The Hype is Real
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The past week has been a bit rough for the crypto market, which saw its total market cap shrink by about $150 billion - a 4% dip overall. Bitcoin (BTC) managed to hold steady near last week’s levels, climbing 0.8%. Earlier this week, it faced a 5% drop after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25%, with Chair Jerome Powell hinting that future rate cuts in 2025 may slow. Ethereum (ETH) took a 5.9% hit this week.
In this week’s Crypto Market Monitor, we’ll explore the major events and trends that captured attention in the cryptocurrency space over the past week.
New token launches
Airdrops are making a comeback in crypto and some of the latest launches include Hyperliquid’s $HYPE, Magic Eden’s $ME and Pudgy Penguins’ $PENGU tokens.
Hyperliquid is a layer-1 blockchain designed for financial applications, with its flagship product being the Hyperliquid DEX - an onchain perpetuals exchange. The platform has been thriving, with its total value locked (TVL) jumping from $58 million in January 2024 to $1.3 billion by November, just before the $HYPE token launch. Trading volumes on the DEX have doubled since the start of the year and after the $HYPE launch, they climbed another 90%. The daily number of unique traders too is up an impressive 436% since the airdrop was announced.
The $HYPE launch also created $8.33 billion in liquid wealth on the network and its price has skyrocketed by over 830%, currently sitting at $25. With the ecosystem seeing such high levels of activity and the token’s price seeing substantial gains post the airdrop, Hyperliquid saw one of the most successsful token generation events this year.
Figure 1: Trading volume on Hyperliquid and the $HYPE token price have been up-only since the token was airdropped recently
Earlier this year, we highlighted the pitfalls of tokens with low floats and high fully diluted valuations (FDVs), which often concentrated power and limited liquidity. Hyperliquid’s $HYPE broke this mould by avoiding insider allocations, giving retail participants a fairer shot.
Other recent launches include Magic Eden’s $ME for its NFT marketplace, Pudgy Penguins’ $PENGU token for its NFT collection and Morpho’s $MORPHO token in November. These announcements are happening at a time of market euphoria, with Bitcoin crossing $100K and altcoins posting strong November gains after the US elections. With the latest FOMC meeting signalling fewer rate cuts in 2025, many projects see this as the perfect time to roll out their tokens.
Crowd sales are back
One of the more exciting trends in crypto right now is the potential return of ICO-style fundraising for new projects. Back in the day, ICOs brought us massive successes like Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB) and Filecoin (FIL) however, they all but disappeared under regulatory pressure. While we’re unlikely to see the wild ICO days of the past, markets seem to expect that the upcoming change of administrations in the US is likely to create a friendlier environment for token crowd sales.
This approach could be significant for crypto projects and token investors. While airdrop farmers have historically sold tokens quickly for short-term gains, markets are maturing this cycle and token investors tend to be more committed to a project's long-term success. ICO-style sales also allow investors to enter early at lower valuations - a benefit typically reserved for venture capitalists. Additionally, these sales foster strong, aligned communities and promote immediate decentralisation.
Platforms such as Echo and Fjord Foundry are already making this happen for utility tokens. For instance, MegaLabs, the team behind MegaETH (a blockchain aiming to scale Ethereum, backed by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, crypto whale Cobie, ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin and VC firm Dragonfly Capital), raised $10 million on Echo in less than three minutes. On Hyperliquid, the $HYPE airdrop has kickstarted a wave of token launches using Dutch auctions, where prices start high and drop until someone buys.
This shift is fascinating, although it remains to be seen how these tokens will hold up in tougher market conditions when investors are more cautious and risk-averse.
Current state of the crypto developer ecosystem
Developers are the lifeblood of value creation in crypto. They build Apps and dApps that solve real problems, attract users and create a ripple effect that brings in even more developers. Electric Capital’s recent developer report sheds light on how this ecosystem shaped up in 2024.
Since Ethereum launched in 2015, the crypto developer community has grown by 39% annually. According to the report, in 2024 alone, 39,148 new developers tried their hand at crypto. While the total developer count dropped slightly by 7%, there’s a silver lining - established developers (those active for over two years) hit an all-time high. They’ve grown 27% year-on-year and are responsible for 70% of all code contributions.
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Figure 2: The number of new crypto developers (by year)
The report highlights that on a global scale, Asia has taken the lead as the top continent for developer share, pushing North America to third place. The US still holds the top spot for individual countries, with 19% of the developer base, but that’s down from 38% in 2015. Meanwhile, India stole the spotlight in 2024 by onboarding the highest number of new crypto developers.
Finally, it mentioned that the Solana ecosystem, famous for driving the memecoin frenzy, is now the go-to blockchain for new developers, growing its ecosystem by 83% over the year. In July, Solana made history by bringing in 1,000 more developers than Ethereum.
Figure 3: Solana became the #1 ecosystem for new developers in July 2024
Conclusion
The crypto market is buzzing with growth and innovation, driven by exciting trends, fresh narratives and significant milestones. From the revival of token airdrops and ICO-style fundraising to the rapid expansion of developer ecosystems, the industry is teeming with potential. Chains like Solana are setting benchmarks by attracting top developer talent, while new tokens are unlocking creative use cases.
Meanwhile, innovative projects continue to onboard new investors. By steering clear of traditional venture capital funding and avoiding superficial partnerships, they focus on what truly matters - building a product users genuinely love and fostering a community-first mindset. It’s a blueprint for how projects can create real, lasting value.
With Asia and India leading the charge in developer growth and the crypto space leaning more towards decentralisation, the industry seems well-prepared to navigate both challenges and opportunities ahead. While the true test of these innovations will come during quieter market periods, one thing is clear - crypto is resilient, adaptive, and ready to shape the future of finance and technology.
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Disclaimer
This document is provided by AMINA Bank AG (“AMINA”) and is intended for educational and informational purposes. AMINA’s weekly Crypto Market Monitor is not intended for distribution in any jurisdiction where such distribution would be prohibited. Furthermore, it is not aimed at any person or entity residing in such jurisdiction. It does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to subscribe, purchase, sell or hold any security or financial instrument. The document contains the opinions of AMINA as at the date of issue, which do not take into account an individual’s circumstances and objectives. AMINA does not make any representation that any investment or strategy is suitable or appropriate to individual circumstances or that any investment or strategy constitutes personalized investment advice. Some investment products and services may be subject to legal and regulatory restrictions or may not be available worldwide on an unrestricted basis. The information and analysis contained in this Crypto Market Monitor are based on sources considered as reliable. AMINA makes its best efforts to ensure the timeliness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness of the information contained in this document. Nevertheless, all information indicated herein may change without prior notice.