The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector reached a new milestone in July, with total value locked (TVL) climbing to a record $270 billion, according to data from DappRadar. This marks a 30% increase from the previous month, fueled in part by the rapid growth of tokenized stocks. Active wallets in tokenized stock markets soared from roughly 1,600 to over 90,000 during the month, driving their market capitalization up by 220%. NFT markets also saw renewed momentum, with trading volumes jumping 96% to $530 million. The average NFT price doubled to about $105 as user participation picked up across multiple platforms. NFTs Tops in User Activity in July While DeFi liquidity surged, the number of users gravitated more toward NFTs. In July, approximately 3.85 million of the 22 million daily active wallets interacted with NFT decentralized applications (DApps), slightly surpassing DeFi’s active user base. Ethereum-based NFT marketplace Blur led the market in daily volume, capturing up to 80% of NFT trades. OpenSea retained the largest number of active traders at around 27,000, while Zora gained traction with its creator-first layer 2 network and $ZORA token, enabling cheaper minting costs. Major brands also expanded their NFT experiments. Nike’s .SWOOSH partnered with EA Sports for virtual sneaker drops, while luxury and consumer brands such as Louis Vuitton, Rolex, and Coca-Cola China piloted authentication and collectible projects. July also brought a revival in interest for legacy NFT collections . CryptoPunks, one of Ethereum’s earliest and most iconic series, saw floor prices rise over 25% in the past month. In the last 24 hours, nine of the ten highest-value NFT sales were CryptoPunks, with the only exception being a work by Web3 artist Beeble. Market Recovery Still Trails 2021 Boom Despite a strong rebound in July, the NFT sector remains far from its 2021 peak. DappRadar’s 2024 industry overview revealed that NFT trading volumes fell 19% year-over-year, while total sales dropped 18%, making 2024 one of the weakest years since 2020. CryptoSlam data from the first half of 2025 echoed the slow recovery trend, showing $2.82 billion in NFT sales , a 4.6% decline compared to the second half of 2024. Even with July’s rise in volume and prices, trading remains well below the frenzied activity of 2021, when monthly volumes regularly reached tens of billions. The post DeFi Liquidity Hits Record $270B in July, NFTs Edge Ahead in User Activity appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .