Toddlers learn by falling: Why DeFi's $20 billion TVL drop is just a market stress-test

DeFi Technologies president Andrew Forson says the stablecoin layer is thriving, with more than $150 billion in U.S. Treasuries backing coins like USDT and USDC.\nWhat to know : Despite high-profile hacks and a $20 billion drop in total value locked, DeFi advocates argue that critics are overstating security risks and ignoring the sector’s broader growth. DeFi Technologies president Andrew Forson says the stablecoin layer is thriving, with more than $150 billion in U.S. Treasuries backing coins like USDT and USDC and transaction volumes growing 20% to 30% a month. Forson contends that open blockchain transparency and continuous 24/7 operation make DeFi more resilient than traditional finance, as Wall Street giants such as BlackRock, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley rush into tokenization and crypto services.