Contract Holdings

Definition ∞ Contract holdings refer to digital assets or tokens locked within smart contracts on a blockchain. These assets are held under predefined, self-executing conditions, often for purposes such as collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, liquidity provision, or staking. The control of these assets is governed entirely by the code of the smart contract, not by a central intermediary. Their quantity indicates usage and trust in a specific protocol.
Context ∞ Crypto news frequently reports on the total value locked (TVL) in various DeFi protocols, which directly correlates with contract holdings, signifying market liquidity and investor confidence. Significant movements in contract holdings can signal shifts in protocol popularity, security concerns, or reactions to market events. Understanding contract holdings is crucial for assessing the health and activity of decentralized applications and their underlying economies.