The total value of assets locked (TVL) in liquid staking projects has continued to climb despite the overwhelming bearish sentiments present in the market.

DeFillama’s data reveals an impressive surge in the category’s TVL, which has reached almost $20 billion in the past year. Notably, this growth has outpaced other sectors in decentralized finance, including lending and decentralized exchanges, during the same timeframe.

Liquid staking protocols, such as Lido (LDO), Frax Ether (FXS), and Rocket Pool (RPL), offer users the unique opportunity to earn staking rewards while retaining liquidity for other crypto activities. The sector’s growth is largely due to the Ethereum (ETH) Shanghai upgrade, which allowed stakers to withdraw their staked ETH easily.

This upgrade reignited enthusiasm within the crypto community for these protocols. For context, Nansen’s Ethereum Shanghai dashboard shows a trend of  ETH staking deposits outpacing withdrawals since the process began. These deposits are concentrated on liquid staking platforms, with Lido dominating.