A new wave of airdrops is here, with market sentiment rebounding driven by multiple factors—these 21 projects may go on a "token giveaway" spree
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A new wave of airdrops is here, with market sentiment rebounding driven by multiple factors—these 21 projects may go on a "token giveaway" spree
Market anticipation for "meme season" is growing stronger, with investors actively seeking out promising crypto assets.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Nancy, PANews
As the secondary market gradually recovers, subtle shifts are taking place within the crypto ecosystem, with liquidity slowly draining from on-chain activities. Amid the bull market sentiment, numerous projects are accelerating their token launches to attract more capital and user attention. Meanwhile, the strong performance of multiple crypto sectors in recent weeks has further fueled investor enthusiasm, intensifying market anticipation for an "alt season," prompting investors to actively seek out promising crypto assets.
DeFi and L1 Lead Token Launches; Token Distribution Strategies Evolve
In recent months, the crypto market has seen a steady stream of projects announcing token launches. PANews analyzed 21 crypto projects that recently announced their Token Generation Events (TGE), spanning sectors including DeFi, L1, NFT, L2, and DAO. Notably, DeFi and L1 projects have emerged as the main drivers of new token issuance, accounting for nearly half of the total.
Public data shows these projects have attracted significant interest from institutional investors, collectively raising over $620 million in funding. Backers include prominent names such as Polychain, Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly, Wintermute, Alliance DAO, GSR, and DeFiance Capital. VC support is often seen as a key indicator of credibility and potential, lending legitimacy and confidence to these projects.
However, alongside increased institutional involvement, concerns have grown over tokens with high FDV but low circulating supply, which often lead to sustained price declines after launch—a situation that has sparked growing frustration and criticism. In response, market attention has begun shifting toward relatively fairer and more decentralized assets, such as meme coins. For instance, 10x Research recently reported that Google search trends for "Meme Coins" hit an all-time high, surpassing the previous peak in March 2024—indicating investors’ increasing preference for community-driven and equitable investment opportunities.
In terms of token distribution, many projects are now adjusting their initial supply structures to avoid the pitfalls of low circulation and inflated FDVs, which can severely limit long-term price appreciation. For example, Movement launched with 22% circulating supply, Side Protocol at 22.9%, and Zircuit at 21.95%. This shift reflects broader market skepticism toward the high-FDV, low-circulation model, under which retail investors often end up bearing the brunt of early investor exits.
Beyond supply structure, token allocation strategies are increasingly emphasizing ecosystem development and community participation. Bluefin, for instance, allocated 52% of its token supply to ecosystem growth; Movement dedicated 40% to its ecosystem and community; Magic Eden assigned 37.7% to community and ecosystem; and Usual went even further by allocating 90% of its tokens directly to the community. These approaches help strengthen community engagement, boost competitiveness, and support sustainable project development.
Regarding airdrops, the average airdrop allocation across these 21 projects reached 14.9%. Projects like Suilend (40%), Hyperliquid (31%), Zircuit (21%), Swan Chain (20%), and WalletConnect (18.5%) significantly exceeded the average. Notably, Hyperliquid delivered one of the largest airdrops of the year, with an average value of $28,500 per recipient. Airdrops continue to play a crucial role in attracting and rewarding early supporters, enhancing project visibility and influence while providing substantial returns to loyal users.
Multiple Factors May Fuel Alt Season—but Don’t Rely Solely on Bitcoin’s Momentum
The surge in token announcements coincides with improving market conditions and a more favorable regulatory environment in the U.S. Recently, as Bitcoin continues to rally, major sectors such as public blockchains, DeFi, metaverse, L2s, and gaming have experienced strong rebounds. At the same time, intensifying PVP competition in the meme coin space has discouraged many participants, shifting focus back to the secondary market.
"Alt season may be about to begin," said top trader Eugene recently.
According to Bitfinex’s latest report, the overall crypto market has reached a cyclical high, with altcoin market cap approaching the $984 billion peak seen in May 2021—indicating that speculative capital is beginning to flow from Bitcoin into altcoins. Historically, such capital rotation often signals the arrival of "alt season," where altcoins outperform Bitcoin in relative gains. Crypto analyst Mikybull Crypto noted that Bitcoin’s dominance has fallen below its two-year support level, potentially signaling the market has officially entered alt season. A declining BTC dominance suggests investors are taking profits from their Bitcoin holdings and reallocating funds into alternative cryptocurrencies.
QCP also pointed out that the recent decline in Bitcoin’s market share reflects a trend of capital gradually moving from BTC to ETH and other altcoins. Additionally, IntoTheBlock data revealed that November saw the highest net outflow of stablecoins from centralized exchanges since April, totaling approximately $4.5 billion. Combined with strong price movements, this indicates traders are locking in profits—funds that could either be redeployed into altcoins or held as reserves against future downturns.
Moreover, as the crypto market becomes increasingly mainstream, a more accommodating U.S. regulatory landscape has boosted optimism around the broader industry—including altcoins. As previously reported by PANews, members of Trump’s incoming administration have been progressively revealed, many of whom have publicly expressed pro-crypto views, potentially paving the way for more favorable policy expectations. Notably, the anticipated departure of SEC Chair Gary Gensler is seen as potentially creating more room for crypto industry growth. More importantly, growing excitement surrounds ETF applications for assets like Solana, XRP, and LTC, further lifting market sentiment.
However, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju cautioned that unlike the previous bull run, the current Bitcoin rally is primarily driven by institutional investors and spot ETF demand—groups that differ fundamentally from traditional exchange users and are less likely to rotate their assets from Bitcoin into altcoins. Since institutions largely operate off-exchange, capital rotation into smaller-cap altcoins becomes less feasible. While institutions may allocate to major altcoins via ETFs or similar instruments, smaller-cap altcoins still depend heavily on retail activity on exchanges. For the total altcoin market cap to reach new highs, substantial new capital inflows into exchanges will be required—but current levels remain below historical peaks, suggesting limited liquidity from new users. Therefore, altcoin projects should focus on developing independent strategies to attract fresh capital rather than relying solely on momentum generated by Bitcoin’s performance.
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