DeFi projects burn 1,361 ETH in seven days

Ethereum’s (CRYPTO:ETH) deflationary mechanism remains active, with decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols contributing significantly to ETH burns.

Over the past seven days, DeFi activity burned 1,361 ETH, part of a 30-day total of 3,796 ETH ($6.95 million), according to Ultrasound.money data.

Uniswap (CRYPTO:UNI) led the burning with 65.5 ETH ($119,900), driven by its role as the largest decentralised exchange (DEX) by trading volume.

MetaMask followed with 59 ETH ($109,700), reflecting increased user activity in token swaps and bridge operations.

Gnosis (CRYPTO:GNO), a multi-signature wallet provider, burned 54.2 ETH ($99,200), while lending protocol Aave (CRYPTO:AAVE) and aggregator 1inch contributed 37.2 ETH ($68,100) and 43.3 ETH ($79,300), respectively.

Mid-tier platforms like Pendle (CRYPTO:PENDLE) (17.4 ETH, $31,900) and Kyber Network (10 ETH, $18,300) also participated, leveraging services such as yield tokenisation and liquidity routing.

ParaSwap (CRYPTO:PSP) and Hex (CRYPTO:HEX) rounded out the list with 8.5 ETH ($15,600) and 7.5 ETH ($13,700), respectively.

The burns highlight Ethereum’s post-Merge scarcity dynamics, where EIP-1559’s transaction fee mechanism removes ETH from circulation.

Despite moderate gas fees, network activity—including swaps, bridging, and staking—sustains deflationary pressure.

Layer 2 solutions, which resolve transactions back to Ethereum’s mainnet, further reinforce this trend.

While Ethereum’s issuance has decreased since the Merge, DeFi’s growth ensures continued demand for ETH, amplifying its scarcity narrative.

As Phoenix Group noted, high gas fees from major DeFi apps demonstrate Ethereum’s role as a live, utility-driven network.

As Layer 2 adoption grows, Ethereum’s base layer remains integral to value exchange, maintaining its deflationary trajectory.  

The burns also signal maturation in DeFi ecosystems, where platforms prioritise utility over speculative trading.

While Layer 2 solutions handle transaction scaling, Ethereum’s mainnet retains its position as the settlement layer, ensuring ETH’s scarcity persists amid rising demand.

At the time of reporting, the Ethereum (ETH) price was $1,807.48.