Binance Research: On-chain markets generally contracted in the first half of 2026, with DeFi TVL declining by 38%

The Binance research report shows that in the first half of 2026, the on-chain market contracted overall rather than experiencing capital rotation. The total locked value in DeFi across the entire chain decreased by $43.4 billion, a decline of 38%; the total market capitalization of the six major mainstream Layer 1 public chains covered in the report decreased by $246.5 billion, a decline of 42%. The Ethereum spot ETF holdings dropped from over 6 million ETH to 5.2 million, while the holdings of digital asset reserve companies increased from 6 million to 7.7 million, indicating a change in marginal holding structure.

The report also pointed out that after the increase in Ethereum's Gas limit, the average Gas price decreased by 75% compared to 2025, and the number of transactions grew by about 50%, but the annual on-chain revenue is still expected to decline by 53%. User activity on Layer 2 general networks significantly weakened, with user operations dropping by about 77% from January to June 2026. The Solana network's REV fell from $40 million in January to $14 million in June.

On the other hand, BNB Chain performed outstandingly in the field of tokenized stocks and tokenized real-world assets, with the market share of on-chain tokenized RWA increasing from 9.8% to 13.5% in the first half of the year. The report also mentioned that prediction markets, DEX, lending, and tokenized RWA remain among the few major directions that maintain activity.