Top 5 Highest Revenue DeFi Protocols of 2023

According to Blockworks, the following are the top five DeFi protocols of 2023 based on revenue metrics, with data compiled from DeFiLlama as of December 13, 2023.

1. Maker - $95.91 Million

Since 2022, Maker has diversified its revenue streams by investing in U.S. government bonds. The launch of the Spark Protocol (the first SubDAO developed under MakerDAO's Endgame plan) further boosted revenue by allowing investors to access T-bill interest rates through sDAI.

sDAI represents DAI deposited in Maker's DAI Saving Rate (DSR), effectively tokenizing U.S. Treasury bonds as Real World Assets. In 2023, sDAI yields reached up to 8%.

2. Lido Finance - $55.79 Million

Lido Finance, the leading liquid staking protocol for ETH, manages over 32% of all staked ETH. Users stake ETH to receive stETH (Lido's wrapped ETH token) as rewards, which can be used for trading or as collateral. stETH has grown to become the ninth-largest coin with a market cap exceeding $20 billion, according to Blockworks.

In mid-December, Lido's TVL surpassed $20 billion for the first time since April 2022, driven by the anticipation of the Dencun upgrade scheduled for late February 2024 and the year-end market rally.

3. PancakeSwap - $52.31 Million

PancakeSwap is the second-largest decentralized exchange (DEX) by trading volume, trailing only Uniswap. The launch of PancakeSwap v3 in March introduced features such as liquidity optimization and price range specifications for traders. BNB remains the largest network for PancakeSwap, accounting for nearly all trading volume.

4. Convex Finance - $42.23 Million

Convex Finance is an asset management protocol that allows users to stake Curve’s CRV tokens for profit. Most of Convex's revenue is tied to Curve, with Convex controlling 48% of CRV and one-third of FRAX tokens for voting purposes.

5. GMX - $37.52 Million

GMX is a decentralized derivatives exchange that enables traders to execute high-leverage trades without substantial capital. It is the largest protocol on Arbitrum by TVL and received the highest funding from the layer-2 network in October, totaling around $14 million at current exchange rates.