Abstract

• This week, BTC shortly rebounded to $95,000 before retesting the $81,500 support level, while ETH price movement remains in a triangular consolidation pattern.
• Ripple has established the National Cryptocurrency Association in the U.S.
• Aave launched a token buyback program and activated the fee switch to optimize its tokenomics.
• Pendle introduced a Community Listing mechanism to support the creation of permissionless yield markets.
• Berachain leads in capital inflows, securing the top spot this week.
• Pump.fun’s trading volume in February dropped 63% month-over-month.
• Paradise recorded over 28,000 SOL in NFT trading volume over the past seven days, ranking first.

Market Analysis

Review and Insights

• BTC – This week, BTC briefly rebounded to $95,000 before retesting its support level near $81,500, where buying volume surged at the bottom. Currently, Bitcoin is in a broad consolidation phase, with trading volume significantly higher than last week. If BTC can break through its resistance level, a stronger price performance may follow. [1]

• ETH – ETH tested the $2,000 support level before rebounding to around $2,250, but its recovery was weaker compared to BTC. The current ETH price movement is forming a descending triangle consolidation pattern, where trading volume increases at support levels. If ETH can break above the descending trendline, further upside potential may emerge.[2]

• Altcoins – Altcoins saw significant declines around March 3, reflecting broader market weakness. However, top performers achieved stronger gains compared to the previous week. BTCFi led the sector gains with a 44.4% increase in market cap, followed by Bitcoin Fork Coins at 26.8% and Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) Coins at 17.4% over the past week.[3]
• Option Market – As of March 6, 2025, 11:00 AM (UTC+8), BTC options open interest reached $34.82 billion, marking an 8.6% increase from last week’s $31.81 billion. Notably, the notional value of March 28 options has risen to $13.11 billion.[4]
• Macro Data — On March 3, the U.S. February ISM Manufacturing PMI was reported at 50.3, lower than the expected 50.9. This weaker-than-expected data puts pressure on the U.S. dollar, fueling a rebound in the crypto market. [5]
• Stablecoins — As of March 6, 2025, 11:00 AM (UTC+8), the total market capitalization of stablecoins increased 0.46% from last week to $225.378 billion, indicating further inflows of fresh capital into the market.[6]
• Gas Fee — Over the past seven days, the average Ethereum gas fee dropped to 1.7 Gwei, reflecting a slight decline in network activity. [7]

Trending Concepts

This week, Bitcoin traded between $81,500 and $95,000, while altcoin performance varied across sectors. According to CoinGecko, three sectors led the market: BTCFi (up 44.4%), Bitcoin Fork Coins (up 26.8%), and Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) Coins (up 17.4%) in market capitalization over the past seven days.[8]

BTCFi - BTCFi refers to decentralized financial services built on the Bitcoin public blockchain.

Over the past seven days, the BTCFi sector surged 44.4%, reaching a market cap of $1.72 billion with $234 million in 24-hour trading volume. Among its key tokens, PSTAKE rose 23.1%, and SOLV gained 10.2% during the same period.

A major driver behind this growth is the U.S. government’s decision to include Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, providing strong validation for Bitcoin’s legitimacy and security. This official endorsement has boosted investor confidence in Bitcoin and its related financial products, attracting more capital into the market.[9]

Bitcoin Fork Coins - Bitcoin Fork Coins are tokens created from BTC network forks. The election of Donald Trump as U.S. President, along with his pro-crypto stance—particularly his plan to include Bitcoin in the U.S. strategic reserves—has strengthened market confidence in Bitcoin and its related assets. This policy support has not only driven Bitcoin’s price higher but also contributed to the rally in Bitcoin fork tokens.

Over the past seven days, the Bitcoin Fork Coins sector rose 26.8%, reaching a market cap of $8.93 billion with $990 million in 24-hour trading volume. Notably, BCH (Bitcoin Cash) surged 31.5% in the past week.[10]

Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) Coins - This sector includes blockchains based on Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology, which utilizes a graph-based structure instead of a traditional linear chain. By linking each transaction to multiple previous transactions, DAG technology enables faster parallel transaction processing. The rise in DAG Coins this week has been fueled by technological advantages, ecosystem expansion, policy support, and innovative applications.

Over the past seven days, the DAG Coins sector grew by 17.4%, reaching a market cap of $15.32 billion with $675 million in 24-hour trading volume. The standout performer in this sector was TARA, which soared 61.7%.[11]

Top Performers

According to CoinGecko, the following tokens from the Top 100 by market cap were among the best performers over the past seven days. [12]

ADA (Cardano) – Up 47.2%, Market Cap: $34.209 Billion

ADA is the native token of Cardano blockchain, designed to facilitate secure and fast digital transactions while serving as a robust technological platform for global individuals, organizations, and governments to run financial applications. Cardano represents the future of digital finance.

On March 2, former U.S. President Donald Trump instructed the Presidential Working Group to advance a strategic crypto reserve plan, including XRP, SOL, and ADA. This announcement triggered a sharp increase in ADA’s price. [13]

BCH (Bitcoin Cash) – Up 32.4%, Market Cap: $7.702 Billion

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a hard fork of Bitcoin, launched in 2017 by ViaBTC based on the Bitcoin ABC proposal. The BCH network supports on-chain scaling, new transaction signatures, an updated difficulty adjustment algorithm, and decentralized development. It follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision for scalability and aims for global adoption.

Trump’s pro-crypto stance, particularly his plan to include Bitcoin in the U.S. strategic reserve, significantly boosted market confidence in Bitcoin and its related assets. This policy-driven bullish sentiment not only fueled BTC’s price surge but also lifted Bitcoin forks like BCH and LTC. Among them, BCH and LTC stood out due to their technical strengths and high market attention. [14]

HBAR (Hedera) – Up 30.5%, Market Cap: $2.262 Billion

Hedera is a public distributed ledger network based on the Hashgraph consensus mechanism, known for its high performance (processing over 10,000 transactions per second), strong security (aBFT algorithm), and fair transparency (publicly visible transaction timestamps). Its native token, HBAR, powers decentralized applications (dApps), peer-to-peer payments, and network security.

Recently, Hedera launched three AI-driven features: Agent Kit, AI assistant Kapa, and Hivemind GPT. These upgrades expanded fintech and IoT applications, improved network efficiency and security, and boosted confidence among developers and users. With the global AI boom gaining momentum, this technological advancement attracted significant investor interest, increasing demand for HBAR and driving steady price growth.[15]

Weekly Spotlights

Hot Topic Review

Ripple Establishes the National Cryptocurrency Association in the U.S.

On March 5, Ripple officially launched the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) in the United States, securing $50 million in funding over two years to support its mission. The NCA aims to help Americans better understand the cryptocurrency industry through its consumer education platform. Although founded by Ripple, the organization is not controlled by any single company and will serve as an independent resource for anyone who uses, holds, or wants to learn about cryptocurrency. To ensure independence, the NCA is registered as a 501(c)(4) organization, meaning it prioritizes consumer interests over product revenues or profit margins.

The establishment of the NCA is expected to boost market confidence by increasing public awareness and understanding of cryptocurrency, potentially attracting more investors to the space. Additionally, by educating the public, it can help create a more rational and informed market, reducing volatility caused by misinformation or speculation. As more people gain knowledge about cryptocurrency, the market may become more mature and stable, with investors making more calculated decisions rather than following hype or impulsive trading. Furthermore, the NCA’s commitment to transparency and consumer protection could encourage greater regulatory compliance across the industry, enhancing its overall credibility and reputation. [16]

Aave Launches Token Buyback Program and Activates Fee Switch to Optimize Tokenomic Model

Aave, one of the leading decentralized lending platforms, is undergoing a major tokenomics update. According to an official governance proposal, Aave will initiate a token buyback program and activate its fee switch, aiming to enhance token value and ensure the protocol’s long-term sustainability. The buyback program will use a portion of Aave’s platform revenue to periodically repurchase and burn AAVE tokens when market conditions are favorable. This process will reduce the circulating supply, providing price support and potential upward momentum for the token.

At the same time, activating the fee switch means the platform will start charging a small percentage of transaction fees, which will be allocated to platform operations, technical development, and partially to the buyback program—creating a positive feedback loop for the ecosystem.

This update aims to increase token scarcity and demand, boosting community confidence in AAVE and encouraging greater participation in platform governance and ecosystem development. Industry experts believe that this move will propel Aave into a more advanced stage of growth, improving user experience and reinforcing its leadership in the DeFi space. As competition in the market intensifies, these updates could provide a strategic advantage for Aave, injecting new energy into the decentralized finance ecosystem.[17]

Pendle Introduces Community Listing Mechanism to Enable a Permissionless Yield Market

Pendle has announced the launch of its Community Listing mechanism, aiming to establish itself as a fully permissionless yield market. Through this new process, any protocol can list its own yield market on Pendle. For example, external protocols will be able to deploy ERC-20/4626 tokens on Pendle’s marketplace, with the team conducting a final (non-contract) review before adding them to the dApp whitelist. The Listing UI and Toolkit are set to go live in the coming weeks, with the ultimate goal of achieving a fully self-service, permissionless listing process. The first asset to be listed through Community Listing is sUSDX, which will offer sUSDX yield along with 3x S points rewards.

Additionally, Pendle has introduced Pendle Prime - Trusted by Pendle, where qualified liquidity pools will be moved to Pendle Prime. The Pendle team will conduct additional audits and ongoing evaluations to ensure that Prime assets meet the highest standards of security and reliability.

The introduction of the Community Listing mechanism will significantly increase Pendle’s openness and accessibility, attracting more protocols and developers to its ecosystem. By enabling permissionless listings, Pendle is expected to expand its market influence, increase liquidity, and drive platform activity. Furthermore, Pendle Prime will enhance security and reliability, providing users with higher-quality asset options, ultimately increasing trust and engagement within the ecosystem. [18]

Security Incident

Pond.fun Hacked, 64.8 ETH Stolen and Transferred to Privacy Protocol

Pond.fun, a Linea-based memecoin launch platform developed by Ethereum Frogs, announced on March 5 via its official X account that it had fallen victim to a hack. Preliminary investigations suggest that the attacker may be Genesis, the team’s chief software engineer, who exploited the platform’s smart contract to drain liquidity funds and sell off project tokens. The stolen 64.8 ETH has since been transferred to the privacy protocol Railgun.

Additionally, the Efrogs and Croak project websites may also be compromised, and users are advised to avoid interacting with them. The development team has reached out to Linea, Chainalysis, and Elliptic to assist with the investigation. Given that this attack appears to be a high-risk insider exploit, all Pond.fun asset holders are urged to exercise caution, refrain from engaging in any transactions or interactions with the project, and stay updated through official announcements. [19]

Project Highlights

Cosmos Hub Announces Plans for IBC v2 and Coordination Service IBC Eureka

On March 5, Cosmos Hub unveiled its new vision, announcing plans to launch IBC v2. Designed for high-capacity networks, this upgraded version will enable IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication) to expand beyond the Cosmos ecosystem, facilitating connections with Ethereum, Solana, and other non-Cosmos chains. To support IBC connectivity between Cosmos Hub and Ethereum, the team will integrate a ZK-proof system to reduce verification costs and introduce packet relayers and decentralized asset-minting IBC smart contracts.

As a companion tool to IBC v2, the team is also launching IBC Eureka, a coordination service powered by Cosmos Hub’s routing infrastructure. By acting as a hub-based router, IBC Eureka will help expand and consolidate cross-chain connections. Positioned as the first coordination service supported by Cosmos Hub, IBC Eureka aims to serve hundreds of protocols and enterprises in the future, driving broader cross-chain interoperability. [20]

Data Highlights

Berachain Leads Capital Inflows, Secures Top Spot This Week

Berachain has maintained its position as the top-ranking blockchain in capital inflows this week, driven by its innovative Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) mechanism and rapid ecosystem expansion. Built on Cosmos SDK with EVM compatibility, Berachain enhances decentralization by integrating liquidity with network security. Its $BERA, $BGT, and $HONEY token model incentivizes liquidity provision. Since its mainnet launch on February 6, Berachain has attracted $3.1 billion in pre-deposited liquidity, fueling the growth of its native DEX (Kodiak), perpetual contract platform (Berps), and liquid staking protocol (Infrared).

At the Berapalooza event, the project showcased several key developments, including the appointment of a new CTO, PayPal USD’s dominance in Berachain’s liquidity supply, and the first deployment of the Sky Agent Framework outside of Ethereum. Additionally, Infrared, Kodiak, and Dolomite ranked among the top projects in their respective categories, while Phase 1 of governance officially launched, offering $500,000 in weekly rewards for BGT upgraders.

Berachain’s combination of DeFi innovation and Layer 1 scalability has made it a market standout. However, technical stability and long-term growth remain areas to watch, and investors should carefully assess associated risks.[21]

Pump.fun’s February Trading Volume Drops 63%

According to Dune Analytics, Pump.fun’s trading volume surged to $119 billion in January 2025, but saw a sharp decline to $44 billion in February, marking a 63% drop. At the same time, the number of new token listings on Pump.fun also fell significantly, from a peak of nearly 1,200 tokens per day on January 24 to fewer than 300 tokens per day in early March.

The primary reason behind this decline is the fading hype in the meme coin market, as investor enthusiasm for meme coins has noticeably diminished. The decrease in new token listings reflects weaker demand for new tokens, further contributing to the decline in trading volume.

Additionally, on February 28, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a statement clarifying that meme coins do not qualify as securities since they do not generate revenue, nor do they grant holders rights to future profits or corporate assets. Instead, the SEC classifies meme coins as collectible-like assets, whose value is driven primarily by market demand and speculation. Investors should remain aware of the highly speculative nature and price volatility of the meme coin market, exercising caution when making investment decisions. [22]

Paradise Leads NFT Market with Over 28,000 SOL in Weekly Trading Volume

Over the past seven days, Paradise NFTs recorded a trading volume exceeding 28,000 SOL, marking a 225.27% increase and securing the top spot in NFT trading volume rankings. The average price over the past week stood at 26.12 SOL, with March 5 seeing a peak trading volume of approximately 6,000 SOL.

Paradise NFTs draw inspiration from the painting Paradise by Zeng Fanzhi and Jack Ma, which sold for $5.4 million at a Sotheby’s auction in 2015. The project envisions creating a Web3 Utopia—a modern digital interpretation of the “Paradise” concept. NFT holders will receive rewards through airdrops and other benefits. The collection is developed by Artic Studios, a well-known creative studio recognized for collaborations with artists like Juice WRLD and global brands such as Nike and Sony.

The market frenzy surrounding Paradise NFTs was largely fueled by the announcement of a future token airdrop for holders, prompting a surge in buying activity among NFT enthusiasts and art collectors, which in turn drove both trading volume and prices higher. [23]

Market Opportunities

Project Airdrops

SedraCoin

Sedra is a platform that aims to harmoniously integrate nature, spirituality, and technology to create a balanced digital world. At its core is SedraCoin (SDR), a Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptocurrency focused on efficiency, scalability, and decentralization. SedraCoin is a fork of Kaspa, utilizing the GHOSTDAG protocol, which enables parallel block processing, improving transaction speed and network security.

To reward early community members and supporters, the SedraCoin team has launched an airdrop campaign on Zealy. This initiative is designed to foster a strong community around the Sedra ecosystem while distributing free SDR tokens to participants. [24]

How to Participate

• Sign up on Zealy and join the SedraCoin campaign. [25]
• Connect your social media accounts.
• Complete social tasks to earn XP points.

Note:
The airdrop program and participation methods are subject to change. Users are advised to follow SedraCoin’s official channels for the latest updates. Additionally, users should exercise caution, be aware of potential risks, and conduct thorough research before participating. Gate.io does not guarantee the distribution of future airdrop rewards.

Weekly Fundraising Report

This week, several projects successfully completed fundraising rounds, spanning sectors such as DeFi, Real World Assets (RWA), and blockchain infrastructure. According to RootData, between March 1 and March 7, six projects collectively raised over $250 million. Here are the top three funding rounds by size. [26]

Flowdesk secured $102 million in funding on March 3, led by HV Capital and Cathay Innovation. Based in France, Flowdesk is a cryptocurrency trading company offering comprehensive solutions including market making, liquidity provision, OTC trading, brokerage services, and asset management. The company plans to use this funding to expand its services, launching crypto lending operations, enhancing proprietary trading infrastructure, strengthening compliance, and establishing new offices in key global markets, while preparing for the EU’s MiCA regulatory framework implementation.

This funding round solidifies Flowdesk’s position in the crypto market making sector and reflects institutional investors’ long-term confidence in crypto financial infrastructure. With increased capital inflow, the crypto market may see improvements in liquidity, trading efficiency, and institutional participation.

Metaplanet raised $87 million on March 3, led by EVO FUND. The company completed the exercise of its Series 13 and 14 stock warrants through third-party private placement, with plans to use the funds to increase its Bitcoin holdings and strengthen its digital asset investment strategy. Metaplanet Inc. primarily operates in hotel development and management, while also engaging in IR, Web3 consulting, and real estate development. Recently, Metaplanet has been undergoing strategic transformation, accumulating Bitcoin as a reserve asset and leveraging blockchain technology to build secure Web3 platforms and communities, promoting a more equitable digital economy.

Across Protocol completed a $41 million funding round on March 3, with participation from Paradigm and Coinbase Ventures. The funding will be released in two phases during Q2 and Q4 2024, with token unlock schedules extending through November 2025. The funds will support business expansion. Across Protocol is an Ethereum Layer 2 bridge focused on secure, fast, and cost-effective cross-chain asset transfers, utilizing UMA’s decentralized oracle technology to optimize bridge security and liquidity.

This successful funding reflects market demand for secure and efficient cross-chain bridge protocols, providing a more reliable asset transfer solution for the Layer 2 ecosystem. As Ethereum Layer 2 adoption continues to rise, Across Protocol may play an increasingly important role in the DeFi space.

What to Watch Next Week

Token Unlock

According to TokenMist data, next week (March 7-13, 2025) will see several significant token unlock events with a total value exceeding $113 million. [27]

Here are the top 3 unlocks.

APT: Approximately 11.31 million tokens (1.92% of circulating supply) will unlock on March 12, 2025, at 10:00 PM UTC, valued at around $70.12 million. With APT’s average daily trading volume around $350 million, this unlock is expected to have minimal impact on the market price.

MOVE: About 50 million tokens (2.08% of circulating supply) will unlock on March 9, 2025, at 12:00 PM UTC, valued at approximately $23.05 million. Given MOVE’s average daily trading volume of $90 million, this unlock is not expected to significantly affect the token price.

KAS: Around 162 million tokens (0.63% of circulating supply) will unlock on March 7, 2025, at 12:00 AM UTC, valued at about $12.15 million. With KAS’s average daily trading volume of $60 million, this unlock is likely to have minimal market impact.

Crypto Calendar

Next week (March 7-13, 2025) brings several significant events that will impact cryptocurrency markets, global economics, and energy markets. The White House will host its first cryptocurrency summit on March 7, to be chaired by David Sacks, Trump’s AI and Cryptocurrency Affairs Director. The summit will explore establishing a U.S. Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve, potentially including BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA, while also addressing funding sources, legislative frameworks, and stablecoin regulation strategies. Notable confirmed attendees include CEOs from Ripple and Uniswap.[28] [29] Additionally, Web3 Amsterdam will take place from March 13-14 in the Netherlands. [30] Regarding economic indicators, the U.S. will release February’s unemployment rate and non-farm payroll data on March 7 [31], followed by the February unadjusted CPI annual rate on March 12.[32]

Reference

1. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
2. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/ETH_USDT
3. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
4. Coinglass,https://www.coinglass.com/zh/pro/options/OIExpiry
5. Cryptocraft,https://www.cryptocraft.com/calendar?day=jan15.2025
6. Defillama,https://defillama.com/stablecoins
7. Etherscan,https://etherscan.io/gastracker#chart_gasprice
8. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
9. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/btcfi
10. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/bitcoin-fork
11. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/directed-acyclic-graph-dag
12. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/
13. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/cardano
14. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin-cash
15. Coingecko,https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/hedera
16. X,https://x.com/bgarlinghouse/status/1897293996424135066
17. AAVE,https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-aavenomics-implementation-part-one/21248
18. X,https://x.com/pendle_fi/status/1897286225519931559
19. X,https://x.com/ponddotfun/status/1897213091420463487
20. X,https://x.com/cosmoshub/status/1897229986706415952
21. X,https://x.com/DefiLlama/status/1897323358943109538/photo/1
22. Dune,https://dune.com/queries/3919233/6588936
23. X,https://x.com/loveparadiseNFT
24. SedraCoin,https://sedracoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SEDRA_WhitePaper_New.pdf
25. Zealy,https://zealy.io/cw/sedracoin/questboard
26. Rootdata,https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
27. tokenomist,https://tokenomist.ai
28. X,https://x.com/DegenerateNews/status/1895652259960406189
29. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/calendar
30. Web3 Amsterdam,https://web3amsterdam.com/
31. Jin10,https://rili.jin10.com/
32. Jin10,https://rili.jin10.com/

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