The most crucial driving force behind this bullish market that began in 2024 is traditional financial asset management giants led by BlackRock.

The recently initiated altcoin season has been notably led by RWA, payments, and other tracks where traditional financial giants such as BlackRock are heavily invested. Tokens related to traditional asset management giants like $ONDO, $CRV, and $ENA have shown impressive growth. These tokens have been relatively resilient or rebounded quickly amidst significant market declines on the 10th and 11th.

Empowering traditional finance, especially tracks and projects supported by traditional financial giants, may be one of the most certain directions of this bullish market. ChainCatcher has briefly sorted related projects. (Excluding Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, and XRP crypto ETF content)

BlackRock

BlackRock launched its tokenized fund BUIDL through the compliance tokenization platform Securitize in March this year, with a current scale exceeding $550 million.

Currently, most of BUIDL is still deployed on Ethereum. Last month, BlackRock announced the launch of the BUIDL fund on Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, OP, and Polygon. Recent performances of partners or affiliates related to BUIDL have also been quite impressive.

1. Ondo Finance ($ONDO)

$ONDO surged 40% last week, breaking through $1.93, creating a historic high, and has currently retraced to around $1.86. It has increased over 100% in the past month and its price has risen over 880% in the past year; market cap is near $2.6 billion, and FDV exceeds $18 billion.

Ondo Finance, as a leading project in the RWA sector, has tightly collaborated with BlackRock, propelling its multiple surges.

Ondo Finance's two core products include the tokenized U.S. Treasury product OUSG. Previously, the majority of OUSG's portfolio consisted of BlackRock's iShares short-term Treasury ETF (NASDAQ: SHV). In March this year, after BlackRock announced the launch of the tokenized fund BUIDL, Ondo also redistributed most of OUSG's assets to BUIDL. OUSG currently has a TVL of over $180 million and has provided over $25 million in returns to clients since its launch.

In addition to its close ties with BlackRock, Ondo Finance has also listed partners such as Morgan Stanley, Ankura Trust, Clear Street, and NAV Consulting in its ecosystem directory announced this year.

The core team of Ondo Finance mostly comes from well-known traditional asset management companies. Its co-founder and CEO Nathan Allman was previously responsible for the global crypto digital market at Goldman Sachs' digital assets division. Other core members of Ondo Finance also primarily come from top asset management firms such as Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Bridgewater.

Besides U.S. Treasury bonds, Ondo Finance will also launch Ondo Global Markets on February 6, 2025, to tokenize stocks and bonds on-chain.

2. Curve ($CRV)

As an established DeFi leader, the recent rise of $CRV is also related to its collaboration with BlackRock. Curve is an important partner for BlackRock's entry into DeFi.

On November 30, Curve announced that it has partnered with the blockchain network Elixir to expand access to BlackRock's tokenized money market fund BUIDL for DeFi. Users will soon be able to mint Elixir's yield stablecoin deUSD using BlackRock's BUIDL. $CRV subsequently rose 60% from $0.5 to $0.8, approaching $1.3 by December 7.

As of the time of writing, the temporary report is $1.16, with an increase of nearly 300% for $CRV recently; the market cap exceeds $1.4 billion, and the FDV exceeds $2.5 billion. The historical highest price of $CRV was $60.5 set in August 2020, while the historical lowest price was $0.18 set this August.

In addition to its collaboration with BlackRock, Curve's market demand surged after the market turned bullish. Curve also stated that within two weeks after Trump's inauguration, its revenue doubled from an average of $268,000 to $581,000.

Recently, CurveDAO also launched the interest-bearing stablecoin Savings crvUSD (scrvUSD) to expand new applications.

3. Ethena ($ENA)

On November 29, the stablecoin issuer Ethena and the tokenization platform Securitize announced their upcoming collaboration to launch the stablecoin USDtb to participate in the $1 billion tokenization competition of the Sky (formerly MakerDAO) lending platform.

The reserves of the USDtb stablecoin will be invested in BlackRock's dollar institutional digital liquidity fund (BUIDL), making USDtb the only stablecoin supported by BUIDL.

As a result of this news, $ENA has steadily increased from around $0.7. Last week it peaked above $1.14, currently retracing to $1.1, with a nearly 80% increase in the past month, market cap exceeding $3.2 billion, and FDV exceeding $16.5 billion.

Ethena is also a project that Franklin Templeton is involved in investing.

4. Velo ($VELO)

Velo is a blockchain-based global settlement network that provides individuals and businesses with fast, secure, and low-cost cross-border payments. DWF Labs made a strategic investment of $10 million in it last year.

In September this year, Velo announced that it had integrated BlackRock's tokenized BUIDL fund into its USDV stablecoin, providing seamless trading and yield opportunities for over 1 million users in Southeast Asia.

$VELO surged 50% last week, breaking through $0.03, currently retracing to around $0.026, having increased over 84% recently, with a market cap nearing $200 million, and FDV nearing $800 million.

Fidelity

5. Chainlink ($LINK)

Oracle networks are also indispensable for financial institutions tokenizing assets. Chainlink can help institutions connect on-chain and off-chain data, unlocking some DeFi applications.

Chainlink has collaborated with multiple traditional asset management and top crypto firms, Web2 giants, and Trump’s crypto project this year.

Chainlink is collaborating with Fidelity International and Sygnum to put Fidelity's $6.9 billion institutional liquidity fund's net asset value (NAV) data on-chain in real-time. Chainlink also completed a pilot project with Swiss asset management giant UBS and SWIFT, providing settlement for tokenized fund subscriptions and redemptions via the SWIFT network.

21Shares integrated Chainlink's proof of reserves system to provide transparency for its Ethereum ETF; Sony's L2 network Soneium has also chosen Chainlink as a partner.

It is worth mentioning that the Trump family's crypto project, World Liberty, recently announced it will adopt Chainlink's on-chain data and cross-chain connectivity standards. In the past 9 hours, World Liberty has also purchased over 40,000 $LINK.

Last week, the price of $LINK broke through $20 and peaked above $27. After a brief retracement, it surged again today, surpassing $29, with a nearly 30% increase in 24 hours. In the past month, $LINK has also increased nearly 100%. The last time $LINK was above $20 was in January 2020. The historical highest price of $LINK was $52.88 set in May 2021.

As of the time of writing, $LINK's market cap exceeds $18 billion, and FDV exceeds $28.9 billion.

Morgan

6. Avalanche ($AVAX)

Avalanche token $AVAX has also performed well recently in the newly launched altcoin season. Last week, $AVAX peaked above $55, currently retracing to around $50, with an increase of over 37% in the past month. Currently, $AVAX's market cap exceeds $20.5 billion, and FDV is nearly $36 billion.

From the news perspective, the recent increase in $AVAX is not only due to speculation related to Ava Labs founder indicating dialogue with the new U.S. government but may also relate to Avalanche's layout and growth in RWA.

Avalanche has a significant advantage in developing RWA, allowing developers or companies to create their independent subnetworks. Some RWA projects can thus create dedicated subnets based on the legal requirements of different countries or regions, flexibly meeting collaboration needs.

JPMorgan has closely cooperated with Avalanche, utilizing its digital asset platform Onyx to create tokenized funds.

Additionally, other asset management giants, banks, payment giants, government agencies, and stablecoin giants have adopted Avalanche.

In November, BlackRock announced its expansion into multiple public chains, with Avalanche being one of them. Tether's announced asset tokenization platform Hadron also includes Avalanche among the first hosted public chains.

In October, the Latin American bank Littio abandoned Ethereum in favor of Avalanche.

In August, Franklin Templeton expanded the functionality of its tokenized money market fund (FOBXX) to the Avalanche network, which had previously traded on Stellar, Polygon, and Arbitrum.

Earlier this year, Citibank collaborated with WisdomTree and Wellington Management to conduct a proof of concept for tokenizing private equity funds on the Avalanche subnet Spruce. The California DMV is also digitizing the ownership titles of 42 million vehicles in the state on Avalanche.

Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton's tokenized fund FOBXX currently has a scale exceeding $440 million, initially issued on the Stellar blockchain, and later expanded its functionality to Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Aptos, Ethereum, and Base.

Franklin Templeton has invested in around 30 crypto projects, including Aptos ($APT), Ethena ($ENA), Sui ($SUI), Puffer Finance ($PUFFER), SHRAPNEL ($SHRAP), LayerZero ($ZRO), Spectral ($SPEC), and Arcade ($ARC), with 8 of them having issued tokens.

Puffer Finance, Ethena, and SHRAPNEL are projects that have been invested in over the past year. The tokens of $PUFFER and $ENA, both invested this year, have shown impressive growth. Ethena has previously mentioned its collaboration with BlackRock's tokenized fund on stablecoin aspects, so no further elaboration is needed.

7. Stellar ($XLM)

Stellar is another payment network founded by Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple. Over half of Franklin Templeton's tokenized fund FOBXX's TVL is on Stellar.

This article is authorized to be reprinted from: (Deep Tide TechFlow)

$XLM has seen multiple increases in the past month, peaking above $0.6, currently retracing to around $0.44, with an increase of over 260% in the past month. Its market cap exceeds $13.3 billion, and FDV exceeds $22.1 billion.

8. Sui ($SUI)

In addition to investing in Sui, Franklin Templeton also announced in November a strategic partnership with Sui, focusing on supporting builders in the Sui ecosystem and deploying new technologies using the Sui blockchain protocol.

Sui is currently reported at $4.81, having increased over 53% in the past month, with a market cap exceeding $14.1 billion and FDV exceeding $48.1 billion.

9. Aptos ($APT)

In addition to investments, Franklin Templeton's tokenized fund FOBXX has now expanded to Aptos.

$APT is currently reported at $13.87, with little increase in the past month, peaking above $15, market cap exceeding $7.4 billion, and FDV reaching $15.6 billion.

10. Puffer Finance ($PUFFER)

Puffer Finance is a liquidity staking protocol based on EigenLayer. In April of this year, Franklin Templeton and Avon Ventures, a venture capital fund associated with Fidelity Investments' parent company, participated in an $18 million investment in Puffer Finance.

Last week, $PUFFER also surged significantly, nearing $1, currently retracing to $0.82, having increased nearly 130% recently. Its market cap is over $84 million, and FDV exceeds $820 million.

11. LayerZero ($ZRO)

LayerZero, as one of the top three cross-chain projects, has also seen good momentum recently. Last week, LayerZero's token $ZRO reached an all-time high, breaking through $7.4, currently retracing to $6.98. It has increased over 77% recently. $ZRO's market cap is $760 million, and FDV is $6.9 billion.

Recently, it is worth noting that LayerZero ($ZRO) will hold a public referendum on December 19 to initiate the fee conversion.

The LayerZero protocol may charge fees equal to the total cost of verification and execution of cross-chain messages if the fee switch is activated through governance. In this case, the referendum financial contract will charge fees on the local chain and burn these fees.

12. SHRAPNEL ($SHRAP)

SHRAPNEL is a AAA-level FPS game, with well-known organizations such as Polychain, IOSG Ventures, Dragonfly, DeFiance Capital, Mechanism Capital, and Spartan Group among its investment team.

However, the Shrapnel team experienced internal strife at the end of last year, with the Shrapnel game studio Neon Machine mentioning litigation to several investors, claiming attempts to seize control of the company and its treasury.

$SHRAP is currently reported at $0.04, with a market cap exceeding $33 million and FDV exceeding $124 million.

13. Spectral ($SPEC)

Spectral was initially a machine intelligence network on the Base chain, now positioned as a platform to help users achieve smart contract AI programming.

In March this year, Spectral launched the AI application Syntax, which helps anyone launch smart contracts for Ethereum and dozens of other blockchains. Users can compile, debug, and deploy AI-generated Solidity code.

In addition to Franklin Templeton's investment, Polychain Capital, Galaxy Digital, Samsung, Circle Ventures, and Jump Capital are also early investors in Spectral.

Recently, the AI sector has been leading the charge, with $SPEC breaking through the historic high of $18, currently retracing to $13; the market cap exceeds $183 million, and FDV exceeds $1.3 billion.

14. Arcade ($ARC)

Arcade is a GameFi platform that allows the community to earn meaningful rewards from various play-and-earn metaverse games, without needing to directly play the games or own in-game NFTs. Franklin Templeton invested in Arcade in 2021, with well-known institutions such as Pantera Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Solana Ventures, Shima Capital, GSR, LD Capital, and KuCoin Labs being its early investors.

Earlier this year, Crypto.com Capital, Solana Ventures, Shima Capital, GSR, and KuCoin Labs invested in Arcade again.

$ARC is currently reported at $0.038, with a market cap of less than $1 million and FDV over $30 million.

VanEck

In addition to the collaboration with Pudgy Penguins, this October, VanEck announced the launch of a $30 million venture capital fund to support the development of the crypto and AI industries.

It previously invested in at least 7 crypto projects, including GEODNET ($GEOD), Parallel ($PRIME), and 1inch ($1INCH) which have issued tokens.

15. Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU)

Last week, Pudgy Penguins, which plans to issue tokens in 2024 and has airdrop expectations, saw its floor price surge above 27 ETH. Pudgy Penguins also has some connections with VanEck.

In June this year, the asset management firm VanEck changed its social media avatar to Pudgy Penguins, stating: 'The boss thinks it's too cute; it can't be a pfp without it.' Pudgy Penguins also appeared in VanEck's promotional video for its Ethereum ETF.

However, recently, the token plans for Pudgy Penguins are set to launch on Solana.

16. Parallel ($PRIME)

Parallel is a sci-fi themed collectible card game (TCG) with team members that include senior developers from AAA games like Assassin's Creed and Valorant, as well as the involvement of YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.

In addition to VanEck, Paradigm, Solana Ventures, Base, Amber Group, and Spartan Group also participated in the investment. The first round of financing in 2021 received a $50 million investment from Paradigm, valuing the company at $500 million.

This year, Parallel also launched an AI survival simulator game Colony on Solana and released an AI crypto game Moon landing project.

$PRIME is currently reported at $15.78, having increased over 53% in just one month, with a market cap exceeding $566 million, and FDV exceeding $1.7 billion.

17. GEODNET ($GEOD)

GEODNET is a DEPIN project that collects dense real-time geospatial data from the Earth and its atmosphere using a new type of rooftop weather station. Besides VanEck, its investors include Animoca Brands, Pantera Capital, CoinFund, and IoTeX. Animoca Brands has also formed a strategic partnership with GEODNET.

$GEOD is currently reported at $0.24, with no significant growth recently, market cap exceeding $48 million, and FDV exceeding $240 million.

18. 1inch ($1INCH)

The established DEX aggregator 1inch is also the second largest aggregator by market share. $1INCH broke through $0.6 last week and is currently retracing to $0.51, with an increase of over 63% in the past month; its market cap exceeds $720 million, and FDV exceeds $777 million.

After the recent price surge, the 1inch team sold $1INCH from the 5th to the 7th for three consecutive days, exchanging a total of 15.698 million $1INCH for 8.38 million USDC at an average selling price of $0.533.

WisdomTree

In addition to applying for an XRP ETF, WisdomTree has been actively tokenizing funds and other RWA products recently.

WisdomTree recently stated that platform users can directly spend funds from its WisdomTree government money market digital fund (WTGXX) via its Visa debit card. Currently, the fund manages assets of approximately $12 million.

Moreover, WisdomTree has launched an RWA platform allowing users to access its regulated fund tokens through any wallet or blockchain network, with plans to eventually expand access to these assets.

WisdomTree has also obtained a license from NYDFS and will launch the crypto application WisdomTree Prime.

WisdomTree's short-term treasury digital fund launched in 2022 was also initially deployed on Ethereum and Stellar. WisdomTree has also conducted a proof of concept for tokenizing private equity funds on the Avalanche subnet Spruce.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs' layout in the crypto industry in 2025 is also worth attention.

Recent market news indicates that the CEO of Goldman Sachs stated that if regulatory authorities allow, they would 'evaluate' participating in the Bitcoin or Ethereum markets. Goldman Sachs' attention to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin could also signify a significant shift.

Previously, Goldman Sachs' head of digital assets stated mid-year that they plan to launch three tokenized projects by the end of the year, including their first U.S. project. Goldman Sachs is expanding its cryptocurrency services, focusing on the tokenization industry, and issuing 'real-world assets' such as money market funds and real estate through public or private blockchains.

Goldman Sachs has not yet disclosed more project details and partners regarding the tokenized fund, and updates can be expected.

Goldman Sachs has previously invested in asset management or infrastructure projects, including Circle, BitGO, Blockdaemon, and Certik.

[Disclaimer] The market has risks, and investments should be cautious. This article does not constitute investment advice; users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific situations. Invest at your own risk.

  • This article is authorized to be reprinted from: (Deep Tide TechFlow)

  • Original author: flowie, ChainCatcher

'Following institutional investors to trade coins is the most rewarding? These 18 coins are related to institutions, not only resistant to declines but also rebound quickly.' This article was originally published in 'Crypto City'.