Panel discussion at DuneCon exploring TVL as a metric for blockchain adoption. Speakers from Stellar, Dune, Mantle, and Safe debate whether TVL remains the best measure of ecosystem health or if alternatives like adoption metrics, transfer volumes, and daily active users better reflect real-world impact.
At DuneCon, a panel of blockchain leaders examined total value locked (TVL) as an industry metric and its limitations. Tomer from Stellar Development Foundation emphasized that TVL is a noisy signal that doesn't capture real-world utility or equitable financial access. Hannah Curtis from Dune presented the Dune Index as an alternative adoption metric based on netting transfers and transaction activity. Lukas from Safe advocated for total volume processed as a GDP-like indicator of economic activity on-chain. Lina from Mantle discussed separating native token TVL from stablecoin TVL and tracking utilized TVL. The panel concluded that different projects need different metrics aligned with their business goals, but the industry should move beyond vanity metrics toward measures that reflect actual user adoption, fees generated, and impact on people's lives, particularly in emerging markets.