Overview

This report focuses on blockchain industry developments from March 3-7, 2025. Cardano ecosystem’s decentralized lending protocol Liqwid has reached $112M in TVL; Soneium chain’s TVL has broken its all-time high, exceeding $50M; Solana network fees have dropped to $1.16M; USDC has become the first approved USD-pegged stablecoin in Japan; Berachain leads in capital inflow, maintaining the top position this week; and Pendle has launched a community listing mechanism to help build a permissionless yield market.

Projects

Liqwid’s TVL Hits $112M in Cardano Ecosystem

On March 2nd, Liqwid’s TVL increased by 65.24%, primarily benefiting from the overall growth of the Cardano ecosystem. Driven by ADA’s strong price performance, the protocol’s TVL in USD terms rose significantly from $67.87M to $112M. The protocol’s 24-hour trading volume reached $157K, indicating a notable increase in market activity. [1]

Liqwid is a decentralized lending protocol built on Cardano that offers non-custodial lending markets. It allows users to lend and borrow assets while earning yields through collateral-based liquidity provision.

Soneium Chain’s TVL Reaches New All-Time High of $50M+

On March 3rd, Soneium chain’s TVL reached a new all-time high of $52.08M, with a greater than 9.6% daily increase. Soneium is an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain ecosystem developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, a subsidiary of Sony Group. It aims to simplify the user experience and promote widespread blockchain adoption by bridging blockchain technology (Web3) with everyday internet services (Web2).

The Soneium chain ecosystem has been developing rapidly, introducing protocols such as SuperVol, waveX, and Kyo, while implementing the Soneium Minato Pectra upgrade for node operators. The breakthrough in TVL demonstrates the ecosystem’s positive expansion and has a favorable impact on the DeFi market and the broader blockchain industry.[2]

Solana Network Fees Drop to $1.16M

Solana network fees have experienced significant fluctuations in recent months. From December 2024 to early January 2025, fees remained relatively stable at low levels. However, around January 20, 2025, Solana network activity surged, causing costs to spike to a peak of $35.53M. As market enthusiasm waned and entered a prolonged downturn, Solana network activity declined. Currently, Solana network fees have fallen to $1.16M, representing a 96.7% drop from the peak. This decline reflects a shift in market sentiment, particularly as the cooling of the meme coin market has directly impacted Solana network activity. Solana’s network fees and transaction activity may increase if new trending opportunities emerge.[3]

USDC Becomes First Approved USD Stablecoin in Japan

SBI VC Trade, a cryptocurrency exchange under Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, has been granted an electronic payment provider license from the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) under the new payment framework, becoming the first institution in Japan to obtain this license. SBI Holdings and Circle signed a cooperation agreement in late 2023 to launch Circle’s USDC stablecoin in Japan. SBI VC Trade plans to launch its beta version of USDC-related services through this new registration on March 12. [4]

This development signifies the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies within traditional financial systems. For Circle, this marks a significant milestone in entering the Japanese market and is expected to boost USDC’s adoption and influence in Asia substantially. For Japan’s fintech ecosystem, it also signals a more open and inclusive regulatory approach toward crypto technologies.

Berachain Leads in Capital Inflow, Maintains Top Position This Week

Berachain has maintained its leading position in on-chain capital inflows this week, driven by its innovative Proof of Liquidity (PoL) mechanism and ecosystem expansion. Built on Cosmos SDK with EVM compatibility, Berachain enhances decentralization by combining liquidity with network security. Its token model, featuring $BERA, $BGT, and $HONEY, incentivizes users to provide liquidity. Since its mainnet launch on February 6, it has attracted $3.1 billion in pre-deposited liquidity and developed its native DEX (Kodiak), perpetual contract platform (Berps), and liquidity staking protocol (Infrared).

At the Berapalooza event, the project showcased several developments, including a new CTO appointment, PayPal USD’s dominant supply on Berachain, and the first deployment of Sky Agent Framework outside Ethereum. Additionally, Infrared, Kodiak, and Dolomite are currently leading their respective sectors, while Phase 1 of governance has officially launched, offering $500,000 in weekly rewards for BGT boosters. While Berachain has become a market focus by combining DeFi innovation with Layer 1 scalability, investors should carefully evaluate risks, as technical stability and long-term development remain to be proven. [5]

Pendle Launches Community Listing Mechanism to Build Permissionless Yield Market

Pendle has announced the launch of its Community Listing mechanism, aiming to establish a permissionless yield market. Through this new process, any protocol can launch its own yield market on Pendle, with external protocols able to deploy ERC20/4626 tokens on the Pendle market. The team will conduct final (non-contract) checks before whitelisting them on the dApp. The Listing UI and Toolkit will be launched in the coming weeks, aiming to achieve a fully self-service, permissionless listing process. The first pool asset for community listing is sUSDX, offering sUSDX yield rates and 3x S points. Additionally, Pendle has introduced Pendle Prime - Trusted by Pendle, where qualifying pools will be moved. The Pendle team will conduct additional audits and ongoing assessments of Prime assets to ensure they meet the highest security and reliability standards.

Introducing the Community Listing mechanism will significantly enhance the platform’s openness and accessibility, attracting more protocols and developers to join its ecosystem. Pendle aims to expand its market influence and increase platform liquidity and activity by implementing a permissionless listing process. Furthermore, the launch of Pendle Prime will strengthen the platform’s security and reliability, offering users higher quality asset choices and thereby improving user trust and engagement. [6]

Notice
Users should exercise caution when participating, be mindful of risks, and conduct thorough research before involvement. Gate.io does not guarantee the future development of projects.


References：

1. Defillama,https://defillama.com/protocol/liqwid
2. DefiLlama,https://defillama.com/chain/Soneium
3. Defillama,https://defillama.com/chain/Solana?fees=true&tvl=false
4. Coindesk,https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/03/04/circle-s-usdc-to-be-first-usd-stablecoin-in-japan
5. X,https://x.com/DefiLlama/status/1897323358943109538/photo/1
6. X,https://x.com/pendle_fi/status/1897286225519931559

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