- SparkDEX TVL surged 348% in May, reaching $57M after integrating cross-chain USDT0.
- User base grew by 2,000+ with over $300M in monthly volume amid weak startup funding climate.
- SparkDEX’s success is tied to established ties with QuickSwap, Lunar Digital Assets, and others.
SparkDEX, a decentralized exchange built on the Flare blockchain, reported a 348% rise in total value locked (TVL) during May, ending the month with $57 million in locked assets. This increase occurred when many crypto startups struggle to gain traction due to limited access to funding and growing uncertainty across the digital asset market.
Data from DeFiLlama shows the spike in SparkDEX’s TVL began following the addition of USDT0, a cross-chain stablecoin. Since the integration, the platform has recorded more than $15 million in weekly inflows.
The exchange also posted over $300 million in monthly trading volume, while its user base expanded by more than 2,000 within the same period. These changes signal a period of renewed usage and capital activity on the protocol.
SparkDEX’s performance places it among the fastest-growing DEX platforms in May. The exchange’s TVL increase outpaced many other DeFi segments, which also saw slight to strong growth despite ongoing market concerns. The Bitcoin restaking sector, for example, saw a 173% rise in TVL. Within that category, Coffer Network’s TVL rose by 69.5% to $317.7 million, marking its highest level since early March.
TVL Growth Across Categories Highlights Broader Trends
Several other categories also experienced major TVL expansion. Real-world asset lending platforms posted a combined increase of 106% in May. Vivacity Finance, which allows users to borrow NOTE tokens backed by tokenized assets, grew its TVL by 13% to $68,550.
Meanwhile, protocols operating under the Collateralized Debt Position model also gained popularity. Summer.fi Pro, which introduced its Lazy Summer Protocol and SUMR token, saw its deposits grow by 125% to $253.84 million.
Growth also extended into blockchain infrastructure. The Developer Tools category recorded a 74.6% increase in total TVL. Intuition, an Ethereum-based attestation protocol, led the category with a 77.5% rise to nearly $120,000. The increase came after the protocol raised $4 million in funding, signaling growing investor interest in foundational Web3 components.
Market Environment Remains Restrictive for New Entrants
Despite isolated instances of growth, many crypto startups are finding it difficult to secure capital or grants in the current climate. The Web3 space continues to face reduced investor trust, largely due to the impact of past scams and failed projects. As a result, new teams without proven track records often struggle to find support or reach major growth targets.
In contrast, SparkDEX’s success appears linked to its affiliations with experienced teams. The exchange has direct ties to QuickSwap, Lunar Digital Assets, and contributors to the podcast “The Aggregated.”
