(Source: DefiLlama, St. Louis Fed)
The correlation between weekly changes in DeFi TVL and changes in traditional finance, or TradFi, market yields is also statistically significant, with every 100-basis-point increase in real yields and the high yield C-rated OAS leading to an anticipated 14% and 4% reduction in DeFi TVL, respectively. After correcting for these TradFi yield effects, DeFi TVL still managed to grow at an average rate of 1.6% per week over this period. This relationship dynamic demonstrates that, while capital locked on-chain can be employed for various activities (i.e. yield farming, staking and trading), returns on capital are fundamentally benchmarked (and possibly financed) against the opportunity to hold relatively risk-free, short-term fixed income securities, barring the long-term risks of inflation and debasement.
While this may not bode well for the short-term prospects of L1 protocols' TVL and on-chain transaction activity, understanding the linkage between traditional markets and DeFi markets is essential for developing an actionable investment strategy for when real and nominal interest rates inevitably decline to stimulate the economy in the backdrop of an economic slowdown.
However, we may not see a zero interest rate environment come back anytime soon, as the recent sell-off in longer-dated bonds reflects a growing acknowledgment that the equilibrium rate of interest (formally known as "R-star" – no association with Ringo) may settle at higher levels than previous rate cycles, even after inflation aligns with the Fed's 2% target.
This higher neutral rate of interest is the equilibrium rate of interest that does not produce changes in inflation, and is shaped by factors such as technology, demographics and overall economic productivity, and may persist higher for longer than we've witnessed over the past decade in markets.
If digital assets and DeFi applications can produce significant value and utility to the real economy (i.e. tokenizing real-world assets), then blockchain staking rates and DeFi activities will have no problem competing for future capital against other investment opportunities within the broader traditional financial system. However, without these real-world applications and given the current trajectory of rising real yields, a giant sucking sound continues to persist in the world of DeFi.
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