Borrowing demand across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols plunged sharply in the wake of the recent crypto market turmoil, a sign of widespread deleveraging as crypto investors unwound risky positions.

The average U.S. dollar stablecoin yield — what protocols pay out to lenders for lending out their assets — fell to 2.8% on Tuesday to its lowest level in a year, measured by DeFi yield-earning application vaults.fyi’s benchmark. That’s well below the average U.S. dollar money market rates on traditional markets (4.3%), and a hefty decline from mid-December’s crypto market peak, when DeFi rates topped 18%.

“This is largely due to the market moving towards a risk-off environment where borrowing across protocols has decreased…