A guide for founders planning to raise TVL deals for their protocols
𝕏/@tzedonn •
Revision history
10 recorded changes
Want your article here?
Promote with Leviathan NewsThe post by 𝕏 user @tzedonn is a tactical guide for crypto founders who are considering “TVL deals” – arrangements where protocols pay or incentivize large depositors, market makers, or funds to bring total value locked (TVL) into their DeFi protocol. In the current market, many protocols use TVL deals as an alternative to or complement for traditional VC/token raises, often offering token incentives, fee rebates, or other deal structures in exchange for committed on-chain liquidity or deposits. The thread lays out how founders should evaluate whether such deals make sense, how to structure them, and the main pitfalls to avoid. Core themes include: first deciding whether the protocol genuinely needs rented TVL versus focusing on organic product–market fit and sustainable user demand; carefully modeling the unit economics of any TVL incentive (e.g., rewards vs. expected fee revenue and retention once incentives end); and treating TVL providers as sophisticated counterparties who negotiate hard on terms such as lockup, token price, downside protection, and governance rights. The guide emphasizes that poorly structured TVL deals can create artificial, mercenary liquidity, mislead other investors with inflated metrics, and leave protocols over-diluted or underperforming once incentives are withdrawn, so founders are urged to approach these deals with the same rigor they would apply to a major fundraising or strategic partnership.
AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.
More coverage
- 10 Ways Startups Can Prepare for a Successful Fundraise in 2026 (cakeequity.com)
- Fundraising Guide for Startups and Early Stage Companies - NEXT (next.law)
- Founder Checklist: Raising Money via SAFE | Founder Law Insights (founderslaw.com)
- Raise Venture Capital: TLDR Guide to Series A - Founder Shield (foundershield.com)
- Tips from investors for fundraising founders - SeedLegals (seedlegals.com)
Explore the topic
More on TVL
3Jane reaches $75M TVL, launches LCC for unfunded capital commitments with 7.5% margin and 13x callable capacity
𝕏/@3janexyz ·
DeFi TVL cut in half, altcoins gutted as traditional finance sharks circle the wreckage
𝕏/@w00tcake ·
Crypto's insurance sector has collapsed from $1.9B to under $100M in TVL despite $840M in exploit losses during the first five months of 2026, exposing DeFi's growing protection gap
𝕏/@blocmates ·
Onchain leverage ratio returns to 2021 levels after April DeFi exploits drain $13B from TVL
𝕏/@BinanceResearch ·
TVL Capital raises $5M seed led by Framework Ventures to build onchain chain-traded structured products
𝕏/@TVLCap ·
f(x) Protocol aims to fix DeFi's stablecoin and leverage flaws by linking fxUSD, leveraged positions, staking yield, and liquidity into a single system managing $152M TVL and $56M supply
𝕏/@0xWhizMiz ·
3Jane reaches $75M TVL, launches LCC for unfunded capital commitments with 7.5% margin and 13x callable capacity
𝕏/@3janexyz ·
DeFi TVL cut in half, altcoins gutted as traditional finance sharks circle the wreckage
𝕏/@w00tcake ·
Crypto's insurance sector has collapsed from $1.9B to under $100M in TVL despite $840M in exploit losses during the first five months of 2026, exposing DeFi's growing protection gap
𝕏/@blocmates ·
Onchain leverage ratio returns to 2021 levels after April DeFi exploits drain $13B from TVL
𝕏/@BinanceResearch ·
TVL Capital raises $5M seed led by Framework Ventures to build onchain chain-traded structured products
𝕏/@TVLCap ·
f(x) Protocol aims to fix DeFi's stablecoin and leverage flaws by linking fxUSD, leveraged positions, staking yield, and liquidity into a single system managing $152M TVL and $56M supply
𝕏/@0xWhizMiz ·