Analyst: DeFi will be revived in the next market cycle

Jamie Coutts, a crypto market analyst at Real Vision, has predicted that decentralized finance (DeFi) will see a revival in the next market cycle. He noted that while most tokens have fallen 30-50% over the past four months, blockchain fees offer insight into which projects are likely to navigate the downturn successfully. Coutts pointed out that the top 10 protocols by fee revenue are predominantly dApps built on Ethereum and Solana, with most trading at a price-to-fees multiple of under 10x. He added that at the infrastructure layer, only Tron and Hyperliquid deviate from this pattern. Historically, a surge in fees during a bear market has been a signal of mean reversion, Coutts explained. Looking ahead, he suggested the next cycle will be less focused on pure speculation. The tokenization of financial assets will provide a more sustainable revenue base for protocols, many of which will need to revise their tokenomics. He also anticipates that AI agents will be utilized for on-chain transactions, concluding that DeFi is set for a comeback.