In a sector where most data vendors sell numbers whose construction they will not explain, DefiLlama publishes the code that produces each figure. That is the entire reason it became the shared reference point: when two people argue about a protocol's TVL, they can read the adapter and settle it.
Why the methodology matters
Total value locked is trivially inflatable. Count a liquid staking token in the LST protocol, again in the lending market it collateralises, and again in the DEX pool it sits in, and one deposit becomes three. DefiLlama tracks and flags that double counting explicitly, offers toggles to exclude it, and separates borrowed value from deposited value. No paid competitor is as careful, and several are deliberately less so.
Coverage and tools
Every chain of consequence, thousands of protocols, plus yield aggregation, stablecoin supply tracking, bridge volumes, DEX volumes, protocol revenue and unlock schedules. The yield section is particularly useful because it shows the composition of an advertised APY — base yield versus emissions — which is the distinction most yield dashboards obscure.
Limitations
The interface is utilitarian and assumes you know what you are looking for. Adapters are maintained by contributors, so a protocol that changes its contracts can report stale figures until someone updates the code. Treat any single number as verifiable rather than verified, and read the adapter when it matters.
Who should use it
Anyone researching DeFi, which is everyone in this sector. It replaces most of what paid analytics platforms charge for, and where it does not, it tells you why.