The cryptocurrency market witnessed a wave of momentum on March 3–4, 2025, as major assets surged and key on-chain metrics hit record highs. From meme coin rallies to institutional shifts and Layer 2 breakthroughs, the ecosystem demonstrated robust growth and increasing maturity. This comprehensive update explores the latest price movements, strategic developments, and macro trends shaping the digital asset landscape.
Major Price Movements and Market Milestones
Meme Coins Continue to Shine
The meme coin sector remains one of the most dynamic corners of the crypto market. PEPE, the frog-themed token inspired by the iconic internet meme, surged over 35% in 24 hours, briefly touching $0.000006—a new all-time high. At press time, it stabilized around $0.00000592, maintaining strong bullish sentiment. This rally follows growing social media traction and speculative interest ahead of broader market catalysts.
Meanwhile, WIF (dogwifhat) surpassed BONK in market capitalization, climbing to #66 on CoinGecko’s global rankings with a valuation exceeding $1.68 billion. Trading at approximately $1.71, WIF posted a 38% gain over 24 hours, reflecting continued enthusiasm for Solana-based meme projects.
Another politically themed meme token, TRUMP, reached a new peak of $9.66, marking a weekly gain of over 100%. While driven largely by community speculation, its sustained momentum highlights the cultural influence embedded in certain token economies.
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Bitcoin and Ethereum Rebound Strongly
Bitcoin showed volatility after testing above $64,000, briefly dipping to $62,300 before recovering to $63,139. Despite short-term fluctuations, the broader trend remains positive, supported by ETF inflows and macroeconomic expectations.
Ethereum broke through the **$3,500** resistance level, reaching $3,501 with a 2.43% daily gain. This move coincided with growing activity in Layer 2 networks and increased staking participation.
Altcoins Show Broad Strength
Several major altcoins posted impressive gains:
- BCH (Bitcoin Cash) jumped nearly 50%, briefly surpassing $500 to reach $497.5.
- BSV (Bitcoin SV) climbed 36.33%, breaking $120 amid renewed interest in the original Bitcoin protocol vision.
- FIL (Filecoin) rose over 18%, hitting $10.65 before settling at $10.472.
- OP (Optimism) hit a new high above $4.30, fueled by ecosystem expansion and developer engagement.
Even newer entrants like MAV (Maverick Protocol) broke out, briefly exceeding $0.80 with a 9.33% gain, signaling strong demand for innovative DeFi primitives.
On-Chain Activity and Whale Moves
Institutional and Smart Money Flows
ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, reduced its exposure to crypto-linked equities, selling 216,035 shares of Coinbase (~$43.4M) and **548,619 shares of Robinhood** (~$8.6M). While this may signal profit-taking, it does not reflect bearishness on crypto fundamentals—ARK has maintained long-term conviction in blockchain adoption.
Conversely, “Smart Money” entities—tracked by analytics firm Nansen—increased positions in promising protocols:
- FTM (Fantom): Inflow of ~$1.53M
- MKR (MakerDAO): ~$790K inflow
- ZETA (ZetaChain): ~$760K inflow
These inflows suggest growing confidence in scalable infrastructure and decentralized finance resilience.
Whale Transactions Signal Strategic Shifts
Large-scale movements were observed across multiple assets:
- A single whale withdrew 1 million UNI from Binance over 24 hours, spending ~$12.75M at an average price of $11.65. The entity had previously deposited $30M in USDT, indicating a potential accumulation strategy.
- Amber Group transferred 2 million ARB to centralized exchanges (CEXs) over three days, worth ~$4.03M, possibly preparing for liquidity management or hedging.
- DWF Labs moved its entire FET (Fetch.ai) holdings—over 3 million tokens—to CEXs, potentially realizing profits from early investments made at ~$0.20 per token.
Such movements underscore the evolving dynamics between institutional players and market liquidity.
NFT Market Developments
The NFT space saw significant action as well:
- The Pudgy Penguins collection faced downward pressure after an address sold 42 NFTs for a total of 632.5 ETH (~$2.2M) at an average of 15.07 ETH each. Following the sale, floor prices dropped 10.63% to 13.93 ETH.
- Meanwhile, NodeMonkes overtook Pudgy Penguins in total market value, ranking third on CoinGecko’s NFT leaderboard with a valuation of nearly $488M.
- The SERAPH: In the Darkness game’s “Soul” NFT series hit a floor price of 0.905 ETH, up 39.88% in 24 hours, driven by hype around its ARPG gameplay and dark fantasy theme.
These shifts reflect both profit-taking in mature blue-chip projects and rising interest in utility-driven gaming NFTs.
Project Updates and Ecosystem Growth
Layer 2 and Infrastructure Expansion
- Taiko, an Ethereum-equivalent ZK-Rollup, raised **$15M in Series A funding**, led by Lightspeed Faction and Hashed. With prior funding totaling $22M, Taiko is building a fully decentralized Layer 2 ecosystem.
- Parallel Network, a full-chain L2 on Arbitrum, announced its Early Access testnet launch for the following week, aiming to power cross-chain liquidity with incentives for early adopters.
- Unibot launched “Unibot On Blast,” extending its popular trading bot to the Blast ecosystem with zero fees during initial rollout.
Innovation in Token Standards
Solana-based project Deez Nuts introduced LIGMA, a hybrid DeFi-NFT collection that evolves as users acquire more tokens. Unlike traditional models, LIGMA combines token and NFT properties into a single asset using the Tiny SPL standard—leveraging state compression to eliminate storage fees.
Additionally, Portal, a Web3 gaming platform, launched the BuildingBlocks Foundation to accelerate decentralization and onboard the first billion Web3 gamers through grants and community programs.
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CeFi and Institutional Developments
FTX Enters Formal Liquidation Phase
FTX Digital Markets has officially begun liquidation proceedings under Bahamian law. The Joint Official Liquidators (JOL) have activated a claims portal managed by PwC, allowing users to submit claims by May 15, 2025.
Key compensation rates include:
- BTC: $16,871
- ETH: $1,258
- SOL: $16.24
- BNB: $286
First interim distributions are expected by late 2025. Notably, all claims will be settled in USD equivalents regardless of original holdings.
Tether Replenishes USDT Reserves
Tether issued a 1 billion USDT authorization on Ethereum—though not yet fully deployed—to replenish inventory for future issuance and cross-chain swaps. CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed this was part of routine treasury management.
Market Data and Analyst Insights
Total Crypto Market Cap Tops $2.5 Trillion
The global crypto market cap crossed $2.5 trillion, up 1.5% over 24 hours—a sign of broad-based recovery and growing investor confidence.
EigenLayer TVL Breaches $10 Billion
A major milestone was reached by EigenLayer, whose Total Value Locked (TVL) surpassed $10 billion, equivalent to ~2.93 million ETH. This reflects strong adoption of restaking technology, allowing users to reuse staked ETH for additional security layers.
Related protocols also saw growth:
- Renzo Protocol: TVL exceeded $717 million
- Both Binance Labs and other VCs have backed EigenLayer’s expanding ecosystem
Bitcoin Mining Revenue Hits $1.39 Billion in February
According to The Block, February mining revenue totaled **$1.39 billion**, up 2.96% month-over-month. Ethereum validator rewards also rose 14% to $214 million, with transaction fees contributing $42 million.
Chainlink founder Sergey Nazarov noted that new market participants are no longer just retail speculators but institutions from the global financial system—accelerating real-world asset (RWA) tokenization trends.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What caused PEPE’s recent price surge?
PEPE’s rally was driven by rising social media sentiment, increased trading volume on decentralized exchanges, and broader meme coin speculation ahead of anticipated market catalysts such as spot Ethereum ETF approvals.
Why is EigenLayer’s $10B TVL significant?
It demonstrates strong trust in restaking as a security primitive. By allowing users to “re-stake” their ETH across multiple services, EigenLayer enables modular blockchain architectures—fueling innovation in AVSs (Actively Validated Services).
Are whale sell-offs bearish for the market?
Not necessarily. Large transactions often reflect portfolio rebalancing rather than panic selling. Context matters: DWF Labs likely took profits after early investment, while others like the UNI whale may be accumulating funds for future opportunities.
How do restaking protocols like Renzo work?
They allow users to stake ETH via liquid restaking tokens (LRTs), which can then be used across multiple applications while maintaining withdrawal rights. This increases capital efficiency without sacrificing security.
What impact do ETFs have on crypto markets?
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have brought institutional capital into the space legally and transparently. As Nazarov noted, they’re just the beginning—expect similar products for Ethereum and eventually tokenized real-world assets.
Is now a good time to invest?
Market conditions appear favorable with rising TVLs, increasing mining revenues, and growing institutional interest. However, always conduct due diligence and consider risk tolerance before investing.
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