DeFi is projected to generate $8 billion in on-chain revenue by 2025, with over half of stablecoin deposits offering lower returns than US Treasury bonds.

According to Mars Finance, researcher Vadym's analysis predicts that DeFi will generate approximately $8 billion in on-chain revenue by 2025. The largest source will be AMM transaction fees, at approximately $4.2 billion, with Uniswap, Meteora, and Raydium accounting for 62%. Lending interest will follow, at approximately $1.76 billion, with money markets such as Aave and Morpho contributing over 60% of DeFi's total TVL (TVL), although about half of the lending demand is revolving leverage. RWA will contribute $600-900 million, with US Treasury bonds accounting for approximately 41% of the RWA market. Perpetual contract funding rates will contribute approximately $300 million, mainly from Ethena. Notably, over half of the stablecoin deposits in the Ethereum ecosystem offer lower yields than US Treasury bond rates. Potential revenue sources such as insurance underwriting and on-chain options remain largely untapped. The analysis uses Sky (formerly MakerDAO) as an example, pointing out that approximately 70% of its revenue comes from off-chain assets, reflecting that TradeFi revenue is accelerating its inflow into DeFi through permissioned channels.