The DeFi landscape continues to evolve with blockchain ecosystems competing for dominance through innovative applications and strategic partnerships. Total Value Locked (TVL) is one of the key metrics to measure the health and attractiveness of these ecosystems. In this article, we have compiled a list of the top 10 blockchains in May 2026 by TVL growth, with a minimum Range of $10 million, using data from DefiLlama, a leading DeFi analytics platform. 

What is TVL?

Total Value Locked (TVL) is a key metric in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem that represents the total U.S. dollar value of digital assets that are currently locked in DeFi platforms. These assets can include cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, liquidity tokens, and other digital assets used for various purposes such as staking, liquidity provision, and yield farming. It serves as an indicator of a DeFi platform's health and popularity, reflecting user trust and engagement.

Top 10 Blockchains in May 2026 by TVL Growth

The Following chains saw the highest TVL growth in May 2026

1. Mezo

2. Stable

3. ENI

4. ZIGChain

5. Gala

6. Near

7. Plasma

8. World Chain

9. TON

10. Plume Mainnet

1. Mezo

Mezo tops the table with 136% growth in May 2026. Mezo is a Bitcoin-first Layer 2 blockchain developed by Thesis. It enables Bitcoin banking: deposit BTC as collateral to mint MUSD at 1% fixed rates, earn native BTC-denominated yield via ve-tokenomics, and transact without selling BTC. Mezo combines Cosmos SDK with EVM compatibility, reinforcing Bitcoin's utility in DeFi while maintaining decentralization.​ Its TVL is now valued at $64.08 million.

2. Stable

Stable comes in Second place with 125% growth in May 2026. Stable is a USDT-native Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for stablecoin payments. It uses USDT as native gas, making peer-to-peer USDT transfers gas-free with sub-second finality, ultra-low fees, and thousands of TPS throughput. Built on delegated Proof-of-Stake with full EVM compatibility, it targets cross-border payments, institutional settlement, and merchant transactions. Its TVL is now valued at $16.16 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Stable:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Morpho Blue	+141%
Stable Swap	+57.05%

3. ENI

ENI comes in third place with 105% growth in May 2026. ENI is an enterprise-grade Web3 Layer 1 platform designed for high-performance business apps. It boasts 10,000 TPS via parallel execution, a triple consensus (EPoS, VRF, ETurboBFT), and ZK proofs for privacy/scalability. Modular mainnet + AppChains enable custom chains for cross-border trade, compliance, and dApps. Its TVL is now valued at $259.22 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for ENI:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Dswap	+135%

4. ZIGChain

ZIGChain comes in fourth place with 87.71% growth in May 2026. ZIGChain is a Cosmos SDK-based Layer 1 blockchain designed for compliant real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and on-chain wealth generation. It bridges traditional finance and DeFi via its built-in Wealth Management Engine, supporting both EVM and CosmWasm smart contracts. Its TVL is now valued at $10.24 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for ZIGChain:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Nawa Protocol	+1827%
Valdora Finance	+337%

5. Gala

Gala comes in fifth place with 79.40% growth in May 2026. GalaChain is a Layer 1 blockchain built by Gala Games, optimized for Web3 gaming and entertainment. Powered by Hyperledger Fabric with Proof of Authority consensus, it delivers sub-2-second block times, low costs, and scalable horizontal processing. Its TVL is now valued at $14.04 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Gala:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Gala Swap	+79.40%

6. Near

Near comes in sixth place with 57.96% growth in May 2026. Near is a carbon-neutral, layer-1 blockchain built for speed and scalability using Nightshade sharding. It offers user-friendly features like named accounts, sub-cent fees, 1.3s finality, and JavaScript/Rust smart contracts. Its TVL is now valued at $187.62 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Near:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Nearlend DAO	+106%
NEAR Intents	+106%

7. Plasma

Plasma comes in seventh place with 46.99% growth in May 2026. Plasma (XPL) is a Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for stablecoin payments. It offers zero-fee USDT transfers, sub-second finality, and full EVM compatibility. Using its custom PlasmaBFT consensus, Plasma handles 1,000+ TPS while sponsoring gas fees for simple stablecoin transfers. Its TVL is now valued at $792.62 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Plasma:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Reservoir Protocol	+259251431%
Trevee Earn	+77749%

8. World Chain

World Chain comes in eighth place with 43.74% growth in May 2026. World Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built to scale the Worldcoin ecosystem. It uses World ID to anonymously verify real users, granting them priority blockspace and free gas allowances. By prioritizing humans, the platform minimizes transaction friction and protects the network from automated AI-driven bots. Its TVL is now valued at $29.6 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for World Chain:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Gamma	+261%
Holdstation	+83.64%

9. TON

TON comes at ninth with 35.50% growth in May 2026. TON is a high‑speed, scalable layer‑1 blockchain created by Telegram that now runs under the TON Foundation. It uses a “blockchain of blockchains” design with a masterchain, multiple workchains, and dynamic sharding to handle millions of transactions per second at low fees, supporting DeFi, NFTs, games, and Web3 apps tightly integrated with Telegram. Its TVL is now valued at $79.32 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for TON:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
TONCO	+3537%
Wonton	+702%

10. Plume Mainnet

Plume Mainnet comes at tenth with 31.80% growth in May 2026. Plume is a modular, EVM-compatible blockchain purpose-built for real-world asset (RWA) finance. It simplifies bringing traditional investments like real estate, private credit, and commodities on-chain. The platform natively integrates compliance tools, an asset tokenization engine, and deep DeFi liquidity. Its TVL is now valued at $12.84 million.

Top protocol that drives TVL Growth for Plume Mainnet:

Protocol	TVL Growth (May 2026)
Midas RWA	+110%
DigiFT	+98.67%

Conclusion

In the dynamic landscape of decentralized finance (DeFi), tracking the Total Value Locked (TVL) across various blockchains provides invaluable insights into market trends and investor confidence. This analysis, based on data from DeFi Llama, highlights the top 10 blockchains that have experienced significant growth in TVL over May 2026, with a minimum TVL of $10 million.