February 2025 Altcoin Report: IP Surges 630%, DeFi Giants Fall, and Jito Triumphs Over Solana

Key Takeaways:

• Sonic surged 162% in February, benefiting from its rebranding and robust DeFi adoption, with its TVL rising by 134%.
• Mantra doubled in worth, rising by 93.75%, as curiosity in RWAs and key partnerships fueled its progress.
• DeFi blue chips like Lido DAO, Aave, and Ethena noticed main losses, with Ethena dropping almost 48% resulting from panic promoting and liquidity considerations.
• Jito outperformed Solana in charges and income, producing $261M YTD, reinforcing liquid staking as a high crypto development in 2025.
• Crypto narratives like RWAs, CEXs, and lending noticed smaller declines, whereas DeSci, NFTs, and GameFi have been among the many worst performers.

Desk of Contents

1. In This Article

Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined Why Is Sonic Worth Rising? Consultants Weigh In Mantra Worth Doubled in February What’s Subsequent for Mantra? Worth Prediction and Outlook New Altcoins: Story Rises within the Crypto Market Analyst Sees Story’s Lengthy-Time period Prospects as ‘Strong’ DeFi Blue Chips Ranked Among the many Greatest Losers in February Jito Overtakes Uniswap and Solana in Charges and Income Which Crypto Narratives Stood Out in February 2025? What to Count on in March

1. In This Article
2. Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined
3. Why Is Sonic Worth Rising? Consultants Weigh In
4. Mantra Worth Doubled in February

Present Full Information

5. What’s Subsequent for Mantra? Worth Prediction and Outlook
6. New Altcoins: Story Rises within the Crypto Market
7. Analyst Sees Story’s Lengthy-Time period Prospects as ‘Strong’
8. DeFi Blue Chips Ranked Among the many Greatest Losers in February
9. Jito Overtakes Uniswap and Solana in Charges and Income
10. Which Crypto Narratives Stood Out in February 2025?
11. What to Count on in March

February was a difficult month for the crypto market, usually described as a “massacre.” Right here’s a have a look at what occurred to altcoins throughout this era.

Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined

Sonic (S) served as a protected haven for some merchants whereas a lot of the crypto market was in decline. Though the rebranding from Fantom (FTM) came about in January 2025, the coin attracted most of its consideration in February.

Whereas the broader market noticed one in every of its deepest corrections, Sonic’s worth elevated.

S traded at $0.37 on Feb. 3 earlier than rising sharply. By Feb. 21, it had reached $0.97, the very best worth of the month.

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This marks a 162% worth enhance. Sonic additionally turned the fastest-growing decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol by TVL among the many high 20. In February, its whole worth locked grew by 134% to $676.5 million.

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Why Is Sonic Worth Rising? Consultants Weigh In

Tim Delhaes, CEO and co-founder of Grindery, believes Sonic’s progress is pushed by its positioning as a utility-focused mission somewhat than a meme coin:

The January rebrand (ex-Fantom) and mainnet launch reignited hype, backed by actual progress: TVL +172%, top-tier DeFi income, and 10K+ TPS scalability. In contrast to meme pumps, Sonic’s betting on utility, drawing inevitable Solana comparisons (particularly post-meme coin drama).

Julian Beltran, CTO and co-founder of Stabolut, additionally sees the rebranding as a key issue behind Sonic’s rise:

The rebrand wasn’t only a identify change—it got here with severe tech upgrades that boosted velocity and lower prices. This, coupled with eye-popping efficiency stats and a few savvy market strikes, caught traders’ consideration massive time.

In keeping with Julian Beltran, this transformation gave the previous Fantom community a second wind, attracting builders and potential companions:

Sonic’s ecosystem expanded quickly, drawing in builders with engaging incentives and forging key partnerships. All this buzz translated into actual numbers: the value jumped from $0.37 to $0.97 in a month—a whopping 162% achieve.

Mantra Worth Doubled in February

Mantra (OM) was one of many high performers among the many high 100 cash by market cap. In February, OM rose from $4.64 (the month’s lowest worth on Feb. 3) to an all-time excessive (ATH) of $8.99 on Feb. 23.

The Mantra worth elevated by 93.75% in February.

Mantra is a part of the Actual World Belongings (RWA) sector and ranks second in market cap at $6.8 billion. Chainlink (LINK) holds the highest spot with $8.8 billion, whereas Ondo (ONDO) is third with $2.9 billion.

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What’s Subsequent for Mantra? Worth Prediction and Outlook

Mantra has emerged as one of many top-performing RWA cash and a frontrunner within the broader crypto market. The query stays whether or not OM’s worth can maintain this development in March.

Julian Beltran informed Cryptonews that a number of elements have contributed to Mantra’s worth surge:

They’ve fashioned partnerships with corporations like Google Cloud and DAMAC Group. Their blockchain is designed with rules in thoughts. They’ve additionally acquired $11 million in funding. The marketplace for tokenized property, the place Mantra operates, is presently valued at $38 billion.

Tim Delhaes additionally shared his perspective with Cryptonews, emphasizing Mantra’s sturdy observe file:

MANTRA’s RWA imaginative and prescient is paying off. Their $500M Dubai actual property deal and $1B partnership with DAMAC scream institutional validation. With asset tokenization being ‘the next-gen markets’ (BlackRock’s phrases, not mine), OM isn’t simply hype—it’s fundamentals.

New Altcoins: Story Rises within the Crypto Market

Story (IP) started buying and selling on crypto exchanges on Feb. 14 at $1. Throughout February, the coin reached new all-time highs a number of instances.

The newest enhance occurred on Feb. 26, when the value rose to $7.31. In almost two weeks, IP grew by 631%, whereas the remainder of the crypto market declined.

Story outperformed Mantra however didn’t turn into the fastest-growing coin of February because it solely began buying and selling mid-month.

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Analyst Sees Story’s Lengthy-Time period Prospects as ‘Strong’

Tim Delhaes outlined a number of elements behind the sharp rise in IP’s worth in February following its mainnet launch and change listings:

Put up-mainnet, Story’s IP token rebounded quick, doubling from its lows and hitting the AI coin narrative exhausting. New change listings, tokenized IP rights, and robust social buzz fueled the surge. A little bit profit-taking hit, however the long-term imaginative and prescient? Strong.

Anastasija Plotnikova, CEO and co-founder of Fideum, informed Cryptonews that AI integration additionally contributed to Story’s momentum:

Story Protocol’s $IP token surged after launching its mainnet, making on-chain IP administration simpler, whereas a16z’s $140M backing and AI-driven advertising fueled the hype.

A crypto dealer and analyst often known as LaCryptoLuycos additionally sees IP as one of many strongest altcoins in the marketplace.

DeFi Blue Chips Ranked Among the many Greatest Losers in February

Lido DAO (LDO), Aave (AAVE), and Ethena (ENA) led the declines in February.

Regardless of being among the many high 10 decentralized finance protocols by Complete Worth Locked (TVL), these tasks couldn’t face up to the market downturn.

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As Tim Delhaes emphasised, this month has been “brutal” for blue-chip DeFi, although he stays optimistic about their future:

Even with Aave pulling $67M in charges and Lido main ETH staking, panic-selling took over. Ethena’s March 5 unlock (66% of provide) fueled an epic $12M whale dump. Fundamentals are stable, however on this market, liquidity guidelines. Market’s shaky, however we might argue that actual utility is successful.

Jito Overtakes Uniswap and Solana in Charges and Income

In current months, Solana has sometimes ranked among the many high 5 in charges and income. Nevertheless, in February 2025, it dropped to sixth place. On the identical time, Jito, a liquid staking protocol, took third place regardless of a major decline over the month.

Uniswap ranked fifth in charges, although income information is unavailable.

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That is notable as Jito is a part of the Solana ecosystem, which has confronted reputational points resulting from meme coin scams. Jito generates much less income than Solana, as it’s restricted to liquid staking, whereas Solana operates throughout a number of sectors.

Tim Delhaes sees Jito as one of many key gamers within the passive yield sector this yr:

Solana’s Jito is making historical past—its charges even surpassed Solana’s personal L1 charges. With $261M YTD income (second solely to Tether) and three.6B SOL locked, liquid staking isn’t slowing down. It’s 2025’s hottest passive yield play—and the numbers show it.

This means that liquid staking might emerge as a key narrative in crypto and stays a development to observe.

Anastasija Plotnikova believes that the market’s shift towards liquid staking could have contributed to the decline of blue-chip DeFi tasks:

Jito’s rising charges replicate the rising enchantment of liquid staking in a gradual market, as customers search for versatile yield alternatives. On the flip aspect, DeFi blue chips like Lido, Aave, and Ethena have been hit exhausting, dropping over 40% in a month, probably resulting from low buying and selling volumes and traders rotating into hotter narratives like liquid staking and RWAs.

Which Crypto Narratives Stood Out in February 2025?

Whereas liquid staking is rising as a possible protected supply of revenue throughout market turbulence, different sectors have additionally gained consideration.

All crypto narratives led to crimson in February as a result of total market correction. Nevertheless, some sectors noticed smaller declines, together with centralized exchanges (CEXs), lending, and RWAs.

Among the many worst-performing sectors have been Decentralized science (DeSci), Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and GameFi.

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This aligns with broader market traits. Throughout corrections, merchants search safer sectors. BNB (BNB) is the most important coin within the CEX class, with a market cap of $82.9 billion. Its worth remained comparatively secure in comparison with the broader downturn.

Lending protocols, which give crypto borrowing choices, are extensively utilized in DeFi for liquidity. When markets decline, traders usually flip to safer property like stablecoins.

Lending platforms supply comparatively excessive yields on stablecoin deposits, making them engaging throughout volatility. One instance is Maker (MKR), which rose by 105.44% in February, from $864 to $1,775.

RWAs stay a promising sector, bridging cryptocurrencies with conventional finance. This sector has proven progress, partly pushed by Mantra. Analysts interviewed by Cryptonews additionally assist this view.

What to Count on in March

March will likely be a key take a look at for altcoins after February’s volatility, with traders watching whether or not recovering sectors like RWAs and liquid staking can maintain momentum. DeFi blue chips could wrestle until liquidity improves, whereas tasks tied to trending narratives might see renewed curiosity.

Sonic and Mantra, which outperformed the market final month, will want sturdy fundamentals to take care of their beneficial properties. Story’s progress might proceed if AI-related hype persists, however profit-taking stays a danger. Total, market sentiment will probably hinge on Bitcoin’s worth motion and macroeconomic elements influencing danger property.

The publish February 2025 Altcoin Report: IP Surges 630%, DeFi Giants Fall, and Jito Triumphs Over Solana appeared first on Cryptonews.