Binance Research: Key Trends in Crypto – April 2025
Main Takeaways
This blog summarises the findings of the recent Binance Research report discussing key developments in crypto markets over the past month.
In March 2025, the crypto market fell 4.4% amid heightened volatility driven by Federal Reserve rate uncertainty and renewed tariff tensions.
Regulatory progress such as the GENIUS Act and OCC crypto custody approval pointed to increased cryptocurrency mainstream adoption.
Thanks to Binance Research, you can take advantage of industry-grade analyses of the processes shaping Web3. By sharing these insights, we hope to empower our community with the latest knowledge from the field of crypto research.
This blog explores key Web3 developments in March 2025 to provide an overview of the ecosystem’s current state. We analyze the performance of crypto, DeFi, and NFT markets before previewing major events to look out for in April.
Crypto Market Performance in March 2025. In March 2025, the cryptocurrency market cap declined by 4.4%, continuing its pullback from the previous month amid rising macroeconomic uncertainty. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain benchmark interest rates for a second straight meeting dampened investor risk appetite, reflecting concerns over persistent inflation. Volatility was further stoked by President Trump’s imposition of new tariffs, which drew international backlash – particularly from Canada and Mexico toward the end of the month – culminating in US$1 billion in liquidations in the crypto derivatives market.
Despite the market turbulence, March also saw significant regulatory advancements for the crypto industry. The GENIUS Act progressed closer to becoming law after clearing the Senate Banking Committee with bipartisan support. Meanwhile, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued guidance permitting banks to custody cryptocurrencies. These steps signal growing regulatory clarity and a broader move toward integrating digital assets into the traditional financial ecosystem.
Monthly crypto market capitalization decreased by 4.4% in March
Monthly price performance of the top 10 coins by market capitalization
Source: CoinMarketCapAs of March 31, 2025
In March 2025, Toncoin (TON) emerged as the standout performer, surging 17.1% following revelations that over US$400 million in TON had been acquired by top venture capital firms including Sequoia, Ribbit, and Benchmark. This influx of institutional interest coincided with a meteoric rise in TON’s user base, which grew from 4 million to 41 million accounts over the past year. Cardano (ADA) also posted notable gains, rising 4.4% on speculation surrounding its potential inclusion in the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. The excitement briefly drove ADA up by over 70%, while its DeFi ecosystem showed promising growth, with its stablecoin market cap crossing US$30 million.
BNB posted a 2.5% gain, supported by multiple bullish catalysts including the launch of the USD1 stablecoin by World Liberty Financial and the BNB Chain’s rise in DEX trading volume, temporarily overtaking Solana. Memecoin activity fueled this surge, while BNB Chain’s new US$100 million Permanent Liquidity Support Program further underlined its commitment to ecosystem growth. Meanwhile, XRP dipped slightly by 0.4%, weighed down by legal uncertainty despite positive developments such as a new partnership with Chipper Cash to facilitate cross-border payments across Africa. Tron (TRX) also slipped marginally by 0.8%, but maintained its dominance in USDT usage, hosting 78% of all cumulative USDT addresses.
Among the biggest losers, ETH experienced a sharp 19.3% decline as investor sentiment soured amid growing concerns that layer-2 scaling solutions were drawing usage away from Ethereum’s mainnet, diminishing demand for ETH gas fees. Solana (SOL) followed with a steep 15.8% drop, hit hard by network congestion linked to memecoin trading frenzies. This led to a dramatic decline in key metrics, including an 80% fall in monthly revenue and significant drops in transaction volume, active addresses, and fees. Even Bitcoin (BTC) wasn’t immune, falling 2.4% despite President Trump’s announcement of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Investors were underwhelmed by the funding mechanism, which relied on seized assets rather than new BTC purchases, casting doubts over the policy's immediate market impact.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
TVL share of top blockchains
Source: DeFiLlamaAs of March 31, 2025
In March 2025, DeFi total value locked (TVL) declined by 1.5% month-on-month, influenced by regulatory uncertainty surrounding the IRS’s now-overturned DeFi Broker Rule. Originally, the rule sought to classify DeFi platform operators as brokers, imposing stringent reporting obligations that threatened innovation and user privacy. However, a March 4 Senate resolution, backed by both Congress and the Trump administration, successfully repealed the rule using the Congressional Review Act, preventing the IRS from implementing a similar rule without explicit legislative approval. This legislative win was a major boost for the DeFi sector’s autonomy and growth potential.
Despite this DeFi contraction, the stablecoin market continued its upward trajectory, growing 4.4% in March, buoyed by regulatory progress on the U.S. GENIUS Act, which introduces rigorous standards for stablecoin issuers, including 1:1 reserve backing.
USDC notably outpaced USDT in growth, expanding its market share from 20% to 25.7%, and remained the only major stablecoin compliant with new EU regulations. Among the major DeFi ecosystems, BNB Chain was the only one to record TVL growth, driven by active memecoin trading on PancakeSwap and incentivized token swaps, all reinforcing its position as a hub of DeFi activity.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Monthly NFT trading volume
Source: CryptoSlam As of March 31, 2025
In March 2025, the NFT market experienced a significant decline, with total sales volume dropping 12.4% across the top 10 chains. Buyer activity also slumped, hitting its lowest point since October 2023 amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty.
Ethereum-based NFTs were hit hardest, with sales plummeting 59.3% – only Crypto Punks managed to buck the trend among top collections. Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pudgy Penguins both saw sales fall by over 50%.
In contrast, Panini’s America NFTs surged 259.2%, marking its rise as a top 10 NFT chain. Leveraging its decades-long legacy in collectibles, Panini's blockchain-based offerings are gaining traction for their authenticity and exclusivity.
Despite the broader market pullback, major partnerships hint at sustained interest in NFT applications. Azuki launched a physical-backed NFT with renowned toy designer Michael Lau, while The Sandbox collaborated with Jurassic World to bring dinosaurs into the metaverse. Meanwhile, EGGRYPTO partnered with anime series Eparida on limited-edition character NFTs, and Sony’s Soneium platform joined forces with LINE to build Web3 mini-apps, signaling ongoing innovation and brand engagement within the space.
Upcoming Events and Token Unlocks
To help users stay updated on the latest Web3 news, the Binance Research team has summarized notable events and token unlocks for the month to come. Keep an eye on these upcoming developments in the blockchain space.
Notable Events in April 2025
Source: Cryptoevents, Binance Research
Largest token unlocks in US$ terms
Source: CryptoRank, Binance Research
Binance Research
The Binance Research team is committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analyses of the crypto space. We publish insightful takes on Web3 topics, including but not limited to the crypto ecosystem, blockchain applications, and the latest market developments.
This article is only a snapshot of the full report, which contains further analyses of the most important charts from the past month. The full report also dives into the resumption of BTC long-term holders accumulation, the evolution of DEX landscape, major shifts in the wallet landscape, and the apparent end of the memecoin supercycle.
Read the full version of this Binance Research report here.
Further Reading
Disclaimer: This material is prepared by Binance Research and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or investment advice and is not a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or cryptocurrencies or to adopt any investment strategy. The use of terminology and the views expressed are intended to promote understanding and the responsible development of the sector and should not be interpreted as definitive legal views or those of Binance. The opinions expressed are as of the date shown above and are the opinions of the writer; they may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Binance Research to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive, and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given, and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Binance. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any securities, cryptocurrencies, or any investment strategy, nor shall any securities or cryptocurrency be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase, or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Investment involves risks.