Top DeFi Projects to Watch in Q4 2024 and Instant Exchange Services to Access Them

In Q3 2024, the DeFi sector showcased strong performance despite market challenges. Aave (AAVE) was a top-performing DeFi asset

In the third quarter of 2024, the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector showcased strong performance and resilience amidst the broader market challenges. Several key DeFi projects demonstrated significant growth and promising developments, attracting attention from both retail and institutional investors. Aave (AAVE), MakerDAO (rebranded to SKY), and Compound Finance (COMP) emerged as top-performing DeFi assets, gaining a loyal following and forging alliances that brought substantial weight to the sector’s foundational stability.

As we enter the final stretch of 2024, let’s explore the most promising DeFi projects that are poised to gain further momentum in the coming months, and also highlight the top instant exchange services that offer easy access to these projects.

Best DeFi Projects To Watch In 2024

Aave Protocol (AAVE) Lending Market Share

Source: Tokenterminal

1. Aave Protocol (AAVE)

Aave is an open-source protocol for creating liquidity pools where users can either lend their assets to earn interest or borrow funds. It’s non-custodial, meaning users retain full control of their assets, and interest rates are determined by market conditions. With $20 billion in assets supplied across 13 networks and net deposits of approximately $19.7 billion, Aave remains one of the highest revenue-generating protocols in the DeFi ecosystem, posting a 71% return in Q3 2024.

As of this writing, Aave’s total value locked (TVL) stands at approximately $4.41 billion, reflecting its strong liquidity and user participation. The protocol holds a dominant 65.89% market share in active loans, significantly outpacing competitors such as Spark Protocol (12.32%) and Morpho (6.66%).

Active loans on Aave total about $7.9 billion, indicating sustained user demand and robust liquidity. Its market cap is around $2.5 billion, supported by over 170,000 token holders.

By making sound governance decisions and leveraging the market’s momentum, Aave has quickly risen to the top of the DeFi ranks, drawing new users and keeping its liquidity levels pumped up. In particular, when Aave’s ‘Buy and Distribute’ governance proposal took effect, it had a substantial impact, significantly boosting the AAVE token price.

2. MakerDAO (MKR) – Rebranded To Sky (SKY)

MakerDAO, an open-source, decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), is a pioneer in the DeFi space, which has built its infrastructure around DAI, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar and overcollateralized by cryptocurrencies. As part of its Endgame strategy, MakerDAO has recently undergone a rebranding to the Sky Ecosystem, with DAI and MKR now known as USDS and SKY, respectively. The rebranding also includes renaming Maker’s subDAOs to Sky Stars and leveraging Spark Protocol—a lending and borrowing platform with nearly $4 billion in deposits—to expand the USDS ecosystem through tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Impressively, the supply of USDS reached 1 billion just 13 days after its launch, highlighting rapid adoption and strong market confidence in the new ecosystem.

Price Comparison of Maker (MKR) and Aave (AAVE) with Key Milestones

Source: CoinMetrics

Furthermore, SKY token holders are demonstrating strong community support, totaling 101.74k as of the most recent 30-day period. The total value locked (TVL) within the Sky Ecosystem also saw positive growth, standing at $4.41 billion—an increase of 5.4%, which indicates rising liquidity. There has been a significant increase in the protocol’s treasury, with a remarkable 25.2% gain that brings the total to $281.93 million, confirming its financial strength. A significant surge in code commits—37.5% to be precise —also reflects the steady stream of progress within the ecosystem.

3. Synthetix Protocol (SNX)

Synthetix Protocol (SNX) is a platform that facilitates the creation of synthetic assets that mirror real-world assets. Over the past 30 days, SNX has shown significant growth, solidifying its position as a promising player in the DeFi sector. The fully diluted market cap rose by 19.4% to reach $520.94 million, while the circulating market cap increased by 22.1%, totaling $549.62 million. Synthetix’s total value locked (TVL) also grew by 17.3%, now standing at $281.55 million, indicating rising liquidity. A milestone of $95.71 million reached by the protocol’s treasury following a spectacular growth of 23% reinforced its already-solid financial footing. The