Newsletter
Weekly fundamentals #33

#33
A week-over-week momentum overview of the top blockchains & dapps across our key metrics.
Key highlights:
š Arbitrum, DeFi Saver, Connext, Gains Network, NounsDAO, and Gitcoin are now listed on Token Terminal.
š¬ New post in our research series: The state of Synthetix.
āļø We published a write-up of our discussion on the current state of Liquity with COO Michael Svoboda.
Charts of the week
š°Total value locked (TVL)
Which projects currently have the most assetsĀ depositedĀ into their smart contracts?
Top projects by latest TVL
Top projects based on daily TVL in the past 30 days
This weekās top gainers by TVL
Daily TVL for this weekās top movers in the past 180 days
Key takeaways
- While TVL is useful as a technical metric to measure how much value is deposited into a protocol's smart contracts, it doesn't necessarily tell investors how a protocol is performing financially.
- E.g. for MakerDAO, TVL is equal to the value of assets that borrowers deposit into Maker Vaults. This is because these deposits are not withdrawn from the vaults, as the protocol creates the DAI that users borrow. TVL = deposits.
- Deposits on Maker do not directly generate revenue for the protocol. In our view, a better way to measure Maker's performance would be to focus on either borrowing volume (outstanding debt) or interest paid.
- Check out our brief video on TVL, i.e. what it means & how it can be used to measure the performance of different protocols.
šTotal revenue (fees paid)
Which projects have generated the most fees/yield?
Top projects by cumulativeĀ total revenueĀ in the past 7 days
Top projects based on daily total revenue in the past 30 days
This weekās top gainers by total revenue
Daily total revenue for this weekās top gainers in the past 180 days
Key takeaways
- In terms of aggregate fee revenue, Ethereum is in a league of its own.
- As more applications start to expand and go multi-chain, itās possible that they surpass Ethereum (or any single underlying blockchain they're using) in total fee revenue.
šPrice to sales (P/S) ratio
How are projects priced relative to total fees/yield generated?
Top projects by latestĀ P/SĀ ratio
This weekās top movers by P/S ratio
Key takeaways
- The P/S ratio is an ideal valuation method, especially for early-stage protocols that often have little or no net income (because revenue is reinvested into growth, often by subsidizing the use of the protocolās service).
- While the P/S ratio offers a highly useful and accurate tool for relative analysis between different early-stage crypto protocols, itās always worth considering how much of the fee revenue or usage is tied to token incentives that are paid to users ā a data point that weāre actively working on including in all of our dashboards.
šProtocol revenue
Protocol revenue is the share of the total revenue that accrues to the benefit of token holders or the company behind the protocol.
Top projects by cumulativeĀ protocol revenueĀ in the past 7 days
Top projects based on daily protocol revenue in the past 30 days
This weekās top gainers by protocol revenue
Daily protocol revenue for this weekās top movers in the past 180 days
Key takeaways
- Protocol revenue represents the share of revenue generated from a protocolās business that is subsequently allocated to its treasury or distributed to its token holders.
- There are three typical scenarios for revenue distribution to tokenholders:
šPrice to earnings (P/E) ratio
The 'E' in the P/E ratio is based on protocol revenue, i.e. the share of the total revenue that accrues to the benefit of token holders or the company behind the protocol.
Top projects by latestĀ P/EĀ ratio
This weekās top movers by P/E ratio
Key takeaways
- For protocols like Uniswap, where all trading fees currently go to the liquidity providers (supply-side), there wonāt be a P/E ratio available.
- Note that we have yet to include cost & expense data in full for these protocols (e.g. off-chain development costs & token incentives), which is why these numbers should be used as directional input for a protocolās valuation.
*Note:Ā We have excluded dapps & blockchains with revenue figures under $10k/week.**Note:āchangeāĀ is calculated as a snapshot comparison, whereasĀ ātrendāĀ is calculated by comparing the given time interval against its previous time interval.
š New listing(s)
Arbitrum is now live on Token Terminal!
DeFi Saver is now live on Token Terminal!
Connext is now live on Token Terminal!
Gains Network is now live on Token Terminal!
NounsDAO is now live on Token Terminal!
Gitcoin is now live on Token Terminal!
Visit us: tokenterminal.com
The authors of this content, or members, affiliates, or stakeholders of Token Terminal may be participating or are invested in protocols or tokens mentioned herein. The foregoing statement acts as a disclosure of potential conflicts of interest and is not a recommendation to purchase or invest in any token or participate in any protocol. Token Terminal does not recommend any particular course of action in relation to any token or protocol. The content herein is meant purely for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as financial, investment, legal, tax or any other professional or other advice. None of the content and information herein is presented to induce or to attempt to induce any reader or other person to buy, sell or hold any token or participate in any protocol or enter into, or offer to enter into, any agreement for or with a view to buying or selling any token or participating in any protocol. Statements made herein (including statements of opinion, if any) are wholly generic and not tailored to take into account the personal needs and unique circumstances of any reader or any other person. Readers are strongly urged to exercise caution and have regard to their own personal needs and circumstances before making any decision to buy or sell any token or participate in any protocol. Observations and views expressed herein may be changed by Token Terminal at any time without notice. Token Terminal accepts no liability whatsoever for any losses or liabilities arising from the use of or reliance on any of this content.
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