Aptos [APT] has continued to trade in a downward price trend that has lasted for the past 18 months. Over the past week alone, the network’s Total Value Locked, or TVL, fell by about 43% at the time of writing, extending a broader decline that has been unfolding for roughly two months.

TVL is a widely used DeFi metric because it tracks the dollar value of assets deposited in protocols on a network. It does not, by itself, measure user quality or long-term adoption, but sharp changes can signal shifts in liquidity conditions, protocol usage, or token valuations.

Aptos TVL declines from June levels

According to DefiLlama, Aptos’ TVL stood at around $280 million in early June before losing more than $100 million by the end of that month. The contraction accelerated over the past week, with TVL falling from $156 million to $100 million, a decline of about 43%.

When active loans, double counts, staking, and liquid staking are excluded, Aptos’ TVL was lower at $63 million. That adjusted figure matters because it narrows the view to capital deployed in DeFi applications rather than balances that may be counted through staking-related or overlapping positions.

A major factor behind the latest decline was Echo Protocol withdrawing a significant amount of liquidity. Echo Protocol is a Bitcoin [BTC]-focused bridge operating on Move-based chains, including Aptos, and its liquidity exit had a particularly strong impact on APT.

The fall in TVL also coincided with signs of weak network activity. Daily active addresses were around 40.5K, while earnings dropped 72% from $366K to $103K, according to DefiLlama.

A decline of that scale could lead traders to withdraw staked APT if they view staking as less profitable, which may also affect chain security. Aptos’ real-world asset, or RWA, TVL also fell sharply, dropping 70% over the past 30 days.

Together, the withdrawal of liquidity, lower activity, weaker earnings, and the decline in RWA TVL contributed to capital leaving the Aptos ecosystem. For the network, the next important signals are whether protocol liquidity stabilizes, whether activity and earnings recover, and whether RWA deposits stop declining.

APT price weakness also affects TVL valuation

APT’s weak price performance also played a role in the TVL decline when measured in U.S. dollar terms. Because TVL is commonly calculated in USD, a decline in the price of APT reduces the dollar value of assets locked on the network.

At press time, APT was moving lower within a trend channel after breaking down from a sideways trading range. Open Interest, or OI, had also fallen to around $42 million, reinforcing the view that trader interest in the token had weakened.

However, APT was trading above the mid-level of the trend channel at the time, which the source described as a possible sign that buyers were gaining some strength within a broader bearish structure.