The crypto industry is poised for a potential “DeFi festival” beginning as early as September, which could initiate a prolonged decentralized finance (DeFi) boom, according to Charles d’Haussy, CEO of the dYdX Foundation, an independent nonprofit focused on DeFi.
The dYdX Foundation is an independent foundation, headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, created to participate in propelling dYdX, the most powerful decentralized derivatives protocol, into the future. The dYdX ecosystem has recently released the dYdX v4 open-source software – the dYdX Chain.
In an interview with Cointelegraph at Consensus 2025 in Hong Kong, d’Haussy suggested that the term “DeFi summer” no longer adequately captures the anticipated growth; he believes a “DeFi festival” would be more fitting as it signifies sustained expansion.
“DeFi summer, in people’s minds, is like three months of crazy parties. I think this short period is behind us. I think it will be a very long party for months and months,” d’Haussy stated.
The original DeFi summer began in 2020, marked by a surge in adoption and a total value locked (TVL) that peaked at $15 billion before tapering off during the bear market in 2022, according to Steno Research.
D’Haussy envisions that this upcoming “DeFi festival” will offer more ways for newcomers to engage with DeFi, allowing established brands to thrive. “All these projects you thought had been eaten by someone else are still there. They’re trusted brands and will grow even stronger because people will not systematically jump on the new things,” he noted.
He also anticipates increased institutional interest in DeFi as the market matures and infrastructure develops. “You’ve got signals the big DeFi players are getting ready for accommodating institutional players; look at the latest release from Lido,” he explained, referring to Lido Finance’s recent launch of Lido Institutional, a liquidity staking solution aimed at institutional customers.
According to d’Haussy, centralized exchanges (CEX) could play a crucial role in drawing users to DeFi. Some exchanges have started launching their own blockchains and wallets, or have shut down services like lending and futures to meet licensing requirements. This shift could facilitate user migration to DeFi.
“The bridge we needed for CeFi users to go to DeFi is being designed by the CeFi champions, and they are pushing their users, not out, but facilitating access to DeFi and making the experience smoother,” he said.
However, d’Haussy cautioned that before this festival can commence, global macroeconomic conditions must stabilize. “I think we will have a choppy summer and possibly a mini-crisis, but I’m confident the crypto market will be back on track by September,” he concluded.
Shogun Lin
