# DeFi Market Shows Divergent Trends Amid Surges in Trading Volumes and TVL
The decentralized finance (DeFi) market is exhibiting divergent trends, with some chains experiencing short-term trading volume surges while others see significant growth in Total Value Locked (TVL) driven by long-term capital inflows.
# Unichain and Sui Dominate DEX Market
According to DeFiLlama, Unichain and Sui were the standout chains in the decentralized exchange (DEX) market for the week of April 18 to April 25.
Unichain’s trading volume skyrocketed by 307% from the previous week, reaching $1.339 billion, catapulting it to 7th place in the rankings. Unichain, an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution launched by Uniswap Labs, is optimized for DeFi services.
Sui also demonstrated notable growth, with its weekly trading volume increasing by 35.01% to $2.942 billion. With a market share of 6.07%, Sui has entered the upper echelons of the major chains. Both its trading volume and TVL showed upward trends, highlighting its technical development capabilities and user expansion efforts.
# Solana Maintains Top Position While Ethereum Stumbles
Solana continues to lead the DEX market, recording a trading volume of $16.558 billion this week, maintaining a 29.28% market share. Although its weekly trading volume only rose by 2.48%, Solana’s steady activity and robust community base have contributed to its sustained strength.
In contrast, Ethereum (ETH) saw its trading volume decrease by 14.39% to $10.584 billion, resulting in a market share of 16.77%. Despite holding substantial technical prowess and ecosystem size, Ethereum experienced a slight dip in short-term trading activity.
# TVL Trends: Base and Sui on the Rise
In terms of TVL, Base and Sui stood out. Base’s TVL surged by 23.33% to $3.564 billion, ranking it first in terms of growth rate. The expansion of the Coinbase-based ecosystem is believed to have driven this long-term capital inflow.
Sui’s TVL also increased significantly, up by 37.96% to $1.731 billion, marking the second-highest weekly growth rate. With simultaneous spikes in trading volume and TVL, Sui is emerging as a ‘key focus chain’ for DeFi investors.
Solana’s TVL rose by 9.99% to $9.561 billion, posting double-digit growth, while Ethereum retained its top spot with a TVL of $54.89 billion. Despite a modest growth rate of 9.54%, Ethereum remains unparalleled in absolute scale.
This week’s DeFi market was characterized by ‘divergence.’ Short-term trading activities concentrated on specific chains, while multiple chains exhibited stable growth in TVL, indicating a trend towards long-term capital management.
Especially, Solana, Sui, and Base have strengthened their presence in both TVL growth and trading activity, suggesting their potential as key players in the market’s future rebound.
