Results for “TVL vs Market cap”

TVL

TVL (total value locked) is the total value of crypto deposited in a DeFi protocol, or in DeFi as a whole, measured in a currency such as dollars. It is commonly used to gauge how large a protocol is.

What it means for you. TVL rises and falls with token prices even when nobody deposits or withdraws. Methods differ between data providers, some figures rely on unverified self-reported data, and the same funds can be counted twice when reused across protocols. A large TVL does not mean deposits are protected.

Sources: BIS Working Paper 1268: Towards verifiability of total value locked (TVL) in DeFi, ECB Macroprudential Bulletin: Decentralised finance · checked 4 October 2026

Market cap

Market cap (market capitalization) is a token's current price multiplied by the number of units in circulation. It is a quick way to compare the size of coins, borrowed from stock markets, where it is the share price times the shares outstanding.

What it means for you. Market cap is a perceived value, not money anyone could take out: selling a large amount pushes the price down, so a holding usually sells for less than price times quantity. It also depends on which supply figure is counted as circulating.

Sources: FINRA: Market Cap Explained, SEC: Statement on Offerings and Registrations of Securities in the Crypto Asset Markets · checked 4 October 2026