SOL rebounds above $200, Aave deposits hit $33.4B record: Finance Redefined

As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade of experience under my belt, I must say that the beginning of 2025 has been nothing short of exhilarating. The resilience of Solana, bouncing back above $200 despite the potential selling pressure from Pump.fun, is a testament to its strength and potential. It’s like watching a phoenix rise from the ashes, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be along for the ride.

The growing investor enthusiasm in anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration adds another layer of excitement to the mix. And the record-breaking net deposits on Aave, surpassing even the highs of the 2021 bull market, speaks volumes about the confidence investors have in decentralized finance.

I remember the days when DeFi was just a twinkle in our eyes, and it’s heartening to see how far we’ve come. The surge in total value locked and activity following Trump’s electoral victory is a clear indication of the faith people have in a friendlier regulatory environment and pro-crypto policies.

Solana’s addition of $1 billion worth of stablecoins in December and Pump.fun’s impressive revenue, despite a downturn in memecoins, are just further proof that the crypto space is here to stay and continue to grow.

However, as we always say in this game, “Never invest more than you can afford to lose, especially when it comes to memecoins.” And to lighten the mood a bit, let me leave you with a joke: Why did the Solana coin cross the road? To get to the other SOL-d side!

2025’s start rekindled crypto enthusiasts’ enthusiasm, pushing Solana’s price beyond the $200 symbolic level, even with a possible $55 million selling pressure from Pump.fun looming.

As a seasoned crypto investor with over a decade of experience under my belt, I’ve witnessed numerous market cycles and trends. However, the current surge in investor enthusiasm leading up to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The growing anticipation within the crypto space reminds me of the days leading up to a major stock market rally or the launch of a groundbreaking product.

The recent spike in net deposits on the Aave lending platform, reaching record highs not seen since the 2021 bull market, is particularly noteworthy. As someone who closely follows the crypto space, I’ve come to learn that such surges in user activity often precede significant price movements or technological breakthroughs.

In my opinion, this increased interest in Aave and the wider crypto space could be a sign of things to come. Whether it’s a new wave of institutional investment, a groundbreaking innovation, or simply the start of a broader market rally, I believe we are on the precipice of something big. As always, I urge caution and due diligence when investing, but I must admit, my excitement level is high!

Solana price rebounds above $200 following Pump.fun’s $55 million SOL sale

After a $55 million transfer from Pump.fun’s fee account, Solana’s value increased by approximately 10%, surpassing $200 and moving to a new high on the Kraken digital asset platform.

Solana (SOL) made the recovery after a dip to $189 at about 5:00 pm UTC on Jan. 1.

The price started increasing approximately at 6:00 pm UTC, shortly after a fee account linked to the memecoin launch platform Pump.fun moved around $55 million in SOL to the Kraken trading platform.

On New Year’s Day, Pump.fun carried out two transactions to Kraken. The first transaction involved transferring approximately 22.8 million dollars of SOL at 4:37 pm UTC, as indicated by Solscan data. Subsequently, another transfer worth around 32.7 million dollars was made at 5:45 pm.

Aave net deposits hit $33.4 billion, surpassing 2021 levels

On the peer-to-peer finance platform Aave, total deposits reached an unprecedented peak of $33.4 billion, setting a new record for the lending system and outdoing even the deposit levels observed during the 2021 market surge.

As a researcher, I extended our reach in the year 2024 by incorporating BNB Chain, Scroll, ZKsync Era, and Ether.fi into the list of markets we support.

In the year 2025, subject to the community’s agreement, Aave could potentially expand into various new markets. These may include Sonic, Mantle, Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling solution Linea, Bitcoin’s layer-2 solution BOB, Spider Chain, and Aptos.

The increase in DeFi’s total value locked and activity can be attributed to the optimism surrounding a more favorable regulatory climate and pro-cryptocurrency policies following Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory on November 5th.

Solana adds $1 billion worth of stablecoins in December

In December, Solana saw an influx of approximately $1 billion worth of stablecoins, with the majority being USD Coins (USDC), as indicated by information from DefiLlama.

2024 saw a surge in stablecoin adoption and the Solana network’s growing influence in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector, with notable inflows indicating an accelerating trend.

Approximately $5 billion worth of stablecoins are currently secured on the Solana network, with around $3.96 billion being USDC. This is based on the latest available data.

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

Despite a decrease in the total market value of memecoins in December, the overall income generated by the Solana meme coin creator, Pump.fun, is approaching $400 million.

According to Lookonchain’s analysis, the blockchain-based platform Pump.fun has accumulated approximately 2,016,391 Solana tokens worth around $398 million. Furthermore, it is said that Pump.fun transferred over $300 million in Solana tokens to Kraken and exchanged about 41 million US Dollars Coin (USDC).

In January, Pump.fun experienced a strong beginning, building on its remarkable success from November. During that month, the platform recorded a groundbreaking achievement by generating an astounding $106 million in income from decentralized applications, making it the first Solana DApp to ever reach over $100 million in monthly earnings.

California man sues 3 Asia banks over $1 million pig butchering crypto fraud

A person living in California has filed a lawsuit against three banks based in Asia, claiming that these institutions neglected to perform essential verifications which could have stopped cryptocurrency fraudsters from stealing almost $1 million from him.

On December 31st, 2024, lawyers representing Ken Liem submitted a complaint to a California court. They assert that their client was tricked into a pig butchering scheme, having been approached on LinkedIn in June 2023 with an offer for a cryptocurrency investment opportunity.

According to Liem’s lawyers, he was led to move money to the suspected cryptocurrency swindlers across multiple months, believing they would invest the money on his behalf.

The legal team stated that the money was deposited into bank accounts at Fubon Bank (Hong Kong), Chong Hing Bank (Hong Kong), and DBS Bank (Singapore). Afterwards, the con artists transferred this money to external accounts.

DeFi market overview

As a crypto investor, I’m delighted to share that, based on data from CryptoMoon Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the top 100 digital currencies, ranked by market cap, concluded their weekly journey on an upward trend.

Among the top 100 tokens, DEXE (DEXE) saw a significant increase of more than 68%, making it the week’s largest winner. This was closely followed by SPX6900 (SPX), which surged over 53% on its weekly chart, experiencing growth after being listed on Binance Futures on December 10th.

Appreciate you checking out our rundown of the key DeFi advancements from this past week. Come back next Friday for additional tales, perspectives, and educational content about this rapidly evolving sector. See you then!

2025-01-03 22:02