[🚀Trend Signal: Smart Money is Shifting from ETH to DeFi Alpha!]

Ethereum spot ETF saw a net outflow of $75.89 million yesterday, continuing a 7-day streak of net outflows.
Market momentum is quietly shifting—more and more funds are flowing from ETH into solid, high-quality DeFi protocols with strong fundamentals. This is not a retreat, but a strategic reallocation of capital within the ecosystem.
Why now?
As macro liquidity expectations improve, risk assets are gaining momentum. During this cycle, DeFi projects with real yields, strong cash flows, sustainable protocol income, and healthy token models are becoming the focus of institutional and smart money deployment.
These projects may have the following characteristics:
· Strong revenue and cash flow
· Tokens with value accumulation mechanisms
· Clear protocol moat and high product-market fit
· Team with proven execution capability
In the early stages of liquidity recovery, it is often the golden window for Alpha projects to outperform the market. Capital will not stay at the surface but will flow toward segments with the strongest value capture ability, narrative, and fundamentals.
Stay tuned:
- Blue-chip DeFi staking and yield protocols
- Decentralized stablecoins and RWA tracks
- DEXs and lending protocols with revenue-sharing mechanisms
1. Mainstream mature protocols (DeFi Blue Chips)
· Project examples: Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), MakerDAO (MKR)
· Core features/tracks: Trading, lending, stablecoins. Tested through multiple market cycles, with the largest user base and capital scale.
· Recent developments: Ongoing V4 upgrades, multi-chain deployment, and other major updates.
2. Real-World Assets (RWA)
· Project examples: Ondo Finance (ONDO), Maple Finance, Goldfinch
· Core features/tracks: RWA. Tokenization of traditional assets like U.S. bonds, providing relatively stable yields, attracting institutional capital.
· Recent developments: The total scale of the RWA track has hit new highs, becoming a bridge connecting traditional finance and DeFi.
3. Re-staking and Liquidity Protocols
· Project examples: EigenLayer, EtherFi (ETHFI), Pendle (PENDLE)
· Core features/tracks: Re-staking/LST. Providing additional yields and liquidity for staked ETH, and ensuring security for infrastructure.
The market is always rotating, and keen investors are already preparing for the next phase.
Which DeFi protocols do you think will stand out in the liquidity wave?