Catenaa, Thursday, July 10, 2025- Fees generated by decentralized finance protocols surged to new highs in 2025, fueled by major players like PancakeSwap and Pump.fun as onchain activity regains momentum. Recent data shows monthly DeFi fees climbing to approximately $577 million, a 58% rise from the April low of $366 million, according to The Block’s Data and Insights newsletter.
PancakeSwap has emerged as a leader, generating $275 million in fees from its automated market-making and yield farming services. DeFi platforms benefit from peer-to-peer transactions that bypass traditional financial intermediaries, often reducing costs compared to conventional banking fees.
DeFi protocols now use diverse fee structures, capturing value through trading, lending, staking, and lottery mechanisms. PancakeSwap charges trading fees between 0.17% and 0.25%, while Uniswap levies a 0.3% trading fee shared with liquidity providers.
Lending platforms such as Aave and MakerDAO generate revenue through interest rate spreads and liquidation penalties, supporting billions in total value locked.
Pump.fun’s rise reflects a boom in memecoin trading, with high transaction volumes driving revenue despite lower fees per trade. This trend highlights how decentralized fee collection models are creating sustainable revenue streams without relying on traditional financial systems.
The renewed growth in DeFi fees underscores increased user adoption and the maturation of protocols that have weathered various market cycles, signaling a robust future for decentralized finance.
