The beginning of 2025 marked a significant turning point for crypto investors, as Solana’s price surged back above the $200 psychological mark despite potential selling pressure from Pump.fun. This uptick in enthusiasm is not isolated to Solana alone; the wider crypto space is witnessing growing investor excitement ahead of United States President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Solana Price Rebounds Above $200 Following Pump.fun’s $55 Million SOL Sale
Solana’s price rose approximately 10% to exceed $200 following a $55 million transfer from Pump.fun’s fee account to the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. This move came after Solana dipped to $189 at about 5:00 pm UTC on Jan. 1. Its price began to rise around 6:00 pm UTC after the fee account associated with the memecoin launch platform Pump.fun transferred $55 million worth of SOL to the Kraken exchange.
Pump.fun’s Transfers and Their Impact on Solana Price
Pump.fun made two deposits to Kraken on Jan. 1. The first transfer, valued at $22.8 million in SOL, occurred at 4:37 pm UTC, while the second, worth $32.7 million, took place at 5:45 pm, according to Solscan data.
Solana Price Movement
| Date | Time (UTC) | Price |
|————|————–|—————|
| Jan 1 | 5:00 PM | $189 |
| Jan 1 | 6:00 PM | >$200 |
Aave Net Deposits Hit Record Highs, Surpassing 2021 Levels
Net deposits on the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Aave reached a new all-time high of $33.4 billion, surpassing levels seen during the 2021 bull market. The protocol has also expanded its presence in 2024 by adding BNB Chain, Scroll, ZKsync Era, and Ether.fi to its supported list of markets.
Aave’s Expansion and Future Plans
- Aave may add several new markets in 2025, pending community approval, including Sonic, Mantle, Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Linea, Bitcoin layer-2 solution BOB, Spider Chain, and Aptos.
- DeFi experienced a surge in total value locked and activity following Trump’s US electoral victory on Nov. 5 due to expectations of a friendlier regulatory environment and pro-crypto policies.
Solana Adds $1 Billion Worth of Stablecoins in December
Solana onboarded an additional $1 billion in stablecoin total value in December, primarily in USD Coin (USDC), according to data from DefiLlama. This highlights accelerating stablecoin adoption and the Solana network’s rise to prominence in 2024, particularly in DeFi.
Stablecoin Adoption on Solana
- Solana now hosts about $5 billion in stablecoin total value locked (TVL), with nearly $4 billion of that comprising USDC.
- Tether’s USDt (USDT) is Solana’s second most popular stablecoin, with roughly $1 billion in TVL.
Pump.fun Revenue Nears $400 Million Despite Memecoin Slowdown
Solana memecoin generator Pump.fun’s overall revenue is nearing $400 million despite a downturn in the overall market capitalization of memecoins in December. Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that Pump.fun has earned 2,016,391 SOL tokens to date, pushing its total revenue to nearly $398 million.
Pump.fun’s Revenue Breakdown
- Pump.fun has reportedly deposited over $300 million worth of SOL to the Kraken exchange.
- The platform’s revenue is derived from a combination of memecoin sales and commission fees.
DeFi Market Overview
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green. Of the top 100, the DeXe (DEXE) artificial intelligence launchpad token rose over 68% as the week’s biggest gainer, followed by the SPX6900 (SPX) coin, up over 53% on the weekly chart, after gaining momentum from its listing on Binance futures on Dec. 10.
DeFi Market Performance
| Cryptocurrency | Weekly Change |
|—————–|—————|
| DeXe (DEXE) | +68% |
| SPX6900 (SPX) | +53% |
Conclusion
The start of 2025 has brought renewed excitement to crypto investors, with Solana’s price rebounding above the $200 mark despite potential selling pressure from Pump.fun. Aave’s net deposits have reached record highs, surpassing levels seen during the 2021 bull market, while the protocol continues to expand its presence in DeFi.
As the year progresses, it will be interesting to see how these developments impact the broader crypto landscape and whether investor enthusiasm continues to grow.
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