The post DeFi Outperforms Crypto Sectors With 44.6% YTD Returns in 2025 appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. DeFi protocols gained 44.6% in 2025 and have outpaced Bitcoin, Layer 1s, and crypto sectors. RWAs deliver 38.7%, and stablecoins 38.6%, driving top-tier crypto sector growth. Meme coins fall 7.4%, and gaming tokens drop 43.6%, showing sharp underperformance. Decentralized Finance protocols have captured the top position among cryptocurrency sectors in 2025 and have generated 44.6% year-to-date returns. Crypto investor Rand highlighted DeFi’s leadership alongside real-world assets and stablecoins as standout performers driving market growth into the fourth quarter. Real-World Assets follow closely with 38.7% gains, and stablecoins achieved 38.6% returns. These three categories have distinguished themselves from other cryptocurrency segments that have delivered more modest results during the same period. Other Crypto Sectors Show Mixed Results Layer 1 blockchains generated 24.6% returns, while Bitcoin managed 19.8% gains year-to-date. Exchange tokens delivered 14.1% performance, rounding out the positive-performing sectors for 2025. These figures highlight DeFi’s dominance, with returns that leave other major crypto categories behind. However, several sectors have faced severe downturns. Meme coins recorded -7.4% losses, while Layer 2 solutions dropped 26.9%. Gaming tokens suffered a 43.6% decline, with AI-focused cryptocurrencies experiencing the worst performance at -55.4% losses. Hyperliquid Leads DeFi Sector Among the leading DeFi tokens by market capitalization, Hyperliquid (HYPE) tops the list at $49.34 with a $16.4 billion valuation, recording a 12.04% gain over the past week. Chainlink (LINK) follows at $22.44 with a $15.1 billion market cap, though it slipped 2.03% during the same period.  Stellar (XLM) trades at $0.3628, giving it an $11.4 billion valuation after rising 4.65% this week. Polkadot (DOT) stands at $4.01 with a $6.48 billion market cap and an 8.60% weekly increase, while Uniswap (UNI) holds steady at $9.44 with a $5.93 billion valuation, up by 0.09%. The performance divergence between sectors shows the changing investor preferences toward utility-focused applications rather… The post DeFi Outperforms Crypto Sectors With 44.6% YTD Returns in 2025 appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. DeFi protocols gained 44.6% in 2025 and have outpaced Bitcoin, Layer 1s, and crypto sectors. RWAs deliver 38.7%, and stablecoins 38.6%, driving top-tier crypto sector growth. Meme coins fall 7.4%, and gaming tokens drop 43.6%, showing sharp underperformance. Decentralized Finance protocols have captured the top position among cryptocurrency sectors in 2025 and have generated 44.6% year-to-date returns. Crypto investor Rand highlighted DeFi’s leadership alongside real-world assets and stablecoins as standout performers driving market growth into the fourth quarter. Real-World Assets follow closely with 38.7% gains, and stablecoins achieved 38.6% returns. These three categories have distinguished themselves from other cryptocurrency segments that have delivered more modest results during the same period. Other Crypto Sectors Show Mixed Results Layer 1 blockchains generated 24.6% returns, while Bitcoin managed 19.8% gains year-to-date. Exchange tokens delivered 14.1% performance, rounding out the positive-performing sectors for 2025. These figures highlight DeFi’s dominance, with returns that leave other major crypto categories behind. However, several sectors have faced severe downturns. Meme coins recorded -7.4% losses, while Layer 2 solutions dropped 26.9%. Gaming tokens suffered a 43.6% decline, with AI-focused cryptocurrencies experiencing the worst performance at -55.4% losses. Hyperliquid Leads DeFi Sector Among the leading DeFi tokens by market capitalization, Hyperliquid (HYPE) tops the list at $49.34 with a $16.4 billion valuation, recording a 12.04% gain over the past week. Chainlink (LINK) follows at $22.44 with a $15.1 billion market cap, though it slipped 2.03% during the same period.  Stellar (XLM) trades at $0.3628, giving it an $11.4 billion valuation after rising 4.65% this week. Polkadot (DOT) stands at $4.01 with a $6.48 billion market cap and an 8.60% weekly increase, while Uniswap (UNI) holds steady at $9.44 with a $5.93 billion valuation, up by 0.09%. The performance divergence between sectors shows the changing investor preferences toward utility-focused applications rather…