Two emerging blockchains are making a splash in DeFi this month. Stable leads all chains in 30-day total value locked growth, while Monad crossed $621 million in TVL after deploying Aave. The surge signals that newer networks are starting to eat into the dominance of established players.
Monad's Aave boost
Aave's deployment on Monad was a key catalyst. The lending protocol, one of the most widely used in crypto, brought its suite of money markets to the chain. Within days, Monad's TVL surged past the half-billion mark. The chain now ranks among the top 15 by TVL, a notable feat for a network that launched less than a year ago.
Stable tops the 30-day chart
Stable's lead in the 30-day growth chart is less tied to a single event. Instead, the chain has seen steady inflows from a range of DeFi applications, including decentralized exchanges and yield aggregators. Its growth rate suggests that users are finding value in the chain's low fees and fast finality. The exact TVL figure wasn't disclosed, but the chain's growth rate outpaced every other blockchain tracked.
New chains, new capital
The rise of Stable and Monad comes at a time when established chains are seeing slower growth. Ethereum's TVL has been flat, while Solana and BNB Chain have seen modest gains. The new entrants are siphoning some of that activity, particularly from users looking for cheaper alternatives. It's not a total shift — the incumbents still hold the bulk of TVL — but the growth rates suggest that users and developers are willing to experiment elsewhere.
Both chains now face the challenge of sustaining the pace. Monad's next test will be whether it can attract additional major protocols beyond Aave. Stable, meanwhile, needs to prove its growth isn't a one-month anomaly. For now, they're the ones setting the pace.
