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% on account of panic promoting and liquidity issues.
- Jito outperformed Solana in charges and income, producing $261M YTD, reinforcing liquid staking as a high crypto pattern in 2025.
- Crypto narratives like RWAs, CEXs, and lending noticed smaller declines, whereas DeSci, NFTs, and GameFi had been among the many worst performers.
Desk of Contents
- In This Article
Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined Why Is Sonic Worth Rising? Specialists 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 ‘Stable’ 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 Anticipate in March
- In This Article
- Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined
- Why Is Sonic Worth Rising? Specialists 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 ‘Stable’
- 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 Anticipate in March
Present Full Information
February was a difficult month for the crypto market, typically 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 among 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 best worth of the month.
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This marks a 162% worth improve. 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? Specialists Weigh In
Tim Delhaes, CEO and co-founder of Grindery, believes Sonic’s progress is pushed by its positioning as a utility-focused venture quite 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. Not like 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 critical tech upgrades that boosted pace and minimize prices. This, coupled with eye-popping efficiency stats and a few savvy market strikes, caught buyers’ consideration large 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 enticing incentives and forging key partnerships. All this buzz translated into actual numbers: the worth jumped from $0.37 to $0.97 in a month—a whopping 162% acquire.
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 pattern 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 laws in thoughts. They’ve additionally obtained $11 million in funding. The marketplace for tokenized property, the place Mantra operates, is at the moment valued at $38 billion.
Tim Delhaes additionally shared his perspective with Cryptonews, emphasizing Mantra’s robust observe report:
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 most recent improve occurred on Feb. 26, when the worth 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 out to be 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 ‘Stable’
Tim Delhaes outlined a number of elements behind the sharp rise in IP’s worth in February following its mainnet launch and trade listings:
Publish-mainnet, Story’s IP token rebounded quick, doubling from its lows and hitting the AI coin narrative onerous. New trade listings, tokenized IP rights, and robust social buzz fueled the surge. Slightly profit-taking hit, however the long-term imaginative and prescient? Stable.
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 referred to as LaCryptoLuycos additionally sees IP as one of many strongest altcoins in the marketplace.
$IP is likely one of the strongest altcoins, exhibiting resilience throughout market downturns and not using a vital correction. The value motion seems to be transferring organically.
The chart reveals an ascending channel, with the worth respecting each the higher and decrease trendlines. The current… pic.twitter.com/o3m7JTj4QY— LaCryptoLycus
(@CryptoLycus) March 3, 2025
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 Whole Worth Locked (TVL), these initiatives couldn’t stand 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 strong, however on this market, liquidity guidelines. Market’s shaky, however we may argue that actual utility is profitable.
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. Nonetheless, 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 knowledge is unavailable.
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That is notable as Jito is a part of the Solana ecosystem, which has confronted reputational points on account of 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 12 months:
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 implies that liquid staking may emerge as a key narrative in crypto and stays a pattern to look at.
Anastasija Plotnikova believes that the market’s shift towards liquid staking could have contributed to the decline of blue-chip DeFi initiatives:
Jito’s rising charges replicate the rising attraction 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 onerous, dropping over 40% in a month, seemingly on account of low buying and selling volumes and buyers 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 because of the total market correction. Nonetheless, some sectors noticed smaller declines, together with centralized exchanges (CEXs), lending, and RWAs.
Among the many worst-performing sectors had been Decentralized science (DeSci), Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and GameFi.
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This aligns with broader market tendencies. 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 broadly utilized in DeFi for liquidity. When markets decline, buyers typically flip to safer property like stablecoins.
Lending platforms supply comparatively excessive yields on stablecoin deposits, making them enticing 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 Anticipate in March
March will likely be a key take a look at for altcoins after February’s volatility, with buyers watching whether or not recovering sectors like RWAs and liquid staking can maintain momentum. DeFi blue chips could wrestle except liquidity improves, whereas initiatives tied to trending narratives may see renewed curiosity.
Sonic and Mantra, which outperformed the market final month, will want robust fundamentals to take care of their features. Story’s progress may proceed if AI-related hype persists, however profit-taking stays a danger. General, market sentiment will seemingly hinge on Bitcoin’s worth motion and macroeconomic elements influencing danger property.
The put up First-Ever White Home Crypto Summit Places Finest Pockets Multi-Chain Self-Custody Answer at Middle of the New Universe appeared first on Cryptonews.
(@CryptoLycus) March 3, 2025