NEAR DeFi ecosystem map: Burrow, LiNEAR, Meta Pool and Ref Finance
Thread1,024 words
Bullish call$NEAR−4.9%since this piece, moved against the callHow it played out ↓Data-driven tour of NEAR's DeFi stack arguing it is undervalued. Compares TVL to token valuations: Burrow has about $200M TVL against a $5M FDV, and LiNEAR $126M TVL against a $36M mcap.
Key claims
NEAR ecosystem TVL rose from $74M on 1 Oct 2023 to roughly $500M, a 7x
TVL denominated in NEAR is about 100M NEAR
Burrow borrow APY is 4-5% vs 40-50% on most EVM chains
NEAR staking yields 8.6%, double ETH
The current dip in the market might be your generational entry into the @NEARProtocol ecosystem.
I went down the NEAR rabbit hole to discover a massively undervalued DeFi ecosystem full of huge APYs and promising airdrop opportunities.
Be early.
Data-driven 🧵 of pure alpha! t.co/3VmGAQYTkv
1/ @NEARProtocol has been on a parabolic rise in the past six months.
Driven by market-leading innovation and disruptive technology, NEAR quickly became the largest player in the modular infra space and it's one of the hottest AI plays too.
x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1767758763984109787
2/ The hype around NEAR DA, its @eigencloud-based fast finality layer and chain abstraction is real.
No wonder as the latter allows you to use your NEAR account across any supported chain, unifying an otherwise fragmented multichain world in one wallet.
x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1758131794925543725
3/ Powered by chain signatures btw.
Check out my thread below if you are in it for the tech.
For all my DeFi degens and data nerds, just keep following the 🧵 to uncover alpha on huge opportunities in the ecosystem.
x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1773603479954784364
4/ While positive, the hype has also overshadowed the fact that @NEARProtocol is not just a modular giant & leading infra player.
NEAR is also a thriving ecosystem of DeFi apps, built on a highly scalable, homogeneously sharded execution layer with battle-tested security.
5/ Since October 1st 2023, the NEAR ecosystem TVL has skyrocketed from $74M to roughly $500M at the time of writing.
That's a 7x or a compound monthly growth rate of 27%.
Only very few ecosystems can show a similarly bullish TVL growth trajectory in the same period of time.
6/ While the TVL stats in USD has dropped quite significantly over the past month, that is largely attributable to the general decline in prices across the market.
With $NEAR being the dominant on-chain asset, TVL in USD strongly correlates with $NEAR PA and market conditions.
7/ Nonetheless, the ecosystem seems healthy with TVL denominated in $NEAR continuing to rise and currently sitting at 100M $NEAR.
9/ Before we explore this ecosystem in more depth, this is a good moment to get yourself all set up and ready to capitalize on the opportunities we uncover.
Set up your wallet and bridge assets over following the guide below by @Mars_DeFi! 👇
x.com/Mars_DeFi/status/1795716082931789901?t=dBL4lSH6YWe3oI47pVcfNA&s=19
10/ Now that we're ready to go, let's dive in!
The largest dApp on @NEARProtocol with almost $200M in TVL is @burrow_finance, a decentralized, non-custodial pool-based interest rates platform that enables users to supply assets to earn interest, and to borrow against them.
11/ While up the 14% APYs for suppliers is juicy, what I personally love the most about @Burrow_finance, is that it's the cheapest platform in the market to borrow stables.
Only 4-5% borrow APY, not 40-50% like on most EVM chains.
12/ @Burrow_finance has $33M in loans outstanding and is the leading lending platform in a billion $$$ ecosystem.
Must be worth 100s of millions, right?
No, anon. @Burrow_finance's token $BRRR is currently sitting at a $5M FDV. That's 1/40th of the platform's TVL.
Undervalued.
13/ In second spot in terms of TVL sits @LinearProtocol, an omnichain liquid (re)staking platform with over $126M in total value locked.
While $$$ value of TVL has retraced due to the $NEAR price decline, TVL in $NEAR is up only and has just reached 26M $NEAR.
14/ Built by early core contributors to @NEARProtocol, it was first to offer many disruptive liquid staking features.
This includes the Automatic Validator Optimization Algorithm which re-delegates >200 active nodes, significantly enhancing NEAR's security & decentralization.
15/ As a part of its omnichain roadmap, LiNEAR is set to expand its restaking solutions across multiple chains.
This is supported by a vision of a future where users can stake a variety of assets, such as NEAR and ETH, and unlock maximized yield from restaking.
16/ Probably worth hundreds of millions, right?
No anon.
$LNR is currently sitting at a mere $36M mcap, which is only 1/4th of its TVL.
17/ If you don't buy, at least go and stake. $NEAR stakers will also get airdrops from ecosystem projects and $LNR was one example a few months ago.
Aside that, you also get 8.6% APY, which is double the APY for staking $ETH.
Do the maths anon.
18/ Another leading liquid staking protocol in the ecosystem is @meta_pool.
Stake $NEAR, $ETH, $SOL, $AURORA or $Q tokens and receive a liquid staking token that accrues staking rewards while unlocking liquidity to participate in DeFi activities.
[Website Screenshot]
19/ @meta_pool is the third largest app by TVL in the @NEARProtocol ecosystem and boasts a TVL of >$100M.
Denominated in $NEAR, the TVL chart shows a healthy growth trajectory with currently >22M $NEAR staked.
20/ Last but not least, where do you trade on @NEARProtocol?
Easy anon.
@finance_ref, the first AMM DEX on NEAR and an all-in-one DeFi platform that also offers orderbook-based Perps trading powered by @OrderlyNetwork and more.
21/ On @finance_ref you can:
↔️ Trade: Use automated market maker (AMM)
💰 Pool: Provide liquidity and earn fee revenue
🌾 Farm: Stake LP tokens into farms and earn rewards
🌈 Stake: Stake REF tokens to earn more REF tokens
🗳 Lending/Borrowing: Utilise @Burrow_finance infra
22/ Personally, I use @finance_ref primarily to trade.
It's the best place to buy some undervalued ecosystem tokens like $BRRR or $LNR.
For the farmers among you, check out the APYs on the @finance_ref v2 farms anon. Might be for you.
23/ If you have been trading on the orderbook infra powered by @OrderlyNetwork, don't forget to bind your NEAR address.
The Orderly airdrop is coming and it will be big.
@finance_ref users on NEAR will be eligible.
24/ Don't fade the NEAR ecosystem anon.
It's some of the best tech in the market and the parabolic growth phase of the DeFi ecosystem built on it is yet to come.
NEAR has one of the best user experiences in the market. When the full-blown bull hits, things will go mad.
DYOR.
That's a wrap! I hope you've found this thread helpful! 🫡
Make sure to follow me @zerokn0wledge_ and @NEARProtocol to stay up to date!
Like/Repost of the below post is also highly appreciated! 🙏👇
17 images on X
How the call played out · since 18 Jun 2024
Prices as of 23 Oct 2026This piece takes a view on $NEAR, so that move is read against the call.
Bullish on NEAR, calling the dip a generational entry into a massively undervalued DeFi ecosystem.
−4.9%
Moved against the call · over 2.3 years
- At publication
- $5.17
- Now
- $4.92
- vs BTC
- −22%
- After 1 month
- +17%
- After 3 months
- −25%
- After 1 year
- −59%
- High since
- +55% 07 Dec 2024
- Low since
- −81% 12 Feb 2026
Since then
Zero has written 45 more pieces on NEAR Protocol and $NEAR since this one.
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Daily closes in USD from DefiLlama and Yahoo Finance. Only a bullish or bearish call in a thesis or market take is tracked; explainers, lists, maps and mentions are neutral context. Not financial advice.