ETH on centralized exchanges continue to drop as investors turn to DeFi offerings
![ETH on centralized exchanges continue to drop as investors turn to DeFi offerings](/content/images/size/w1200/2021/05/What-Is-The-Difference-Between-Bitcoin-and-Ethereum.png)
As the amount of Ethereum locked up in DeFi protocols continues to grow, its supply on centralized exchanges is taking a beating.
While the number of ETH locked in DeFi protocols has grown by 75% since the beginning of 2020, the number of ETH held on exchanges has fallen by 30% within the same timeframe. According to a chart shared by on-chain analytics provider Glassnode, Ethereum’s supply on centralized exchanges has dropped to 12% from 17% at the start of 2020.
The chart compared the number of ETH deposited in Ethereum-based protocols to the number held on centralized exchanges over the past 17 months.
While the number of centralized exchanges suffered a decline, the percentage of ETH locked in DeFi smart contracts rose by three quarters within the same period. DeFi protocols recorded a growth of 22.8%, up from 13%.
![](https://btcpeers.com/content/images/2021/05/Screenshot_2021-05-07-Almost-twice-as-much-ETH-locked-in-DeFi-as-on-exchanges-Glassnode--1-.png)
Meanwhile, figures from DeFi Llama, a crypto data aggregator suggest that nearly 9% of ETH’s circulating supply is locked in smart contracts other than the Ethereum mainnet. According to its estimate, about 8.3 million coins (equivalent to 7% of ETH’s circulating supply) are locked in Binance Smart Chain protocols. Solana and Avalanche hold 286,153 ETH and 103,902 ETH, respectively.
As reported by BTC PEERS, Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem recently surpassed 2 million users. It comes as no surprise that the leading altcoin is moving from centralized exchanges into protocols that promise more gains.