aave, Lido, and EigenLayer's TVL daily increase is stable, ranging between 0.5%-1.5%. The Ethereum ecosystem protocols Ether. fi and Ethena recorded funding growth of 1.36% and 0.7%, respectively, indicating that core protocols remain the focus of capital allocation.
Analyst's View
After a short-term correction, the capital structure tends to stabilize
Analysts point out that the moderate rise in TVL data shows that funds are being repositioned in core Decentralized Finance protocols, and there has been no panic outflow of funds in the market. The continued growth of TVL in leading projects reflects that the confidence of institutions and long-term users is not affected by short-term fluctuations.
Layer 2 ecosystem will usher in a new round of competition
The DRIP incentive program launched by Arbitrum DAO is highly attractive to leveraged strategy users, which will further enhance on-chain capital efficiency and promote the expansion of Layer 2 Decentralized Finance market share. The token issuance plan of Linea is also a highlight in September.
Market sentiment leans cautiously optimistic
Despite the decline in DEX volume, the high number of financing news and innovative protocols indicates that capital remains positive about the long-term value of Decentralized Finance. The active innovations in the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems are expected to further stimulate the market in the fourth quarter.
Token market enters a "stronger gets stronger" pattern
Recent rises have mainly concentrated on top tokens such as AAVE and Morpho, while emerging tokens like WLFI are experiencing high volatility. Analysts suggest that in the short term, attention should be paid to the performance of leading projects, while also keeping an eye on upcoming token issuance plans and ecosystem incentives.
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Gate Decentralized Finance Daily ( September 4, ): Arbitrum launches 80 million ARB incentive plan; Linea is about to issue coin; WLFI falls over 22%.
On September 4th, the overall trend of the DeFi market is steady with a slight rise, and the TVL has increased slightly, with major protocols showing stable performance. DEX volume has declined for a consecutive week, and the short-term trading enthusiasm in the market has decreased, but financing activities and Layer 2 incentive programs highlight the long-term development trend.
The Uniswap community governance framework upgrade proposal, Linea token issuance, and Arbitrum incentive program inject new positive expectations into the market. The token price performance in the DeFi sector shows significant differentiation, with AAVE and Morpho performing well, while WLFI experiences increased volatility, indicating that the current market is still primarily focused on structural opportunities.
Decentralized Finance Market Overview
(Source: DeFiLlama)
Total DeFi TVL: approximately $153.117 billion, 24H slight rise of 0.96%.
DEX 24-hour volume: approximately $14 billion, down 24.04% over the past week, with the top three being: Uniswap ($3.651 billion), PancakeSwap ($2.352 billion), Meteora ($1.017 billion).
Popular Protocols and On-Chain Performance
Based on TVL, the top ten DeFi protocols are as follows:
(Source: DeFiLlama)
The data performance of the top-ranked protocols is as follows:
Aave: TVL approximately $39.464 billion, daily rise 0.47%, 24-hour fees approximately $3 million;
Lido: TVL approximately $37.887 billion, daily rise of 0.98%, 24-hour fees approximately $3.05 million;
EigenLayer: TVL approximately $19.109 billion, daily rise of 1.41%, 24-hour fee approximately $549,000;
Ethena: TVL approximately 12.771 billion USD, daily rise 0.7%, 24-hour fees approximately 81,503 USD;
ether.fi: TVL approximately $11.157 billion, daily rise of 1.36%, 24-hour fees approximately $901,000.
Project News Review
DUNI aims to maintain a decentralized governance structure while supporting off-chain operations such as signing contracts, hiring service providers, and fulfilling regulatory and tax obligations. This entity will recognize the binding effect of on-chain governance proposals, providing members with certainty in legal structure and liability protection, while not affecting the core mechanisms of the Uniswap protocol, UNI token, or on-chain governance. In the vision of the evolution of Uniswap governance, governance can unlock protocol fees, fund innovation, establish partnerships, and confidently address legal obligations.
According to official news, Jupiter has launched the Airdrop Checker tool, which supports one-click queries for potential airdrops in the Solana ecosystem.
ArbitrumDAO announced the first season of its $40 million Decentralized Finance revival incentive program (DRIP), allocating up to 24 million ARB to accelerate the rise of decentralized finance on the Arbitrum network.
DRIP Season 1 focuses on leveraged looping strategies for yield-generating ETH and stablecoins, with incentives flowing to leading lending protocols including Aave, Morpho, Fluid, Euler, Dolomite, and Silo. Users will earn ARB rewards by borrowing selected ETH and stablecoin collateral (including weETH, wstETH, sUSDC, and syrupUSDC).
The first season of DRIP focuses on leveraging circular strategies for yield-generating ETH and stablecoins, directing incentive mechanisms towards leading lending protocols. Users will earn ARB rewards by borrowing selected ETH and stablecoin collateral. DRIP spans four seasons, with a total budget of 80 million ARB.
In early 2025, Raman co-founded Etherealize with long-time Ethereum developer and researcher Danny Ryan, Ethereum supporter Grant Hummer from the traditional finance sector, and Ethereum security engineer Zach Obront. The name Etherealize combines the words Ethereum and realize. Etherealize aims to attract Wall Street to delve deeper into the crypto space, with new funds for financial institutions to build products and infrastructure on Ethereum.
Overview of Major Leading DeFi Projects
Ethereum DEX 24-hour volume remains in first place, approximately 3.668 billion USD, down 28.94% over the past week, with the top three projects being:
Uniswap ($2.112 billion), Fluid ($760 million), Pendle ($261.41 million);
Solana DEX ranks second in 24-hour volume, with approximately $3.57 billion, a decline of 16.62% over the past week, with the top three projects being:
Meteora ($1.017 billion), Pump ($538 million), Raydium ($518.77 million);
Base DEX ranks third in 24-hour trading volume, approximately $1.335 billion, down 29.59% in the past week, with the top three projects being:
Aerodrome ($561.46 million), Uniswap ($480 million), PancakeSwap ($233.24 million).
Gate DeFi sector token market data
According to the data from Gate's market page, the price performance of the top ten tokens in the DeFi sector is as follows:
(Source: Gate DeFi market行情)
As of September 4, at the time of writing, the cryptocurrency market has slightly rebounded, with Ethereum leading the major coins. In the DeFi sector, WLFI is leading the decline, specifically:
UNI is currently reported at 9.4 USD, with a 24-hour decline of 0.39%;
AAVE is currently reported at $319.99, with a 24-hour rise of 0.82%;
WLFI is currently reported at 0.1766 USD, with a 24-hour drop of 22.47%, indicating a high level of retracement.
INJ is currently priced at 12.92 USD, with a 24-hour decline of 1.1%;
CRV is currently reported at 0.7623 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 0.11%;
MORPHO is currently reported at 1.97 USD, with a 24-hour rise of 3.66%.
Market Trend Interpretation
TVL slightly rebounded, trading activity remains sluggish
The total DeFi TVL across the network is $153.117 billion, with a 24-hour rise of 0.96%; the daily trading volume of DEX has dropped to $14 billion, down 24.04% compared to last week. Funds remain cautious, with liquidity concentrated in leading protocols such as Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Meteora, and the overall market sentiment is cautious.
Arbitrum Incentive Program Empowers Decentralized Finance Ecosystem
ArbitrumDAO has launched a DeFi revitalization incentive program (DRIP) with a total of 80 million ARB. In the first quarter, 24 million ARB will be allocated as rewards for leveraged strategy users, which is expected to significantly improve on-chain capital efficiency. Linea has announced its token issuance plan and opened airdrop check, and it may become a focus of the Layer 2 ecosystem in September.
WLFI is experiencing high popularity but is under short-term pressure, with a drop of over 22% in the last 24 hours
The WLFI market is active, but the token price has dropped 22.47% in the last 24 hours, facing short-term correction pressure. Analysts expect that as the market digests short-term fluctuations, the long-term narrative for WLFI remains supported.
Top protocol funds continue to rise
Aave, Lido, and EigenLayer's TVL daily increase is stable, ranging between 0.5%-1.5%. The Ethereum ecosystem protocols Ether. fi and Ethena recorded funding growth of 1.36% and 0.7%, respectively, indicating that core protocols remain the focus of capital allocation.
Analyst's View
After a short-term correction, the capital structure tends to stabilize
Analysts point out that the moderate rise in TVL data shows that funds are being repositioned in core Decentralized Finance protocols, and there has been no panic outflow of funds in the market. The continued growth of TVL in leading projects reflects that the confidence of institutions and long-term users is not affected by short-term fluctuations.
Layer 2 ecosystem will usher in a new round of competition
The DRIP incentive program launched by Arbitrum DAO is highly attractive to leveraged strategy users, which will further enhance on-chain capital efficiency and promote the expansion of Layer 2 Decentralized Finance market share. The token issuance plan of Linea is also a highlight in September.
Market sentiment leans cautiously optimistic
Despite the decline in DEX volume, the high number of financing news and innovative protocols indicates that capital remains positive about the long-term value of Decentralized Finance. The active innovations in the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems are expected to further stimulate the market in the fourth quarter.
Token market enters a "stronger gets stronger" pattern
Recent rises have mainly concentrated on top tokens such as AAVE and Morpho, while emerging tokens like WLFI are experiencing high volatility. Analysts suggest that in the short term, attention should be paid to the performance of leading projects, while also keeping an eye on upcoming token issuance plans and ecosystem incentives.