The Open Network (TON) Society released a statement on March 15 celebrating the return of Pavel Durov’s passport as a win for freedom of speech, online privacy, and innovation.
According to the AFP news agency, Durov left France and headed to Dubai on the morning of March 15 after gaining permission from French officials to depart the European country.
“We have stood behind Pavel since his arrest on August 24, 2024,” the TON Society wrote. The group added:
“Pavel’s unwavering commitment to freedom of speech and transparency, despite facing the most challenging of circumstances, is a powerful reminder of the importance of standing by your principles, even when it is politically and personally detrimental to do so.”
The TON Society previously penned a letter condemning the French government for detaining Durov and urging the country to release the Telegram founder.
The TON Society celebrates the return of Durov’s passport by French law enforcement officials. Source: TON Society
“The arrest of the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, is a direct assault on a basic human right — the freedom of expression of everyone,” the TON Society’s Aug. 27 letter read.
At the time, the organization also called on the United Nations, the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the European Union (EU) to intervene and push for Durov’s release.
Free speech advocates in the crypto industry sounded the alarm over Pavel Durov’s arrest, citing the troubling implications for privacy and decentralized technologies in the face of state pressure to censor the internet and the potential for regulatory capture.
Emmanuel Macron denies political motivation for Durov’s arrest
Shortly after French law enforcement officials detained the Telegram founder, President Emmanuel Macron denied the arrest was politically motivated and claimed that France was committed to free speech.
French President Emmanuel Macron denies the arrest of Pavel Durov was politically motivated. Source: Emmanuel Macron
In a subsequent press conference, Macron also denied inviting Durov to France amid a torrent of backlash from the crypto community and free speech advocates.
The current crypto market correction is merely the middle of the bull cycle, not the top, based on the steadily growing stablecoin supply, which may signal more incoming investment according to analysts.
The cumulative stablecoin supply has surpassed $219 billion, suggesting that the current cycle is still far from its top.
Historically, stablecoin supply peaks have aligned with crypto cycle tops, according to a March 14 X post by crypto intelligence platform IntoTheBlock, which wrote:
“In April 2022, supply hit $187B—just as the bear market started. Now it’s at $219B and still rising, suggesting we’re likely still mid-cycle.”
Increasing stablecoin inflows to crypto exchanges can signal incoming buying pressure and growing investor appetite, as stablecoins are the main investor on-ramp from fiat to the crypto world.
Still, Ether (ETH) price is down over 52% over the past three months, after it peaked above $4,100 on Dec. 16, 2024, and analysts are eying another decline below $1,900, a “robust” demand zone that may bring more investment into the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Crypto market will likely lack direction ahead of FOMC meeting: analyst
Despite the rising stablecoin supply, the crypto market may continue to lack direction ahead of next week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Next week’s FOMC meeting may be decisive for crypto markets, which remain influenced by macroeconomic developments, according to Stella Zlatareva, dispatch editor at Nexo digital asset investment platform.
Zlatareva told Cointelegraph:
“Bitcoin’s movement below key technical levels, mirroring the S&P 500’s trajectory, highlights the market’s cautious tone as traders await key economic data for direction, including U.S. retail sales and the FOMC meeting.”
“All eyes are set on next Wednesday’s FOMC meeting, anticipating insights into U.S. monetary policy and potential interest rate adjustments, especially given the recent declines in U.S. PPI and initial jobless claims figures, which point towards a slowing economy,” she added.
The predictions come days ahead of the next FOMC meeting scheduled for March 19. Markets are currently pricing in a 98% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates steady, according to the latest estimates of the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Despite the potential for short-term volatility, investors remain optimistic for the rest of 2025, VanEck predicted a $6,000 cycle top for Ether’s price and a $180,000 Bitcoin price during 2025.
Ether risks another decline below $1,900, which may open up a significant amount of investor demand, which may catalyze Ether’s recovery from its three-month downtrend
Ether (ETH) price fell over 52% during its three-month downtrend after it peaked above $4,100 on Dec. 16, 2024, TradingView data shows.
While another correction below $1,900 is on the horizon, this may unleash significant buying pressure, according to Juan Pellicer, senior research analyst at IntoTheBlock.
“Onchain metrics reveal a robust demand zone for ETH just below $1,900,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Historically, around 4.3 million ETH were bought in the $1,848–$1,905 range, signaling substantial support. If ETH drops below this level, capitulation risks rise, as demand beyond this zone appears much thinner.”
In/Out of the Money around price. Source: IntoTheBlock
In financial markets, capitulation refers to investors selling their positions in a panic, leading to a significant price decline and signaling an imminent market bottom before the start of the next uptrend.
Ether unlikely to see more downside below $1.9k amid growing whale accumulation: analyst
While Ether may see a temporary correction below $1,900, it is unlikely to fall much lower due to the growing whale accumulation, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen.
“It does seem likely that if ETH is unable to hold the $1,900 level that we’d see further downside,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:
“Supposedly whales have been accumulating, and WLFI also holds substantial amounts of ETH, and regardless, price action has not been favorable.”
This behavior was also seen in recent options data where larger players/institutions were positioning themselves for moves in either direction, which shows how uncertain the market is about where ETH is going,” added the analyst.
Whale addresses with at least 1,000 ETH or $1.92 million, rose over 4% year-to-date, from 4,652 addresses on Jan. 1 to over 4,843 addresses on March 14, Glassnode data shows.
Global investment manager VanEck has filed for an Avalanche (AVAX) exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking to offer investors direct exposure to the smart contract platform.
A snippet of the S-1 filing was shared on social media on March 14 by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, who has been closely monitoring developments in the crypto ETF industry.
The proposed VanEck Avalanche ETF intends to “reflect the performance of the price of “AVAX,” the native token of the Avalanche network, less the expenses of the Trust’s operations,” the prospectus read.
The proposed fund will hold AVAX and will “value its Shares daily based on the reported MarketVector Avalanche Benchmark Rate,” the prospectus said.
As Seyffart noted in a follow-up post, the Trust’s registration “was shared widely […] earlier this week, But this is the first actual filing with the SEC.”
Avalanche is the 16th largest crypto asset, with a total market capitalization of $7.7 billion. The blockchain is notable for its high throughput and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility.
The overwhelming success of the US spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds and the election of a pro-crypto administration in Washington have triggered an influx of crypto fund applications at the SEC.
As Cointelegraph recently reported, nine issuers have filed for an XRP (XRP) ETF, with Franklin Templeton joining the race on March 11. Issuers are also vying to list ETFs linked to Solana (SOL), Litecoin (LTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE).
Although the SEC has punted its decision on these offerings, opting to designate a longer period for review, Seyffart and fellow Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchinas say there are “relatively high odds of approval” later this year.
A January report by JPMorgan said the approval of altcoin ETFs will likely trigger billions of dollars in inflows, underscoring the pent-up demand for cryptocurrencies. In particular, SOL and XRP products could attract the most institutional interest.
Assuming modest adoption rates, SOL and XRP ETFs could attract billions in their first 12 months. Source: JPMorgan
“When applying these so-called “adoption rates” to SOL and XRP, we see SOL attracting roughly $3 billion-$6 billion of net assets and XRP gathering $4 billion-$8 billion in net new assets,” the report said.
The cryptocurrency trader whose ultra-leveraged Ether (ETH) trade tested Hyperliquid’s limits on March 12 has entered another multimillion-dollar position, this time in Chainlink (LINK), onchain data shows.
On March 14, the anonymous whale, referred to on X as “ETH 50x Big Guy,” took out long positions in LINK worth approximately $31 million with 10 times leverage, according to Lookonchain, a Web3 analytics service.
He placed the bets on Hyplerliquid and GMX, two popular perpetuals exchanges, Lookonchain said in a March 14 X post. Additionally, the whale accumulated roughly $12 million in spot LINK.
In the ensuing hours, the whale gradually reduced his LINK holdings through small swaps back into stablecoins, as per onchain data.
On March 12, the unidentified trader intentionally liquidated a roughly $200 million ETH long position, causing Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool, HLP, to lose $4 million. The trader’s profits topped roughly $1.8 million.
According to Lookonchain, the trader has earned nearly $17 million in the past month on Hyperliquid.
The incident highlighted the challenges facing perpetual trading platforms such as Hyperliquid, which enable traders to take long or short positions many times larger than their deposited capital.
Hyperliquid said the trader’s actions did not qualify as an exploit and were instead a predictable consequence of the mechanics of its trading platform under extreme conditions.
In response to the losses, Hyperliquid announced on March 13 revised collateral rules for traders with open positions to guard against similar edge cases in the future.
Launched in 2024, Hyperliquid’s flagship perpetuals exchange has captured 70% of the market share, surpassing rivals such as GMX and dYdX, according to a January report by asset manager VanEck.
Chainlink, the most popular decentralized oracle service, saw the price of its native LINK token increase by more than 150% in the weeks after President Donald Trump prevailed in the US election.
It has since given up much of those gains, declining from highs of nearly $30 per token in December to less than $14 as of March 14, according to data from CoinGecko.
Chainlink’s market capitalization is currently around $8.7 billion.
In a significant regulatory development for the crypto industry, the United States House of Representatives voted to nullify a bill that threatened the privacy-preserving properties of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
In the wider crypto space, one of the Solana network’s most significant governance proposals was rejected; it sought to implement a mechanism to reduce Solana’s inflation rate by about 80%.
US House follows Senate in passing resolution to kill IRS DeFi broker rule
The US House of Representatives voted to nullify a rule requiring decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report to the Internal Revenue Service.
On March 11, the House of Representatives voted 292 for and 132 against a motion to repeal the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule that aimed to expand existing IRS reporting requirements to crypto.
All 132 votes to keep the rule were Democrats. However, 76 Democrats joined with the Republicans to repeal it.
This followed the Senate’s March 4 vote on the motion, which saw it pass 70 to 27.
The rule would have forced DeFi platforms, such as decentralized exchanges, to disclose gross proceeds from crypto sales, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.
After the vote, Republican Representative Mike Carey, who submitted the repeal motion, said, “The DeFi broker rule invades the privacy of tens of millions of Americans, hinders the development of an important new industry in the United States and would overwhelm the IRS.”
Congressman Mike Carey speaking after the vote. Source: Mike Carey
Solana proposal to cut inflation rate by up to 80% fails
A proposal to dramatically change Solana’s inflation system was rejected by stakeholders but is being hailed as a victory for the network’s governance process.
“Even though our proposal was technically defeated by the vote, this was a major victory for the Solana ecosystem and its governance process,” commented Multicoin Capital co-founder Tushar Jain on March 14.
Around 74% of the staked supply voted on proposal SIMD-228 across 910 validators, but just 43.6% voted in favor of it, with 27.4% voting against it and 3.3% abstaining, according to Dune Analytics. It needed 66.67% approval from participating votes to pass and only received 61.4%.
Jain added that this was the biggest crypto governance vote ever, by the number of participants and the participating market cap, of any ecosystem, chain or network.
“This was a meaningful scaling stress test — a social, rather than technical, stress test — and the network passed despite a wide stratification of diverging opinions and interests.”
Bitcoin $70,000 retracement part of “macro correction” in bull market — Analysts
Bitcoin’s potential retracement to $70,000 may be an organic part of the current bull market, despite crypto investor fears of an early arrival of a bear market cycle.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell more than 14% during the past week to close at around $80,708 after investors were disappointed with the lack of direct federal Bitcoin investments in President Donald Trump’s March 7 executive order. It outlined a plan to create a Bitcoin reserve using cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases.
Despite the drop in investor sentiment, cryptocurrencies and global markets remain in a “macro correction” as part of the bull market, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at the Nansen crypto intelligence platform.
BTC/USD, 1-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph
Most cryptocurrencies have broken key support levels, making it hard to estimate the next key price levels, the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:
“This is a macro correction (US tech will be down by 3% in the future, as discussed), so we have to monitor BTC. Next level will be $71,000 – $72,000, top of the pre-election trading range.”
The analyst added: “We are still in a correction within a bull market: Stocks and crypto have realized and are pricing; a period of tariff uncertainty and fiscal cuts, no Fed put. Recession fears are popping up.”
Calls for stricter rules on political memecoins after $4 billion Libra collapse
Industry voices warned that politically endorsed cryptocurrencies must adopt stronger investor protections and liquidity safeguards to prevent another significant market collapse.
Investor sentiment remains shaken after the Libra (LIBRA) token, which was endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei, suffered a $4 billion market cap wipeout due to insider cash-outs.
To avoid a similar meltdown, tokens with presidential endorsements will need more robust safety and economic mechanisms, such as liquidity locking or making the tokens in the liquidity pool non-sellable for a predetermined period, DWF Labs wrote in a report shared with Cointelegraph.
The report stated that tokens from high-profile leaders also need launch restrictions to limit participation from crypto-sniping bots and large holders or whales.
“Limiting bot and whale activity is essential in limiting the impact of individuals acting on insider information to corner a large percentage of the token supply,” according to Andrei Grachev, managing partner at DWF Labs.
Hyperliquid ups margin requirements after $4 million liquidation loss
Hyperliquid, a blockchain network specializing in trading, increased margin requirements for traders after its liquidity pool lost millions of dollars during a massive Ether (ETH) liquidation, the network said.
On March 12, a trader intentionally liquidated a roughly $200 million Ether long position, causing Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool, HLP, to lose $4 million, unwinding the trade.
Starting March 15, Hyperliquid will require traders to maintain a collateral margin of at least 20% on certain open positions to “reduce the systemic impact of large positions with hypothetical market impact upon closing,” Hyperliquid said in a March 13 X post.
The incident highlights the growing pains confronting Hyperliquid, which has emerged as Web3’s most popular platform for leveraged perpetual trading.
Hyperliquid has adjusted margin requirements for traders. Source: Hyperliquid
Hyperliquid said the $4 million loss was not from an exploit but rather a predictable consequence of the mechanics of its trading platform under extreme conditions.
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red.
Of the top 100, the Hedera (HBAR) token fell over 24%, marking the biggest weekly decrease, followed by JasmyCoin (JASMY) down over 21% over the past week.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
Bitcoin (BTC) has risen back above the 200-day simple moving average ($83,754), indicating that the bulls are attempting a comeback. The failure of the bears to capitalize on the drop below the 200-day SMA shows that selling dries up at lower levels.
However, Bitcoin may not be out of the woods yet. Crypto analyst Matthew Hyland said in a video posted to X that Bitcoin needs a weekly close above $89,000 to confirm a bottom.
A move above $89,000 could liquidate roughly $1.60 billion in short positions, according to CoinGlass data. If that does not happen, Hyland warns that Bitcoin will fall into the $74,000 to $69,000 range.
Buyers have a challenging task ahead of them. The inflows of $13.3 million into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on March 12 could not be sustained, and the ETFs recorded outflows of $135.2 million on March 13, per Farside Investors data.
This shows that the investors remain nervous and are pressing the sell button on new tariff threats and actions by US President Donald Trump.
Could Bitcoin surge to $100,000, pulling select altcoins higher? Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.
Bitcoin price analysis
Bitcoin bulls are trying to start a recovery but are expected to face significant resistance in the zone between the 200-day SMA and the 20-day exponential moving average ($86,717).
If buyers drive the price above the 20-day EMA, it will signal that the break below the 200-day SMA may have been a bear trap. The BTC/USDT pair could rise to the 50-day SMA ($93,876) and, after that, to the $100,000 psychological barrier.
Conversely, if the price turns down from the overhead resistance zone with force, it will indicate that the bears are in command. That increases the likelihood of a drop to the vital support at $73,777. Buyers are expected to fiercely defend the $73,777 level because a drop below it may pull the pair to $67,000.
Ether price analysis
Ether (ETH) has been trading in a tight range between $1,963 and $1,754, indicating a tough battle between the bulls and the bears.
The relative strength index (RSI) is showing early signs of forming a positive divergence. If the price rises above $1,963, the ETH/USDT pair could climb to the breakdown level of $2,111. This level may attract aggressive selling by the bears, but if the bulls persist, the pair could rally to the 50-day SMA ($2,597).
This optimistic view will be negated if the price turns down from the current level of $2,111 and breaks below $1,754. That will signal the resumption of the downtrend. The pair may then nosedive to $1,500.
XRP price analysis
XRP (XRP) rebounded off the $2 support on March 11 and reached the 20-day EMA ($2.35) on March 13.
The bears are trying to halt the recovery at the 20-day EMA, but the bulls have kept up the pressure. That increases the possibility of a break above the 20-day EMA. The XRP/USDT pair may then rise to $2.64. If this level is cleared, the pair could rally to $3.
Contrarily, if the price turns down sharply from the current level, it will suggest that the sentiment remains negative. The pair may retest the crucial $2 support, and if this level gives way, the pair will complete a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern. That may sink the pair to $1.28.
BNB price analysis
BNB (BNB) rose above the 20-day EMA ($591) on March 13, but the bulls could not sustain the higher levels, as seen from the long wick on the candlestick.
The bulls are again trying to push the price above the 20-day EMA. The BNB/USDT pair could challenge the 50-day SMA ($624) if they can pull it off. A break and close above the 50-day SMA will suggest that the correction may be over. The pair could then attempt a rally to $686.
If bears want to prevent the upside, they will have to yank the price below the $500 support. The pair may then fall to $460, which is expected to attract aggressive buying by the bulls.
Solana price analysis
Solana (SOL) has been trading above the $120 level, but the bulls have failed to push the price above $132.
If the price skids below $120, the SOL/USDT pair could drop to $110. This is a critical support to watch out for because a break and close below it may start a downward move to $98 and then to $80.
On the upside, a break and close above the 20-day EMA suggests that the selling pressure is reducing. The pair could rally to the 50-day SMA ($178), where the bears are expected to mount a strong defense.
Cardano price analysis
Cardano (ADA) was rejected from the 20-day EMA ($0.77) on March 12, signaling that the bears are selling on rallies.
The ADA/USDT pair could drop to the uptrend line, which is an important level for the bulls to defend. If the price bounces off the uptrend line with strength, it will improve the prospects of a break above the moving averages. If that happens, the pair could rise to $1.02.
This positive view will be invalidated in the near term if the price turns down and breaks below the uptrend line. That could start a slide to $0.58 and subsequently to the Feb. 3 intraday low of $0.50.
Dogecoin price analysis
Dogecoin (DOGE) bounced off the $0.14 support on March 11, indicating that the bulls are trying to defend the level.
The relief rally is expected to face selling at the 20-day EMA ($0.19). If the price turns down sharply from $0.19, it increases the possibility of a break below $0.14. The DOGE/USDT pair could then plummet to $0.10.
The first sign of strength will be a break and close above the 20-day EMA. That could open the doors for a rally to the 50-day SMA ($0.24). Sellers will try to stall the up move at the 50-day SMA, but if the bulls pierce the resistance, the pair could climb to $0.29.
Pi price analysis
Pi’s (PI) recovery stalled at $1.80 on March 13, indicating that the bears are selling on every minor rally.
The bears will try to sink the price to $1.20, which is a crucial level to watch out for. If the price rebounds off $1.20, it will indicate a possible range formation. The PI/USDT pair could oscillate between $1.20 and $1.80 for some time.
Contrary to this assumption, if the price continues lower and breaks below $1.20, it will signal the resumption of the downward move. The pair could descend to the 78.6% retracement level of $0.72.
UNUS SED LEO price analysis
UNUS SED LEO (LEO) has been trading near the $10 overhead resistance, indicating that the bulls have kept up the pressure.
A break and close above $10 will complete a bullish ascending triangle pattern, which could start an upmove toward the pattern target of $12.04.
The bears are likely to have other plans. They will try to pull the price to the uptrend line, which is an important level to watch out for. If the price rebounds off the uptrend line, it will signal that the LEO/USD pair may remain inside the triangle for a while.
The bears will gain the upper hand on a break and close below the uptrend line. That could sink the pair to $8.84 and later to $8.30.
Chainlink price analysis
Chainlink (LINK) plunged and closed below the support line of the descending channel pattern on March 10, but the bears could not sustain the lower levels.
The bulls have pushed the price back into the channel on March 14, but their efforts are likely to be met with strong selling at the 20-day EMA ($15.14). If the price turns down from the 20-day EMA, the bears will attempt to sink the LINK/USDT pair below $11.85. If they manage to do that, the pair could decline to $10.
On the contrary, a break and close above the 20-day EMA will signal that the markets have rejected the break below the channel. The pair may then climb to the 50-day SMA ($18.27).
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Newly revealed court documents show that FTX secretly liquidated $1.53 billion in Three Arrows Capital (3AC) assets just two weeks before the hedge fund collapsed in 2022. The disclosure challenged previous narratives that 3AC’s downfall was solely market-driven.
Once valued at over $10 billion, 3AC collapsed in mid-2022 after a series of leveraged directional trades turned sour. The hedge fund had borrowed from over 20 large institutions before the May 2022 crypto crash, which saw Bitcoin (BTC) fall to $16,000.
However, recently-discovered evidence shows that the FTX exchange liquidated $1.53 billion worth of 3AC’s assets just two weeks ahead of the hedge fund’s collapse.
3AC “asked a bankruptcy court to let it increase its claim against FTX from $120 million to $1.53 billion,” according to “Mbottjer,” the pseudonymous co-founder of FTX Creditor, a group FTX creditors and bankruptcy claim buyers.
“3AC says it only recently discovered evidence that FTX liquidated $1.53B of 3AC’s assets just two weeks before 3AC itself went into liquidation, much more than the $120M originally claimed,” they stated.
The crypto hedge fund claims it was never notified of these liquidations due to FTX’s own bankruptcy proceedings. A court ruled that 3AC acted in good faith, allowing it to pursue its full $1.53 billion claim in FTX’s bankruptcy case.
On Dec. 21, 2023, a British Virgin Islands court froze $1.14 billion worth of 3AC co-founder Kyle Davies and Su Zhu’s assets. Teneo has since estimated that 3AC creditors are still owed roughly $3.3 billion following the hedge fund’s collapse in 2022.
Davies claimed that allegations from Teneo — the firm in charge of 3AC’s liquidation — that he and co-founder Su Zhu were “not cooperating” were exaggerated.
Missing $1.5 billion not enough to avoid 3AC collapse
While the $1.53 billion sum is significantly larger than FTX’s previously disclosed liquidations, it may not have been enough to save 3AC from bankruptcy, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen:
“From what I can see, even if they in 2022 had the additional $1.5 billion they still would not have been able to meet creditor claims/debt repayments.”
“Without being a legal expert, it seems to me that 3AC, while being allowed to pursue a much larger amount, likely won’t get the full $1.53 billion claim. It seems realistic that they will get more, but how much is uncertain,” the analyst added.
“I am curious if FTX had anything to do with the LUNA/UST crash/depeg in May 2022,” Zhao said in a March 14 X post.
The collapse of 3AC occurred a month after that of Terraform Labs’ Terra (LUNC) and TerraClassicUSD (USTC) tokens and shortly before crypto lender Celsius paused all user withdrawals after its native token Celsius (CEL) dropped 90%.
The memecoin frenzy on Pump.fun is hitting a wall, with the platform’s “graduation rate” sinking below 1% for a fourth straight week.
“Graduation rate” is the memecoin launchpad’s term for tokens that make it through the incubation phase and become fully tradable on a Solana decentralized exchange (DEX). To graduate, a token must meet specific liquidity and trading requirements.
Over the past four weeks, starting Feb. 17, Pump.fun’s graduation rate has remained below 1% for the first time, Dune Analytics data shows.
Pump.fun’s graduation rate has never been particularly high. The platform’s best-performing week was in November 2024 when 1.67% of memecoins moved on to the open market.
However, the sheer volume of tokens launched on the platform at the time made this percentage more significant than it is now. During the week starting Nov. 11, 323,000 tokens were created on Pump.fun, meaning the 1.67% graduation rate translated to roughly 5,400 tokens entering Solana’s DeFi economy in a single week.
With token creation volume declining on both Pump.fun and Solana, weekly token graduations have plummeted to a four-week average of around 1,500 tokens at the time of writing, according to Dune.
Memecoins are dying, and they’re not responding to positive market signals
Several political figures have launched their own memecoins as well, including US President Donald Trump. His token is down 84% from its all-time high set on Jan. 19, according to CoinGecko.
Memecoins’ struggles persist despite improving liquidity, according to Matrixport. In February, Matrixport analysts noted that a strengthening US dollar had pressured Bitcoin prices by tightening dollar-denominated liquidity.
Since then, the US dollar has weakened. Over the past month, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies, peaked at 107.61 on Feb. 28 before dropping to 103.95 on March 14.
DXY performance in the past month shows the US dollar weakening. Source: TradingView
“The US dollar has recently weakened, leading to a rebound in liquidity indicators and some marginal improvements in inflation data. Despite these positive shifts, memecoins — previously one of the strongest narratives during this bull market — continue to struggle significantly, with no apparent recovery,” Matrixport said in its report.
Bitcoin caught in memecoin aftershocks
The struggling memecoin market has contributed to a $1 trillion wipeout in crypto market capitalization, according to Matrixport.
“This redistribution of wealth may lead investors to remain cautious about deploying further capital, causing rebounds — even those triggered by better-than-expected inflation data — to be limited,” the report noted.
Matrixport analysts warn that this could lead to further Bitcoin declines, with a potential retracement to as low as $73,000 — a level they believe would provide “strong support.”
ZKsync’s DeFi Steering Committee (DSC) said it will not renew ZKsync Ignite, its liquidity reward program, as the project shifts its focus to broader network expansion.
The DSC confirmed that Ignite’s second season will not proceed and that the program will be discontinued on March 17. This also cancels the reward allocation for period 6, the final phase of the program’s first season.
ZKsync said it would focus its resources on its Elastic Network, an architecture that aims to transform the platform into an ecosystem of interconnected zero-knowledge (ZK) chains. “Our long-term vision for ZKsync is increasingly centered on the Elastic Network, and we want to focus our resources to accelerate this becoming a reality,” the project stated.
It said that pouring its resources into a single-chain program does not align with this interoperability goal.
Cointelegraph reached out to Matter Labs, the company behind ZKsync, for comment, but had received no response at the time of writing.
The team acknowledged that current market conditions influenced the decision to end Ignite.
“To stay sustainable, we’re tightening our focus and spending smarter rather than fighting headwinds,” the team said.
ZK tokens performed well in 2024, reaching a high of $0.26 on Dec. 8. However, ZK prices failed to maintain their highs, experiencing continued sell pressure as market conditions worsened. The token currently trades at $0.06, a 76% drop from its price in December.
ZKsync Ignite boosted the project’s TVL to $270 million
According to ZKsync, the program surpassed its goal of driving DeFi total value locked (TVL) to $100 million. The program helped drive TVL to over $270 million, making trading on the chain more seamless. However, DefiLlama data shows that ZKsync’s TVL is currently down to $139 million.
ZKsync’s total value locked. Source: DefiLlama
The Ignite program originally planned to allocate 300 million ZK tokens in a span of nine months to DeFi users who would provide liquidity to key token pairs. The first season was scheduled from Jan. 6 to March 31, allocating 100 million tokens worth about $21 million during launch. At current ZK prices, 100 million tokens are only worth $6.8 million.
Apart from ZKsync, the broader crypto market is also experiencing an industry-wide downturn, with top crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) struggling to maintain prices.
