TVL measures crypto assets deposited in a DeFi protocol's contracts.
Rising TVL can signal adoption, but incentives and double-counting can distort comparisons.
In research workflows, Total value locked is usually interpreted with DeFi, Yield farming, Aave, and Liquidity rather than as a standalone signal. Smart-contract, oracle, and governance risks are part of the product. Yield without understanding the mechanism is usually underpriced risk.