DeFi - Worldwide

The DeFi (Decentralized Finance) market is currently experiencing significant growth and innovation. Key trends include the rise of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, improved on-chain governance, and the integration of AI for smarter yield optimization and risk management. Protocols are focusing more on sustainability, security, and user experience, rather than just high returns.
Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, especially in the U.S. and EU, which may restrict some activities but also drive maturation and trust. Interoperability between chains is improving, making DeFi more accessible and efficient. Institutional interest is growing, particularly in permissioned DeFi platforms that combine compliance with decentralization.
Looking ahead, the DeFi market is expected to continue growing. Factors that are expected to drive this growth include the ongoing development of new DeFi use cases and applications, the increasing adoption of cryptocurrency by mainstream investors, and the continued emergence of new DeFi platforms and protocols. However, the market is also likely to face challenges, such as regulatory uncertainty and security concerns, which could impact its growth in the coming years. While DeFi holds the potential to revolutionize finance by removing intermediaries, its long-term growth depends on trust, security, and practical use cases.

Data coverage:

The data encompasses B2C enterprises and cryptocurrency exchanges. Figures are based on trading volumes, revenues and user data of relevant services and products offered within the Digital Assets markets.

Modeling approach / Market size:

Market sizes are determined through a top-down approach, building on a specific rationale for each market segment. As a basis for evaluating the Digital Assets markets, we use annual financial reports of key players, industry reports, third-party reports, publicly available databases, and survey results from primary research (e.g. the Statista Consumer Insights). In addition, we use the trading volume of leading cryptocurrency exchanges and relevant key market indicators, such as GDP, consumer spending, population, internet penetration, online banking penetration, app downloads, and media coverage. This data helps us estimate the market size for each country individually.

Forecasts:

In our forecasts, we apply diverse forecasting techniques. The selection of forecasting techniques is based on the behavior of the relevant market. In this market, we use the Support Vector Regression as it is well suited for forecasting digital products and services due to the non-linear growth of technology adoption. The main drivers in this market are trading volumes, interest rates, inflation, GDP, population, online banking penetration, app downloads and media coverage.

Additional notes:

The market is updated twice a year in case market dynamics change.