Alts in Re-Accumulation, $LIBRA Crash, Trump Tariff Shock, and US Banks becoming Validators 🔥
ToE's Weekly Highlights
BTC and ETH hammered by macro chaos, $LIBRA meme imploded, and US banks can now be validators on public networks $ETH
Yet quietly behind the scenes, alt markets showed re-accumulation strength recently.
Here’s exactly what's next for your bags👇🧵
Weekly Updates
Major Launches
Monarch Vault: AI-powered lending vault on Morpho, optimizing yield dynamically.
SolvBTC on Soneium: Enables Bitcoin deposits for staking, rewards, and cross-chain liquidity.
DeFi Saver: Smart wallet automation tool for managing DeFi positions across Aave, Fluid, Liquity, and more.
Key Updates
Pendle launched a community listing process for protocols to create their own yield markets.
Kaito AI introduced the MitosisOrg Yapper Leaderboard, ranking top contributors.
SolvBTC.BNB Cap 2 launched, offering BTC holders access to Binance Launchpool rewards.
deBridge enabled fast cross-chain swaps for $HYPE, streamlining access to HyperEVM.
Navi Exchange joined Orderly as the 35th DEX partner.
Upcoming Events
ETHGlobal Taipei (April 1-6, 2025) will feature Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum Foundation members, and top DeFi builders.
Circle announced native USDC on Linea via a bridged-to-native upgrade.
Aave teased V4 upgrade, with no details yet.
Airdrops & Farms
Elixir ($ELX) Eligibility Checker is now live, with 41% of supply allocated to the community.
Satoshi Protocol GOLD rewards claim & FUN waitlist opened.
Sandglass launched a Kamino Finance SOL vault with a 5x boost on APY.
Exposure to DeFi Growth
Reserve Protocol's Decentralized Token Folios (DTFs) offer ETF-like index exposure to DeFi tokens.
DeFi Growth Index (DGI) includes Morpho, Fluid, CoW, Balancer, Euler, and more.
Users can buy via Zap-Swap or mint/redeem large amounts.
Key Takeaways from ETHDenver 2025
Read indepth report here
1️⃣ Stablecoins Dominated the Narrative
Stablecoins were the #1 topic, with institutions, DeFi builders, and TradFi all exploring new use cases.
PayPal made a major move, paying an invoice with PYUSD, signaling stablecoins' transition into mainstream finance.
Institutional investors see stablecoins as a safe, yield-bearing asset in uncertain market conditions.
2️⃣ AI & Crypto Convergence Is Accelerating
AI-driven on-chain agents, governance models, and trading bots were everywhere.
The industry is shifting towards AI-powered DeFi automation, but skepticism remains on risk management.
Over-saturation of AI narratives—real adoption vs. hype?
3️⃣ ETHDenver Felt Less “Ethereum” Than Ever
Many builders and investors focused on non-Ethereum ecosystems like Sonic, Berachain, and Base.
DeFi energy is shifting to alternative L1s and L2s, raising concerns about Ethereum’s future positioning.
Calls for ETHDenver to be rebranded as Web3Denver due to its increasingly multi-chain nature.
4️⃣ Base Emerged as the Breakout L2
Fastest-growing Ethereum L2 with strong adoption, institutional interest, and Coinbase’s backing.
$cbBTC flipped WBTC in volume, attracting massive liquidity.
Coinbase’s on-chain FX ambitions could turn Base into the DeFi hub for global stablecoins and payments.
5️⃣ Institutional Adoption Is No Longer Just Talk
Banks, fintechs, and asset managers were present in full force.
Tokenization of RWA (Real-World Assets) and stablecoins are key entry points for TradFi.
Large players are quietly building, waiting for clearer regulations before deploying billions on-chain.
6️⃣ Side Events Outshined the Main Conference
Builders, traders, and investors preferred intimate side events over mainstage talks.
Too many overlapping events made navigation difficult—calls for better coordination next year.
DeFi Summits and hacker houses became the true hubs of innovation and networking.
7️⃣ Market Sentiment: Builder Resilience Amid Uncertainty
Bearish market conditions didn’t stop deep builders from innovating.
More focus on long-term DeFi sustainability, real revenue models, and on-chain yield solutions.
Less hype around meme coins & NFTs, with a shift towards infrastructure, stablecoins, and BTCFi.
Narrative Overview for FEB
Macro Pressure Drives Crypto Volatility
Bitcoin ($BTC) faced considerable downward pressure due to macroeconomic concerns, notably tariff announcements by Donald Trump against Canada and Mexico, triggering major liquidation events:
BTC fell from approximately $105K to as low as $78K within the month, primarily due to escalating tariff fears.
Ethereum ($ETH) suffered heavily, dropping around 25% within a single session (from $2800 to $2100).
Around $2 billion in liquidations marked this event as one of the largest since 2021.
Surprisingly, altcoins demonstrated relative resilience compared to BTC toward the month's end, suggesting earlier capitulation.
High-Profile Hacks and Regulatory Relief
Bybit exchange faced a historic $1.5 billion hack, reportedly executed by the North Korean Lazarus Group. Bybit swiftly reassured users by covering the losses, limiting broader market panic.
The SEC significantly scaled back its crypto-related lawsuits, dropping cases against major players including Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Uniswap, and others. Despite this positive regulatory shift, the market remained largely indifferent.
Solana Memecoin Collapse: $LIBRA Debacle
The launch of Argentina's "country memecoin" $LIBRA, promoted by politician @JMilei, quickly turned disastrous. After a rapid climb from $1B to $4.5B FDV, revelations of liquidity extraction led to a swift collapse back under $1B.
The incident severely damaged investor trust, intensifying bearish sentiment toward Solana's ecosystem. $SOL notably plummeted from $200 to around $130.
Similar memecoin launches, including $ENRON, $CAR, and Dave Portnoy's $JAILSTOOL, further exacerbated negative market perception.
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Sees Renewed Interest
Binance CEO CZ sparked a fresh wave of speculation on BSC by highlighting a meme token, Test $TST. $TST rocketed from sub-$1M to $500M market cap, reigniting interest in Binance-based tokens like $CAKE and $BNB.
CZ’s announcement of his dog's name, "Broccoli," led to chaotic competition with multiple $Broccoli tokens launched simultaneously, ultimately confusing investors and dampening overall sentiment.
Notable gains were observed in other meme tokens such as $CAPTAINBNB, reaching $65M market cap before retracing significantly.
Sonic Network's Impressive Recovery
@SonicLabs $S, formerly Fantom, experienced significant price recovery after an initial sell-off following its rebranding. The token surged from below $0.4 to nearly $1.
Sonic’s new decentralized exchange token, $SHADOW, notably surged 25x, buoyed by attractive incentive programs within the Sonic ecosystem.
Read more here
Fresh Tokens Show Strength
February saw impressive performances from several new tokens:
@berachain $BERA: Initially dipped sharply post-launch but recovered notably, stabilizing around a $4.5 billion FDV.
@StoryProtocol $IP: Experienced a dramatic squeeze from $1.5 to a peak of $9 billion FDV, stabilizing later around $6 billion FDV.
@KaitoAI $KAITO: Quickly rose from a $1 billion FDV launch to $3 billion within one week.
@solayer_labs $LAYER: Reversed an initial 50% post-launch loss, reaching a peak of $1.5 billion FDV before stabilizing near $600M.
Notable Performances in February
@SkyEcosystem $MKR: Reversed its prolonged underperformance, jumping from below $1000 to $1800 driven by active token buybacks.
@getgrass_io $GRASS: AI-centric token rose over 100%, significantly outperforming broader market trends.
@tensor_hq $TNSR: Doubled in value, boosted by revenue streams from its popular social trading app Vector.fun.
@MANTRA_Chain $OM: An impressive outlier, gaining 40% during the month and delivering a 400x return since its 2023 low, although speculation of market manipulation surrounds its rapid ascent.