Crypto lending down 43% from 2021 highs, DeFi borrowing surges 959%

The crypto lending market’s size remains significantly down from its $64 billion high, but decentralized finance (DeFi) borrowing has made an over 900% recovery from bear market lows.

Crypto lending enables borrowers to use their crypto holdings as collateral to obtain a crypto or fiat loan, while lenders can loan their holdings to generate interest.

The crypto lending market is down over $43%, from its all-time high of $64.4 billion in 2021 to a total of $36.5 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a Galaxy Digital research