On March 9, the total value locked in DeFi protocols worldwide topped $100.1 billion. Nevertheless, these amounts are still less than the $189 billion record that was achieved in November 2021.

The demand for Bitcoin is elevating the perception of the cryptocurrency space, as demonstrated by the capital locked on the chain reaching over $100 billion on March 9.

According to data from DefiLlama, the global total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols topped $100.1 billion, with over $10 billion in volume on the last day as of this writing. These numbers, nevertheless, are still less than the $189 billion record that was achieved in November 2021.

Procedure for liquid staking With $38.7 billion committed on-chain, Lido is at the top of the charts. EigenLayer, a staking environment, and the Aave protocol, with more than $11 billion locked, are next.

For the first time in almost two years, DeFi TVL has surpassed the $100 billion threshold. The surge in value seems to be the result of a resurgence of optimism in the cryptocurrency markets following the introduction of spot Bitcoin BTC tickers down $69,345 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January.

This week, the cryptocurrency reached all-time highs due to institutional demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs, surpassing $70,000 on March 8. BitMEX Research reports that on March 8, assets held in Bitcoin ETFs increased to $28 billion. Assets from Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, which changed from an over-the-counter (OTC) product to an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in January, are not included in the research.

On the social media platform X, rumors have circulated that OTC trading platforms are running out of Bitcoin and relying on public exchanges to complete customer orders. OTC desks often serve institutional investors and other high-volume traders.

Due to a spike in trade activity, several centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Bybit, suffered disruptions after Bitcoin hit $60,000. Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek stated that the exchange hired 480 extra customer service agents to accommodate the increase in demand.

Ivo Crnkovic-Rubsamen, chief strategy officer and technical lead for trading at the dYdX exchange, told Cointelegraph, “All of the algorithmic trading firms are vastly increasing the rate of order placements and cancels they want to send to the matching engine to maintain their positions because there’s so much retail interest and the price action is moving so fast.”

Memecoins receive funding from Bitcoin

Memecoin prices have surged in recent days because of Bitcoin’s gains. Bitget Research data shows that memecoin Korra (KORRA) has increased by 577% over the last seven days, while Ribbit (RIBBIT) and PUG AI (PUGAI) have increased by 235% and 232%, respectively. Well-known tokens have gained 168% and 165%, respectively, including Shiba Inu ~SHIB` tickers down $0.000035} and Pepe `PEPE` tickers down $0.000009}.

According to Bitget data, Memecoin’s market valuation is $61 billion as of this writing. Dogecoin (DOGE) is down $0.18 due to the memecoin trend, while SHIB (now valued at $20 billion and $26 billion, respectively) is among the top tokens by market cap.