defillama-research

name	defillama-research
description	Research DeFi protocols and market opportunities using DefiLlama data. Use when a user says "show me TVL data", "which protocols are growing", "DeFi market research", "what should I build in DeFi", "find DeFi opportunities", "analyze protocol TVL", or "which chains are trending". Uses TVL as a trust metric to suggest protocols worth building on or integrating with.

Preamble (run first)

_TEL_TIER=$(cat ~/.superstack/config.json 2>/dev/null | grep -o '"telemetryTier": *"[^"]*"' | head -1 | sed 's/.*"telemetryTier": *"//;s/"$//'  || echo "anonymous")
_TEL_TIER="${_TEL_TIER:-anonymous}"
_TEL_PROMPTED=$([ -f ~/.superstack/.telemetry-prompted ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
_TEL_START=$(date +%s)
_SESSION_ID="$$-$(date +%s)"
mkdir -p ~/.superstack
echo "TELEMETRY: $_TEL_TIER"
echo "TEL_PROMPTED: $_TEL_PROMPTED"
if [ "$_TEL_TIER" != "off" ]; then
_TEL_EVENT='{"skill":"defillama-research","phase":"idea","event":"started","ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'"}' 
echo "$_TEL_EVENT" >> ~/.superstack/telemetry.jsonl 2>/dev/null || true
_CONVEX_URL=$(cat ~/.superstack/config.json 2>/dev/null | grep -o '"convexUrl":"[^"]*"' | head -1 | cut -d'"' -f4 || echo "")
[ -n "$_CONVEX_URL" ] && curl -s -X POST "$_CONVEX_URL/api/mutation" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"path":"telemetry:track","args":{"skill":"defillama-research","phase":"idea","status":"success","version":"0.2.0","platform":"'$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)'","timestamp":'$(date +%s)000'}}' >/dev/null 2>&1 &
true
fi

If TEL_PROMPTED is no: Before starting the skill workflow, ask the user about telemetry. Use AskUserQuestion:

Help superstack get better! We track which skills get used and how long they take — no code, no file paths, no PII. Change anytime in ~/.superstack/config.json.

Options:

• A) Sure, help superstack improve (anonymous)
• B) No thanks

If A: run this bash:

echo '{"telemetryTier":"anonymous"}' > ~/.superstack/config.json
_TEL_TIER="anonymous"
touch ~/.superstack/.telemetry-prompted

If B: run this bash:

echo '{"telemetryTier":"off"}' > ~/.superstack/config.json
_TEL_TIER="off"
touch ~/.superstack/.telemetry-prompted

This only happens once. If TEL_PROMPTED is yes, skip this entirely and proceed to the skill workflow.

Wrong skill? See SKILL_ROUTER.md for all available skills.

DefiLlama Research

Overview

Use DefiLlama's API to research the DeFi landscape on Solana and across chains. TVL (Total Value Locked) is the primary trust metric — protocols with real TVL have real users with real money at stake. Use this data to identify what's working, what's growing, and where the gaps are.

Workflow

1. Understand the user's goal: exploring DeFi broadly, validating a specific niche, or picking protocols to integrate with.
2. Read references/defillama-api-guide.md for the available endpoints and how to query them.
3. Read references/tvl-as-trust-metric.md to understand how to interpret TVL data.
4. Read references/defi-opportunity-framework.md for spotting opportunities from the data.
5. Query the DefiLlama API to pull relevant data:
   • /protocols for all protocols with TVL
   • /v2/chains for chain-level TVL
   • /overview/dexs for DEX volume data
   • /overview/fees for fee/revenue data
   • /pools for yield data (base URL: https://yields.llama.fi)
   • /stablecoins for stablecoin flow data (base URL: https://stablecoins.llama.fi)
6. Analyze and present findings with concrete recommendations.

Non-Negotiables

• Always use real-time DefiLlama data, not stale numbers. The API is free and fast.
• TVL alone is not enough. Cross-reference with fees/revenue, user count, and growth trends.
• When recommending protocols to build on, check if they have an SDK, open API, or composable contracts.
• Distinguish between "high TVL = trusted" and "high TVL = opportunity". A $10B protocol is trusted but hard to compete with. A $10M protocol growing 50% monthly is the opportunity.
• Always filter for Solana data when the user is building on Solana, unless they ask for cross-chain.
• Flag protocols with declining TVL — they may be losing trust or users.
• Present data in tables with clear rankings.

Phase Handoff

This skill is Phase 1 (Idea) in the Idea → Build → Launch journey.

After research, write/update .superstack/idea-context.md (create if missing) with a defi_research field containing:

• top_protocols: array of { name, tvl, tvl_change_7d, category, chain }
• opportunities: array of identified gaps or underserved niches
• recommended_integrations: protocols with SDKs/APIs worth building on
• market_snapshot: { total_solana_tvl, top_category, fastest_growing_category }

See ../../../data/specs/phase-handoff.md for the full JSON contract.

Resources

references/

• references/defillama-api-guide.md
• references/tvl-as-trust-metric.md
• references/defi-opportunity-framework.md

Quick Start

# Ask for DeFi data:
#   "Show me DeFi opportunities on Solana"
#   "Which Solana protocols are growing fastest?"
#   "Find underserved DeFi niches on Solana"

# Key DefiLlama API endpoints:
# GET https://api.llama.fi/v2/chains                        — All chains TVL
# GET https://api.llama.fi/protocols                        — All protocols
# GET https://api.llama.fi/overview/dexs/solana             — Solana DEX volume
# GET https://api.llama.fi/overview/fees/solana              — Solana fee revenue
# GET https://yields.llama.fi/pools                         — All yield pools
# GET https://stablecoins.llama.fi/stablecoins              — All stablecoins
# GET https://stablecoins.llama.fi/stablecoincharts/Solana  — Solana stablecoin flows

Decision Points

• Which DeFi category to build in? AMM, lending, perps, staking, yield — pick based on TVL gaps and growth trends.
• TVL growing but revenue flat? Protocol likely has unsustainable incentives — not a good model to copy.
• Small TVL + fast growth? Best opportunity zone. Build the protocol or build tools for it.

datasets/

• ../../../data/defi/defillama-api.json — Full OpenAPI 3.1 spec for DefiLlama API (69 endpoints)

Telemetry (run last)

After the skill workflow completes (success, error, or abort), log the telemetry event. Determine the outcome from the workflow result: success if completed normally, error if it failed, abort if the user interrupted.

Run this bash:

_TEL_END=$(date +%s)
_TEL_DUR=$(( _TEL_END - ${_TEL_START:-$_TEL_END} ))
_TEL_TIER=$(cat ~/.superstack/config.json 2>/dev/null | grep -o '"telemetryTier": *"[^"]*"' | head -1 | sed 's/.*"telemetryTier": *"//;s/"$//' || echo "anonymous")
if [ "$_TEL_TIER" != "off" ]; then
echo '{"skill":"defillama-research","phase":"idea","event":"completed","outcome":"OUTCOME","duration_s":"'"$_TEL_DUR"'","session":"'"$_SESSION_ID"'","ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","platform":"'$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)'"}' >> ~/.superstack/telemetry.jsonl 2>/dev/null || true
true
fi

Replace OUTCOME with success/error/abort based on the workflow result.