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Bitcoin dropped to around US $86,754, sliding nearly 5% on the day, as the broader crypto market suffered a steep downturn. The slump marked the end of its worst month in four years, with BTC losing more than $18,000 in November. The slide wasn’t limited to Bitcoin — the wider market also took a hit, reflecting growing risk-aversion among investors.

As prices plunged, nearly US $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated almost instantly as price levels dropped, sparking forced selling and triggering margin-call cascades. Moreover, big crypto-treasury firms — such as Strategy — slashed earnings forecasts for 2025, reflecting the pain of steep BTC losses on their balance sheets.

The sell-off extended beyond crypto: rising Treasury yields and macroeconomic uncertainty pushed investors away from risk assets, dragging down crypto-linked stocks and hammering investor sentiment. Meanwhile, some stablecoins — notably Tether (USDT) — saw their credit rating downgraded by S&P Global, triggering fresh concerns about reserve transparency and stability in the stablecoin market.

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What is DeFi?

DefiLlama’s leaderboards show that while centralized exchanges (CEXs) still dominate in volume terms, decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to grow in importance.

DeFi is a blockchain-based financial system that is permissionless and transparent and non-custodial, meaning that anyone with an internet connection can participate and users control their own assets, without intermediaries. The DeFi market includes numerous different services, including decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, stablecoins like DAI, lending protocols like Aave, and more.

While DeFi TVL (total value locked) declined in Q1 of 2025, the Trump administration shows a generally favourable outlook for the sector.

In April 2025, President Trump signed legislation overturning an IRS rule that would have classified DeFi platforms as brokers, requiring them to report user transactions. This move was seen as a significant victory for the DeFi industry, alleviating concerns about privacy and operational feasibility.

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Why we are highlighting these token categories

While memecoins have been a huge story in crypto for the last year, AI Agents, Real-World Assets (RWA), and DePIN are reshaping the token economy in profound ways — each opening new frontiers for utility, scalability, and real-world impact. As the crypto space matures beyond speculation, these technologies are driving a more grounded and interoperable future for blockchain.

AI agents are increasingly being integrated into decentralized platforms, where they can execute smart contracts, optimize yield strategies, or help users navigate DeFi ecosystems.

RWAs refer to the tokenization of tangible or off-chain assets — such as real estate, bonds, invoices, and commodities — on blockchain networks. This bridges the gap between traditional finance and DeFi by bringing the value of trillions of dollars of real-world capital onto decentralized rails.

DePIN, or Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, involve the use of blockchain tokens to coordinate and incentivize the deployment and maintenance of physical infrastructure. These systems rely on crypto economics to reward contributors for building out infrastructure in a decentralized, permissionless manner.

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