🏰 DeFi’s castles aren’t made of sand anymore — they’re built on money markets.
@castle_labs dropped a monster report on the core architecture + positioning of top lending protocols (@aave, @MorphoLabs, @eulerfinance, @0xfluid)… and it’s worth the read.
Here’s the kicker:
🔹 Onchain lending isn’t just “back” — it’s reshaping itself.
🔹 $80B+ locked across money markets
🔹 New modular/vault-based designs replacing legacy pools
🔹 Capital efficiency now the arms race (looping, productive collateral, E-mode, isolation modes, etc.)
🔹 Even TradFi players like Coinbase + tokenised treasuries are finding their way in
The sector isn’t just growing in size — it’s evolving in style.
Think less “one-size-fits-all lending pool” and more “choose your adventure”:
Aave → the battle-tested fortress with moat-deep liquidity
Morpho → the modular, permissionless playground
Euler → programmable credit markets for DAOs + builders
Fluid → unified liquidity layer where lending + trading blur
What’s wild is how differentiated these models are becoming.
It’s no longer about who has the biggest TVL — it’s about who solves risk, composability, and capital efficiency in the smartest way.
And if you’re paying attention, this isn’t just protocol alpha… it’s a blueprint for how DeFi will serve both degen farmers and institutions in the same ecosystem.
đź‘€ Question for you:
Do you think the future of lending belongs to the fortress (Aave), the playground (Morpho), the credit lab (Euler), or the liquidity blender (Fluid)?
Full Castle Labs report here if you want the deep dive:
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