1. Maker leads with $95.91 million in revenue, benefitting from US Treasury bond purchases and the Spark Protocol's T-bill exposure via locked DAI.
2. Lido follows with $55.79 million, leveraging Ethereum's proof-of-stake shift by offering staked ether tokens (stETH), reaching a $20 billion market cap.
3. PancakeSwap generated $52.31 million, ranking second in DEX volume after Uniswap. V3 launch focused on concentrated liquidity and a gaming marketplace.
4. Convex Finance accrued $42.23 million, an asset management protocol enabling yield for Curve and Frax token holders, with significant token control.
5. GMX earned $37.52 million, a perpetual swap exchange on Arbitrum, facilitating high-leverage trades without massive capital, also a major recipient of Arbitrum's grant.
Revenue emerges as an alternative metric to TVL, offering insights into protocol performance and success beyond the traditional total value locked perspective. These DeFi protocols showcase diverse strategies in generating revenue, reflecting the evolving nature of decentralized finance.