Borrowing activity on cryptographic markets has accelerated sharply in the second quarter of 2025, according to new numbers Research in galaxy.
The study revealed that loans supported by digital assets through protocols DEFI climbed a record of $ 26.47 billion, up 42.1% compared to the previous quarter.
This increase has raised the overall balance of crypto-collateralized loans, including the DEFI and Centralized Finance finance platforms (CEFI), to 44.25 billion dollars at the end of June.
The increase of $ 10.12 billion in the other is one of the most important high jumps since the end of 2021 and the start of 2022, when the loans in circulation have briefly exceeded $ 50 billion.
The report linked the resumption to a combination of the increase in the prices of cryptography and the stronger demand for leverage.
Merchants often use cryptographic loans to secure cash without selling their assets, and with Bitcoin and Ethereum recently moving after the heights of all time, more participants seem ready to enclose assets to capture liquidity.
Tether dominates CFI loans
Galaxy Research said that on June 30, CEFI’s open loans amounted to $ 17.78 billion, marking an increase of 14.66% compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the little bears market of $ 7.18 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, the sector increased by 147.5%.
Stablecoin’s transmitter, Tether, has maintained its long -standing domination, controlling more than half of the ECFI loans market. The company closed the quarter with $ 10.14 billion in open loans, translating in a share of 57.02%.
Nexo followed $ 1.96 billion, while the Galaxy loan unit said $ 1.11 billion. Together, the three main lenders represented 74.26% of the market.
This marks the 12th consecutive quarter of Tether de Leadership in the sector, a position that she solidified after the collapse of Genesis, Celsius, Silvergate, Blockfi and Voyager in 2022.
These failures, triggered by mismanagement of risk and market disorders, paved the way in the share of Tether to go from less than 20% to mid-201 to almost 70% by the end of 2022.
While his domination has slightly released from these levels, Galaxy attributed the change to several factors.
According to the company, the increase in asset prices has created a reflexive cycle in borrowing demand, while business treasury bills are increasingly turning to CEFI lenders as a source of funding.
In addition, competition between lenders has also intensified, which causes more attractive borrowing rates through the market.
The report suggests that these forces could continue to reshape the balance of powers in cryptographic loans, even if Tether remains the undisputed leader in the sector.
