Hassan Maishera
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has published its Monthly Market Insights for March. The report revealed some interesting insights into the cryptocurrency market.
Crypto Market Dipped 4.4% in March, But Long-Term Holders Increase
According to the report, the crypto market declined by 4.4% in March 2025, amid volatility following President Trump’s Executive Order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and ongoing uncertainty around Federal Reserve rate policy.
Binance added that renewed tariff tensions — opposed by Canada and Mexico — also contributed to a US$1B crypto liquidation in cryptocurrency derivative markets on March 4.
Toward the end of March 2025, renewed concerns over tariffs surfaced when Canada and Mexico publicly opposed the 25% tariffs that had been in effect since March 4. This
backlash intensified market uncertainty and subsequently triggered a significant US$1B
liquidation event within the cryptocurrency derivative market.
However, despite the bearish market conditions, the supply of Bitcoin (BTC) held by long-term holders is on the rise, coinciding with significant adoption marked by the establishment of a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve and increased institutional purchases.
Binance revealed that Bitcoin's on-chain ecosystem has also progressed, with Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) experiencing a 2,767% surge in total value locked (TVL) over the past year. These developments, along with potential interest rate cuts, may reinforce positive sentiment for Bitcoin in the medium and long term.
TON, ADA, and BNB Lead the Market Charge
Despite the broader market’s bearish performance, some cryptocurrencies performed positively in March. Toncoin’s TON led the way, adding 17% to its value in March. TON’s surge can be attributed to the disclosure by the TON Foundation that over US$400M in Toncoin had been purchased from early investors by blockchain-focused venture capital firms, including Sequoia, Ribbit, and Benchmark.
ADA rallied 4.4% in March, thanks to its consideration for inclusion in the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. Following the announcement, ADA briefly rallied by over 70%.
BNB rose by 2.5% in March after World Liberty Financial project launched its USD1 stablecoin on the BNB Chain. Additionally, BNB Chain surpassed Solana in daily decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume on several days in March, driven largely by the growing popularity of meme coins within its ecosystem.
DeFi and NFT Trading Volumes Dipped
DeFi protocols and NFT trading platforms recorded sharp declines in their trading volumes in March. According to the Binance report, DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL) dropped 1.5% month-on-month (MoM). This follows the U.S. Senate's March 4 resolution to overturn the IRS's DeFi Broker Rule that classified DeFi platform operators as brokers.
Furthermore, the NFT market declined sharply, with total sales volume dropping 12.4%
across the top 10 chains, with Immutable and Panini being exceptions. The number of
unique buyers hit its lowest level since October 2023, reflecting a slowdown in demand
driven by macroeconomic uncertainty.
Ethereum-based NFT sales plummeted 59.3%, with Crypto Punks as the only top-20 collection to record growth. Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pudgy Penguins saw sales fall by over 50%, while Panini’s America NFTs surged 259.2%, solidifying its place among the top 10 NFT chains
Uniswap Loses Market Share as the DEX Landscape Changes
The Binance report further highlighted the changes currently ongoing in the DEX ecosystem. Uniswap, traditionally the leading DEX, has seen its market share decline significantly, from 45% last year to 29% as of March 2025. Competitors like PancakeSwap and Raydium have gained ground, benefiting from robust ecosystem growth and strategic initiatives.
Similar changes are happening in the crypto wallet landscape. Binance Wallet’s market share has surpassed 50% following OKX's temporary suspension of its DEX aggregator services. While this incident seems to have prompted a wave of user migration, Binance Wallet's upward trajectory was supported by ecosystem activity on BNB Chain and the rollout of new features and incentives.
Memecoins Are No Longer Pumping
Memecoins were all the rage toward the end of 2024 and during the first few weeks of 2025. However, recent data indicates that they may have peaked. Pump.fun, the launchpad synonymous with the "memecoin supercycle" on Solana, has seen a significant decline in weekly usage metrics since the launch of $TRUMP, with total volume, token creation, and active wallets dropping by 69.9%, 51.8% and 45.1%, respectively from their peaks in January 2025.
Despite the declining metrics, tokens like DOGE and SHIB remain among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap, and recent ETF filing applications for DOGE, BONK, and TRUMP indicate that interest in the sector persists, albeit with increased focus on more recognizable or established assets.
