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 September 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 September 2026 by TVL Growth

The Following chains saw the highest TVL growth in September 2026

1. Bittensor

2. Pharos

3. Anubis

4. Near

5. Bifrost Network

6. Hedera

7. Injective

8. WorldChain

9. THORChain

10. Ink

1. Bittensor

Bittensor tops the table with 1192% growth in September 2026. Bittensor is a decentralized AI marketplace where miners provide machine intelligence, compute, data, or models, while validators assess usefulness. Its subnets specialize in different AI tasks, and participants receive TAO rewards based on their contributions. Its TVL is now valued at $604.2 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Bittensor:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Tensorplex	+35.37%
Chutes	+34.38%

2. Pharos

Pharos comes in Second place with 136% growth in September 2026. Pharos (PROS) is a high‑performance, EVM‑compatible Layer‑1 blockchain built for “RealFi”: tokenizing real‑world assets (RWAs), stablecoins, payments, and institutional finance on‑chain. Founded in 2024 by ex‑Ant Group/Alibaba engineers, it uses a modular, parallel‑execution architecture to target very high throughput and sub‑second finality while remaining compatible with existing Ethereum tooling. The network aims to bridge traditional finance and Web3 by enabling compliant issuance, transfer, and settlement of assets like private credit, infrastructure funds, and bonds on a scalable, decentralized rail. Its TVL is now valued at $77.4 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Pharos:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Morpho Blue	+159%
FaroSwap	+40.45%

3. Anubis

Anubis Chain comes in third place with 136% growth in September 2026. Anubis is an EVM-compatible, privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain designed for secure Web3 applications and on-chain finance. It uses selective privacy, zero-knowledge proofs, and disclosure controls for transactions, identities, and smart contracts. Its TVL is now valued at $431.27 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Anubis:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
RocketSwap Anubis	+136%

4. Near

Near comes in fourth place with 77.57% growth in September 2026. NEAR is a scalable, sharded Layer 1 blockchain built for fast, low-cost applications, cross-chain activity, and AI agents. It offers rapid finality, developer-friendly infrastructure, and privacy-oriented execution capabilities. Its TVL is now valued at $227.33 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Near:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Meme Cooking	+316%
TruStake	+127%

5. Bifrost Network

Bifrost Network comes in fifth place with 56.32% growth in September 2026. Bifrost is a Substrate-based, EVM-compatible public blockchain focused on multichain interoperability. Its native cross-chain communication infrastructure allows applications and users to interact with assets and networks across different blockchains. Its TVL is now valued at $15.99 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Bifrost Network:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Biquid	+161%
BiFi	+129%

6. Hedera

Hedera comes in sixth place with 52.23% growth in September 2026. Hedera is an enterprise-focused distributed ledger network designed for fast, secure, and compliant decentralized applications. Its HBAR token pays network fees and supports access to Hedera’s services, with transactions finalized in seconds. Its TVL is now valued at $41.44 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Hedera:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
SaucerSwap	+63.71%
Pangolin V2	+30.48%

7. Injective

Injective comes in seventh place with 42.19% growth in September 2026. Injective is a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for decentralized finance. It provides native infrastructure for spot and derivatives trading, stablecoins, tokenized assets, and cross-chain financial applications. Its TVL is now valued at $13.12 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Injective:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Choice Exchange	+103%

8. WorldChain

WorldChain comes in eighth place with 38.80% growth in September 2026. WorldChain is an Ethereum-aligned Layer 2 built on the OP Stack for World’s identity ecosystem. It prioritizes verified humans through World ID and aims to provide scalable, low-cost infrastructure for financial and identity applications. Its TVL is now valued at $48.29 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for WorldChain:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Credit	+127%
X3X	+71.33%

9. THORChain

THORChain ranks ninth, with 37.68% growth in September 2026. THORChain is a decentralized, non-custodial liquidity protocol enabling native-asset swaps across multiple blockchains without wrapped tokens or centralized intermediaries. RUNE supports liquidity, security, settlement, and network incentives. Its TVL is now valued at $40.01 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for THORChain:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Maya Protocol	+61.59%
THORChain DEX	+37.85%

10. Ink

Ink comes in tenth with 37.15% growth in September 2026. Ink is an Ethereum Layer‑2 blockchain incubated by crypto exchange Kraken, built on Optimism’s OP Stack and part of the Optimism Superchain. It launched on Ethereum mainnet in December 2024 with 1‑second block times, sub‑cent fees, and full EVM compatibility, aiming to onboard Kraken’s 10M users into DeFi. The network uses ETH for gas, posts batch data to Ethereum, and supports permissionless fault proofs. Its TVL is now valued at $210.67 million.

Top protocols that drive TVL Growth for Ink:

Protocol	TVL Growth(Sep 2026)
Uniswap	+354%
Tydro	+61.75%

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 in September 2026, with a minimum TVL of $10 million.