Plain-English definition
TVL is the headline measure of how much capital a protocol holds: deposits in a lending market, tokens in a trading pool, assets staked in a vault. It is the most common single number for the size of a venue.
Read it with one caveat: TVL can rise because new money arrived, or simply because the assets already there went up in price. A deepening worth investigating is one where units flowed in, not just where the mark moved.
Why it matters
TVL (Total Value Locked) matters because crypto markets can look precise while still being shallow, crowded, or poorly sourced. A useful read is not just the number. It is the number, the size behind it, the context around it, and the part it cannot explain.
Simple example
A simple TVL (Total Value Locked) example is a reader comparing two venues with the same headline price but different depth. The deeper venue can absorb more capital before the trade, peg, or yield reading starts to move against the user.
How Bathymark uses this term
Bathymark uses TVL (Total Value Locked) to translate open market data into live liquidity readings. When the term touches a live page, the reading links back to the relevant chain, protocol, stablecoin, DEX, perps, or Signal so the source remains checkable.
Common mistake
The common mistake is treating TVL (Total Value Locked) as a complete signal by itself. Bathymark treats it as one instrument: useful when read beside liquidity, source, size, and what the number cannot prove.