February 2025 Altcoin Report: IP Surges 630%, DeFi Giants Fall, and Jito Triumphs Over Solana

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 development.
• DeFi blue chips like Lido DAO, Aave, and Ethena noticed main losses, with Ethena dropping practically 48% because of panic promoting and liquidity issues.
• Jito outperformed Solana in charges and income, producing $261M YTD, reinforcing liquid staking as a high crypto development in 2025.
• Crypto narratives like RWAs, CEXs, and lending noticed smaller declines, whereas DeSci, NFTs, and GameFi have been among the many worst performers.

Desk of Contents

1. In This Article

Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined Why Is Sonic Worth Rising? Consultants 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 ‘Strong’ 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 Count on in March

1. In This Article
2. Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined
3. Why Is Sonic Worth Rising? Consultants Weigh In
4. Mantra Worth Doubled in February

Present Full Information

5. What’s Subsequent for Mantra? Worth Prediction and Outlook
6. New Altcoins: Story Rises within the Crypto Market
7. Analyst Sees Story’s Lengthy-Time period Prospects as ‘Strong’
8. DeFi Blue Chips Ranked Among the many Greatest Losers in February
9. Jito Overtakes Uniswap and Solana in Charges and Income
10. Which Crypto Narratives Stood Out in February 2025?
11. What to Count on in March

February was a difficult month for the crypto market, typically described as a “massacre.” Right here’s a take a look at what occurred to altcoins throughout this era.

Sonic Grew 162% in February, Whereas the Market Declined

Sonic (S) served as a secure haven for some merchants whereas many of the crypto market was in decline. Though the rebranding from Fantom (FTM) passed off in January 2025, the coin attracted most of its consideration in February.

Whereas the broader market noticed one in every of 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 very 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? Consultants Weigh In

Tim Delhaes, CEO and co-founder of Grindery, believes Sonic’s development is pushed by its positioning as a utility-focused undertaking reasonably than a meme coin:

The January rebrand (ex-Fantom) and mainnet launch reignited hype, backed by actual development: TVL +172%, top-tier DeFi income, and 10K+ TPS scalability. In contrast to 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 velocity and minimize prices. This, coupled with eye-popping efficiency stats and a few savvy market strikes, caught buyers’ consideration huge time.

In line 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 value 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 development in March.

Julian Beltran instructed Cryptonews that a number of elements have contributed to Mantra’s worth surge:

They’ve shaped partnerships with corporations like Google Cloud and DAMAC Group. Their blockchain is designed with laws in thoughts. They’ve additionally acquired $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 document:

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 value rose to $7.31. In practically two weeks, IP grew by 631%, whereas the remainder of the crypto market declined.

Story outperformed Mantra however didn’t turn into 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 ‘Strong’

Tim Delhaes outlined a number of elements behind the sharp rise in IP’s worth in February following its mainnet launch and alternate listings:

Publish-mainnet, Story’s IP token rebounded quick, doubling from its lows and hitting the AI coin narrative laborious. New alternate listings, tokenized IP rights, and robust social buzz fueled the surge. A bit profit-taking hit, however the long-term imaginative and prescient? Strong.

Anastasija Plotnikova, CEO and co-founder of Fideum, instructed 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 and marketing fueled the hype.

A crypto dealer and analyst often called LaCryptoLuycos additionally sees IP as one of many strongest altcoins available on the market.

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 tasks couldn’t face 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 successful.

Jito Overtakes Uniswap and Solana in Charges and Income

In latest months, Solana has sometimes ranked among the many high 5 in charges and income. Nevertheless, 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 information is unavailable.

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That is notable as Jito is a part of the Solana ecosystem, which has confronted reputational points because 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 means that liquid staking may emerge as a key narrative in crypto and stays a development to observe.

Anastasija Plotnikova believes that the market’s shift towards liquid staking might have contributed to the decline of blue-chip DeFi tasks:

Jito’s rising charges mirror the rising enchantment 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 laborious, dropping over 40% in a month, doubtless because 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 secure supply of earnings throughout market turbulence, different sectors have additionally gained consideration.

All crypto narratives led to pink in February as a result of general market correction. Nevertheless, some sectors noticed smaller declines, together with centralized exchanges (CEXs), lending, and RWAs.

Among the many worst-performing sectors have been Decentralized science (DeSci), Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and GameFi.

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This aligns with broader market traits. Throughout corrections, merchants search safer sectors. BNB (BNB) is the biggest coin within the CEX class, with a market cap of $82.9 billion. Its worth remained comparatively steady 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 development, partly pushed by Mantra. Analysts interviewed by Cryptonews additionally assist this view.

What to Count on in March

March might 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 might wrestle except liquidity improves, whereas tasks tied to trending narratives may see renewed curiosity.

Sonic and Mantra, which outperformed the market final month, will want robust fundamentals to keep up their good points. Story’s development may proceed if AI-related hype persists, however profit-taking stays a threat. General, market sentiment will doubtless hinge on Bitcoin’s worth motion and macroeconomic elements influencing threat property.

The publish February 2025 Altcoin Report: IP Surges 630%, DeFi Giants Fall, and Jito Triumphs Over Solana appeared first on Cryptonews.