DeFiLlama primary-source snapshot
Fetched: 2026-04-25 UTC
1) Official docs and methodology overview
Source: https://docs.llama.fi/
Selected excerpts from the docs:
We pride ourselves in producing inclusive, non-biased, and community driven statistics for the decentralised finance industry.
DefiLlama tracks a wide range of metrics across DeFi. Each metric has its own open-source adapter repository where anyone can contribute.
At DefiLlama we consider the value of any tokens locked in the contracts of a protocol / platform as TVL.
Additional signals from the docs:
- The official docs are unusually explicit about methodology, inclusion criteria, and how contributors can list or update projects
- The docs show DeFiLlama is broader than a TVL dashboard: it tracks fees, revenue, DEX/perp volume, bridge activity, yields, stablecoins, emissions, oracle TVS, and token rights
- The project’s source of truth is partly operational and code-driven, with adapter repositories linked directly from the methodology docs
2) Coin Prices API docs
Source: https://docs.llama.fi/coin-prices-api
Selected excerpts from the docs:
How to list a new protocol or coin
An adapter is just a javascript file that exports an async function that returns an array of database writes, describing the state of a protocol’s coins at a given timestamp.
we do prefer on-chain data to protocol APIs. Especially for numerical data used to calculate price.
Additional signals from the docs:
- The coin-pricing documentation makes the project’s operating model concrete: contributors write adapters that emit structured database writes for token pricing and metadata
- The preference for onchain data over protocol APIs is a useful primary-source clue about methodology and trust posture
- This page reinforces that DeFiLlama is a data-ingestion and normalization platform, not just a visualization site
3) DefiLlama adapters repository
Source: https://github.com/DefiLlama/DefiLlama-Adapters
Selected excerpts/signals from the repository page:
Follow this guide to create an adapter and submit a PR with it.
TVL must be computed from blockchain data.
This is a work in progress. DefiLlama aims to be transparent, accurate, and open source.
Additional signals from the repo:
- The public adapters repo confirms that project listing and metric collection are community-contributed and code-review based
- The repository instructions reveal a strong preference for blockchain-derived data instead of self-reported marketing metrics
- The repo is itself part of the project’s first-party documentation surface because contribution flows are central to how DeFiLlama stays current
4) DefiLlama server repository
Source: https://github.com/DefiLlama/defillama-server
Selected excerpts/signals from the repository page:
Server for defillama
Additional signals from the repo:
- The repo structure exposes separate areas for coins, shared utilities, and DeFi/server logic, which supports the view that DeFiLlama operates a broader data platform rather than a single-purpose tracker
- Even though the GitHub page excerpt is sparse, the repository inventory is a useful primary-source signal of active operational infrastructure behind the analytics surfaces
Notes
- DeFiLlama appears best categorized as DeFi analytics / open data index / protocol-metrics infrastructure.
- No classic whitepaper or litepaper was found in this pass.
- The strongest primary sources were the methodology docs, coin-pricing docs, adapters repository, and server repository.
- Direct homepage fetching was blocked in this environment, so this review leaned on DeFiLlama’s official docs and first-party GitHub surfaces.