Behind the rebound of TVL, DeFi veterans are eliminating the "single-player mode".

Original author: Scof, ChainCatcher

Original text editor: TB, ChainCatcher

In the past month, the DeFi sector seems to have quietly undergone a structural change. Unlike the past where different parties fought alone, some leading protocols are moving towards "cohesion" through cooperation, integration, and even direct binding of interests.

In this article, we will discuss the integration of lending and trading, the evolution of the stablecoin landscape, and the fusion of RWA in three sections, outlining the most representative "cooperative actions" at present and analyzing the underlying logical changes and potential impacts.

Lending + Trading: Binding Interests Between Agreements

The collaboration between DeFi protocols is moving from superficial asset integration to deeper structural fusion. The recent linkage between Uniswap and Aave is a representative of this trend.

The core upgrade of Uniswap V4 is not about saving gas, but rather introducing the Hook mechanism. It allows developers to insert custom logic at key points in the liquidity pool (such as adding or removing liquidity, before and after trade execution), enabling whitelist control, dynamic fees, customized price curves, and even embedding game rules. This transforms Uniswap from a trading protocol into a more open liquidity infrastructure.

Based on this, Aave plans to support Uniswap V4's LP Token as collateral for lending, and will return the interest portion of the stablecoin GHO lent out to the Uniswap DAO. The two form a substantial binding in terms of assets, functions, and returns. This collaboration improves the capital efficiency of LPs and provides a more practically valuable template for the complementary relationship between protocols.

From the market data, this "herding effect" is releasing positive signals. Since May, Aave's TVL has risen from $19.708 billion to $23.347 billion, an increase of over 18%. Uniswap's TVL has also grown by about 11% during the same period, rising from $4.178 billion to $4.65 billion. The simultaneous strengthening of both may not be a coincidence.

Stablecoins: A New Stage of Differentiation and Specialization

The competition in the stablecoin sector is no longer limited to "who is more centralized" or "who offers higher yields". More protocols are pushing stablecoin products towards professional use and structured layering.

Taking Ethena as an example, the most active stablecoin in its ecosystem is USDe, which is deeply integrated with Aave and supports a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 90%. However, since May, the TVL of USDe has dropped from $5.725 billion to $4.993 billion, a decrease of nearly 13%. Behind this, Ethena is launching another more conservative new product, USDtb.

Changes in the supply of USDe, source

USDtb is a non-yielding but fully collateralized stablecoin, with assets consisting of BlackRock's tokenized money market fund (BUIDL) and USDC. The current on-chain supply exceeds $1.44 billion, with a collateralization rate maintained at 99.4%. Unlike the strategic hedging of USDe, USDtb is more like an "on-chain dollar," providing institutions with a reliable, non-volatile stable anchor. Especially when negative interest rates occur in the market, Ethena can transfer the hedging funds of USDe to USDtb to stabilize the entire asset pool structure.

The supply of USDtb, source: Dune

Another variable in the stablecoin landscape is USDT₀. This full-chain stablecoin launched by Tether in collaboration with LayerZero circulates based on the OFT protocol and has currently expanded to multiple chains such as Arbitrum, Unichain, and Hyperliquid. The TVL also grew from $1.042 billion to $1.171 billion in May. In contrast, its goal is not financial innovation, but rather to connect multi-chain liquidity and become a stable "fuel" in DeFi.

The competition among stablecoins is no longer a one-dimensional battle of efficiency; it has evolved into a structured and scenario-based product system. Products such as GHO, USDe, USDtb, and USDT₀ occupy positions in lending, hedging, security, cross-chain, and payment fields, reflecting that the stablecoin ecosystem is undergoing a reshuffling of "functional specialization" and "clarification of application scenarios."

RWA: On-chain Convergence of Real World Assets

Once regarded as "ancillary to traditional finance," RWAs are now becoming a strategic collaboration entry point for DeFi giants. In recent months, several protocols and organizations have formed a clear trend around the tokenization of U.S. Treasury bonds and have begun actual deployments on-chain.

The most representative case is Arbitrum DAO. On May 8, the community proposed to allocate 35 million ARB to three RWA issuance platforms: Franklin Templeton ($BENJI), Spiko ($USTBL), and WisdomTree. These three companies are heavyweight players in the traditional finance and asset management sectors, offering tokenized U.S. Treasury bills as their assets. The funds are allocated through the STEP (Stable Treasury Endowment Program), aiming to establish a stable, income-generating treasury asset pool on-chain. According to official data, the first phase of the program has generated over $650,000 in returns.

Aave's RWA platform Horizon follows a "use-case first" approach. The main asset launched on Horizon is tokenized money market funds (MMFs), which institutions can use as collateral to borrow GHO or USDC. This means that RWA is no longer just an investment target, but is actually integrated into the core functionality of DeFi protocols, becoming a financial component that can be circulated and lent.

Whether it is a DAO, a lending platform, or an infrastructure provider, RWA is now seen as a key pathway to achieve on-chain real yields, connect with traditional finance, and enhance user confidence.

DeFi is not about huddling together for warmth, but about collaborative evolution.

On the surface, the alliance between this round of DeFi protocols seems to be a collaboration driven by "track anxiety," but from an actual structural perspective, it resembles a systemic integration and reconstruction.

These changes are not merely functional expansions, but an upgrade in the way protocols cooperate with each other. It signifies the next stage of DeFi, moving from isolated single-point tools to an interconnected and interdependent financial network system.

For ordinary investors, the focus may not be on whose TVL is higher, but rather on which portfolio structures are more stable, more efficient, and better able to navigate through volatility cycles. Banding together does not equal price increases, but it may very well be the foundation for the next round of growth.