Bull market script starting? What to focus on next?
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Bull market script starting? What to focus on next?
AI Meme, Solana, Sonic, Aerodrome...
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: The DeFi Edge
Translation: Luffy, Foresight News
There's light at the end of the tunnel. After six months of turbulence, the crypto market is coming back to life. Both Solana and Base are performing well; even better, we finally have something "new" like AI Memes.
Some predict Bitcoin could break $100,000 in the coming months. Reasons for bullish sentiment include:
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The U.S. presidential election will take place in two weeks. A Trump victory would be a major win for crypto.
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On-chain metrics are bullish. TVL, trading volume, and active addresses on Base and Solana continue to rise.
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Stripe’s massive acquisition of stablecoin payments platform Bridge. Everyone underestimated its long-term positive impact on crypto.
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The new AI x Meme sector is emerging. It could be this cycle’s version of “NFT” for retail investors.
Sentiment is improving—the nostalgic vibe is returning.
It’s time to move past bear market PTSD. With so many exciting things happening, I want to stand at the forefront of the trend.
The market is full of mixed protocols and narratives—separating signal from noise isn’t easy. Here’s what I’ll be watching in the coming months.
1. AI Agents x Memecoins: The Cult Returns
Memecoins have always been a core part of crypto.
Their mechanism is simple—designed to go viral and gain traction through social propagation. Since memes are “static,” their popularity relies heavily on community.
But what if memes could evolve and upgrade themselves? What if they could self-promote? This is where AI agents come in.
Last week, GOAT (Goatseus Maximus) became the top choice for AI agent speculation, surging from $0 to an $800 million market cap within a week.
What is GOAT? Truth Terminal is an autonomous chatbot capable of independently managing its own Twitter account and generating content. It posts cryptic philosophical ramblings, but it’s obsessed with “GOATSE OF GNOSIS”—a pseudo-religion based on an old internet meme.
An anonymous individual created GOAT and airdropped some tokens to the creator of Truth Terminal.
The next act? Truth Terminal began aggressively promoting GOAT on Twitter. Could an AI launch “its own” memecoin? GOAT has solid “memecoin fundamentals”: high liquidity, fair distribution, and no VC or memecoin “cartel” team risk.
Here’s why the momentum behind AI Memes may last:
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Truth Terminal has over 100k followers and growing. Every tweet carries significant influence. It tweets hourly—an unstoppable KOL that never sleeps.
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No major CEX has listed any AI Meme yet. GOAT has a daily trading volume of ~$374 million—definitely on tier-1 exchange radar. (Note: Binance has since launched GOAT perpetual contracts)
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AI keeps evolving—it will keep learning and improving.
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AI Memes sit at the intersection of Crypto x AI x Religion—a new kind of “cult.”
We’ve only scratched the surface of this new space. How should you play it? The simplest way might be going long on the leader, GOAT. Calm down—other potential contenders are emerging, such as Fartcoin and Gnon.
Be cautious: many scams will try to ride this wave. Their token distributions aren’t nearly as good as GOAT’s. I’m certain many of these “AI agents” are actually humans role-playing as AI.
Back in 2021, NFTs captured the attention of zero-bag retail. AI Agents x Memes have similar potential. A $1 billion market cap for GOAT isn’t out of reach.
Finally, remember—these are memecoins. They can rise fast, and crash faster. Make sure you secure your profits.
2. Solana: Riding the Wave of Memecoins and AI
"The first millionaires during a gold rush weren’t the miners—they were the ones selling shovels and picks."
I love Ethereum, but ignoring Solana’s progress and adoption would be foolish.
Solana is currently riding a wave driven by memecoins and AI. As memecoin prices surge and trading volumes climb, Solana is back in the spotlight.
Solana is capitalizing on both memecoins and AI tokens:
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Prominent memecoins like SLOP, GNON, Shegen, and FART are gaining attention, while GOAT emerges as the leading AI token.
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As of Q4 2024, Solana averages 96,010 new tokens created per day, with Pump.fun accounting for roughly 9,000 (~9.3%) of them daily.
Beyond memecoins, Solana hosts several innovative DeFi protocols.
Three worth highlighting:
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Jupiter. Best known for its DEX and perpetuals. Recently launched ApePro—a new trading platform specifically designed for memecoins.
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Kamino Finance. Kamino Lend has captured nearly 70% of Solana’s lending market share in just one year, with $1.65 billion in TVL.
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Pump.fun. Solana’s memecoin factory, which may conduct a future airdrop. Its new internal trading tool is called Pump Advanced. Also launched a video tokenization platform allowing users to tokenize videos into tradable assets.
As Solana continues innovating and attracting diverse projects, it has become a strong competitor to Ethereum. The combination of memecoins and AI tokens not only diversifies its offerings but also boosts community engagement, making Solana a top choice for a new generation of retail users.
3. AI Tokens
Memecoin + AI is grabbing all the headlines, but we shouldn’t overlook Crypto AI tokens.
Bittensor (TAO) leads this space.
Bittensor serves as infrastructure in the Crypto AI domain, focused on practical AI utility:
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Opentensor FDN recently launched an Ethereum compatibility layer, bridging into the $300 billion Ethereum ecosystem.
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Real adoption: Three major DeFi protocols are now built on Bittensor’s machine learning infrastructure.
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Multiple revenue streams: transaction fees, staking, and AI services targeting over $10 million per quarter.
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Institutional backing: Two major crypto VCs increased positions in September.
User mindshare of AI x Meme narrative. Source: KaitoAi
An interesting strategy for AI exposure might be holding GOAT (high-risk, explosive potential) and TAO (infrastructure). Both are worth watching closely and backed by mature communities.
AI agents are now breaking through. One protocol I'm closely monitoring is Virtuals Protocol—some call it the AI agent version of Pump.fun.
Virtuals Protocol allows shared ownership of AI agents in gaming and entertainment. Imagine co-owning entertainment bots deployed on TikTok, Roblox, and other platforms—how fun would that be?
4. Fantom Reborn: Hello, Sonic
Fantom was one of the hottest blockchains in 2021. At its peak, it reached $8 billion in TVL.
Fantom is undergoing a transformation, rebranding itself as Sonic Chain, focusing on speed and scalability. With Andre Cronje’s return, expectations are sky-high.
What’s new with Sonic? Sonic Chain promises faster transactions—up to 10,000 TPS. Not groundbreaking, but enough to compete among high-performance blockchains. Improved tokenomics make it one of the most anticipated Q4 upgrades.
Upcoming catalysts for Sonic:
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With Pendle support, Sonic will offer liquid staking.
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Major DeFi protocols including Curve, KyberSwap, and Snapshot are launching on Sonic.
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Sonic’s new fee model lets developers earn up to 90% of fees.
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Programs like Sonic & Sodas, Sonic Boom, and Sonic University aim to attract developers.
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Last quarter, Sonic Arcade saw a 20% increase in TVL.
Finally, let’s follow the money. Sonic has confirmed a ~$132 million airdrop, and on-chain activity is rising.
Andre’s involvement, a large-scale airdrop, upcoming DeFi tools, and tokenomic changes could drive Sonic’s growth in Q4.
Every day I wake up to news of another new ETH L2 or app chain launch. But Solana’s lead and the rise of Aptos/Sui show there’s still room for L1 competitors.
For competing L1s, think of Solana as the Alpha version, and Sonic as Beta.
My concerns:
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Andre is highly innovative, but he’s also played the “disappearing act” before. He brings massive attention to Sonic—so key-person risk is high.
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Few truly innovative DApps launched on Fantom in recent years. Its top DApps remain Beethoven X and SpookySwap.
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Sonic must compete against both L2s and other L1s.
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Will Sonic sustain momentum after the airdrop?
Currently, the Sonic ecosystem is crowded, but it’s doing interesting things—worth keeping an eye on.
5. Aerodrome: Base’s Secret Weapon
Base’s rise is undeniable. By TVL, it’s now the largest officially recognized Ethereum L2.
Why? Aerodrome. With over $1.36 billion in TVL, Aerodrome dominates Base’s DeFi ecosystem.
This success is largely due to two key liquidity pools.
Aerodrome’s dominance in Base’s ecosystem includes:
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Current TVL: $1.36B (56% of Base’s total TVL)
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30-day growth: +56%, outpacing market average of 15%
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Market share: 80% of all DEX volume on Base
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Daily trading volume: Over $150 million
As Base matures, Aerodrome’s role as the default DEX will grow increasingly important—making it a central player in the Base ecosystem.
Base vs. other L2s over the past 20 days:
Daily transaction count:
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Base: 5.6 million
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Arbitrum: 2.1 million
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Optimism: 850k
Active addresses:
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Base: 1.5M monthly active users
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Arbitrum: 780k monthly active users
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Optimism: 690k monthly active users
TVL growth:
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Base: $2.5B
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Arbitrum: $2.4B
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Optimism: $681M
Clearly, Base is gaining serious momentum. What’s the next catalyst?
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Real-world asset (RWA) integration: Platforms like Centrifuge could bring real-world assets onto Base, attracting more liquidity and traditional finance participants.
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GameFi and NFTs: Base’s scalability makes it ideal for new gaming platforms or NFT markets—capitalizing on growing crypto narratives.
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Developer incentives: Backed by Coinbase, Base may boost growth via hackathons and grant programs, drawing more talent into the ecosystem.
Aerodrome has built a robust DeFi ecosystem on Base, attracting both retail and institutional players. Alongside top-tier protocols like Uniswap, Aave, Balancer, Sushiswap, Curve, and Stargate, Base has the potential to become a major contender in the L2 race.
6. DeFi 1.0: Don’t Underestimate the Old Guard
Remember when Aave and Uniswap ruled DeFi? An era of innovation and limitless possibility. Now, they’re ambitiously making a comeback.
Aave plans to expand its native stablecoin GHO into new ecosystems like Base and Avalanche.
In early 2024, GHO had a $35 million market cap. Over the past ten months, it grew 350% to $160.1 million.
Aave protocol revenue growth. Source: Token Terminal
Aave’s growth metrics:
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Year-to-date revenue: $50 million—the highest among all lending protocols;
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GHO circulating supply: $160 million;
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Ethereum TVL continues to grow, now at 5.1 million ETH (over $11 billion), nearing previous highs;
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Grayscale announced the launch of the Aave Trust;
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GHO is now competing with the top 15 stablecoins, with growing institutional interest.
As for Uniswap, it recently announced its own blockchain: Unichain.
We previously covered updates to the Uniswap v4 ecosystem and reactions to Unichain’s announcement. Here are the latest strategic moves:
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After Unichain launches, expect a large-scale migration of liquidity;
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One of Unichain’s main goals is reducing user gas costs by around 95%;
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Unichain’s launch may introduce new staking mechanisms;
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A revenue-sharing model could boost UNI’s price;
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Over 400,000 wallets now hold UNI.
DeFi captured peak user mindshare in August. Source: KaitoAi
Aave’s GHO and Uniswap’s Unichain initiatives could revive DeFi 1.0, bringing these giants back into the spotlight. These moves may redefine stablecoin dynamics and reshape the DEX landscape.
Riding the Wave
The past few years in crypto have been brutal. Countless Ponzi schemes, Terra’s collapse, and FTX’s downfall plunged us into a long bear market. The entire space focused on building more Ethereum Layer 2s. Now, I can feel the tide turning.
We must evolve too: stop messing around, overcome bear market trauma, and rise with the wave.
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