Cardano's decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem saw total value locked (TVL) fall 1.70 percent over 24 hours to $68.17 million.

The Crypto Basic, a blockchain outlet, reported on Aug. 6 that stablecoins accounted for $64.21 million of the funds deposited in Cardano's DeFi ecosystem.

DefiLlama data showed Dano Finance recorded the largest TVL at $14.15 million. Minswap followed with $13.18 million and Liqwid with $12.36 million. WingRiders, Indigo, Slash Protocol and Surf Lending are also contributing to ecosystem liquidity.

The gap with major smart contract blockchains remains large. Ethereum's TVL stands at $41.32 billion and Solana's at $4.78 billion, far above Cardano. Cardano needs to expand liquidity sharply to establish itself as a major DeFi ecosystem.

Still, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson (찰스 호스킨슨) presented a strategy of growing the DeFi ecosystem by complementing other blockchains rather than competing head-on. He presented Alpagrowth's Cardano PRIME as a core measure. The project is aimed at supporting Cardano DeFi growth over the next 12 months, with a goal of lifting eligible TVL from about $90 million to more than $290 million within a year.

To that end, Alpagrowth requested support of 120 million ADA from the Cardano treasury. The proposal includes a fixed fee of 11 million ADA and performance-based incentives of up to 29 million ADA if pre-set growth targets are met.

Hoskinson also mentioned Cardano initiatives RealFi and Pogun as additional growth drivers. RealFi is a plan to link DeFi with real-world financial services to expand economic activity and blockchain adoption among the financially excluded. Pogun is designed to bring Bitcoin liquidity into the Cardano ecosystem so Bitcoin holders can participate in Cardano-based DeFi.

He then said PRIME, RealFi and Pogun could, over the long term, bring in capital worth several billion dollars into the Cardano ecosystem. "If TVL reaches the level of several billion dollars, the market narrative will change and people will start to see Cardano for its own strengths," he said.

The key is whether the plan leads to actual capital inflows. Cardano currently faces falling TVL and low deposited amounts compared with major blockchains. Whether the treasury support plan passes, and how much real users and liquidity these projects draw in, are seen as key variables for a rebound in the DeFi ecosystem.