Top DeFi Projects on Cardano in 2025 AllinCrypto April 11, 2025
Cardano is on the rise to becoming a strong, decentralized financial ecosystem as it expands its network with the Midnight privacy sidechain.
The ADA token, at the heart of Cardano, enables decentralized applications to be built and interacted with, as Cardano’s TVL (Total Value Locked) makes new highs each year.
With President Trump name-dropping Cardano as a blockchain to be added to an upcoming crypto reserve, let’s dive into some of the top DeFi projects on Cardano and what they do best.
Cardano DeFi in 2025
With a TVL of $258 million, DeFi on Cardano is still being incubated as the ecosystem, led by Charles Hoskinson, pushes the development of a new sidechain and institutional adoption for the network.
Outside of the Midnight sidechain and institutional players, Cardano is home to a growing DeFi community and token users who are building new dApps for the blockchain.
From decentralized exchanges to yield-bearing platforms, let’s take a peek at what’s been cooking under the decentralized bonnet of Cardano and what network users are getting out of the network.
Top Cardano DeFi projects
Genius Yield
On Cardano, Genius Yield is a decentralized financial platform for intelligent, automated yield optimization, helping users earn yields on their holdings and crypto assets.
The unique EUTxO (Extended Unspent Transaction Output) model is at the heart of Genius Yield and allows the platform to be secured and efficient.
Instead of Ethereum-based models, the EUTxO model allows Genius Yield users to process more than one order for the same trading pair, all within one block. By using this model, orders can be filled into a single transaction.
As a result, Genius Yield is more cost-effective and efficient compared to its Ethereum counterparts. Another feature of the platform is the ability to use Smart Order Routers and Market Maker Bots (MMBs).
The project is open-source and comes with fee sharing, fast token swaps, and staking. As a community-first platform, the Genius Yield DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is an important part of the Genius Yield pie.
Minswap
After launching mainnet in 2022, Minswap has become the most used decentralized exchange on the Cardano blockchain with a $78 million TVL as of April 2025.
The platform is home to a wide range of features including token swaps, yield farming to earn MIN, liquidity pools, and community governance giving users a say in how the platform is run.
With liquidity pools, users can deposit Cardano-based tokens and earn trading fees as rewards, gaining LP tokens.
For yield farming, users are able to stake their LP tokens for MIN, the platform’s native token. Currently, the platform’s staking incentives are at 12% for the ADA token, one of the highest on the Cardano network.
Minswap is also home to its own project launchpad called Launch Bowl, allowing developers to raise funds for their projects and launch them on Cardano. As of April 2025, 71 projects have been launched with over 9,000 participants.
As a DEX, Minswap is one of the main dApps for Cardano traders due to its ease of use and features, although, many users have pointed out that, unlike Genius Yield, Minswap is not open-source.
Lenfi
Lenfi is a decentralized lending and borrowing platform on the Cardano network. Launched in 2021, Lenfi has become a top platform for lending and borrowing services on Cardano.
On Lenfi, users are able to manage and create their own custom lending pools, creating a wide, growing market of liquidity pools.
Other unique features include borrowers receiving tokenized debt bonds in the form of NFTs making them tradable.
There is also support for other users to become liquidators with open liquidations, possible with the platform’s strong community.
Like Genius Yield, Lenfi is powered by the EUTxO model, unique to the Cardano ecosystem allowing for greater efficiency and decentralization.
The state of Cardano DeFi and the Midnight sidechain
Cardano is set to become an important network alongside Ripple’s XRP, Ethereum, and other leading altcoins.
With the Midnight privacy sidechain, 37 million wallets will be eligible for the NIGHT token airdrop which they will need to claim on Cardano.
As a result, millions of new users from other networks will be coming to Cardano, and during their visit, they may explore ADA’s DeFi options, bringing Cardano closer together with other networks and boosting its DeFi population in the process.
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