2025 was anticipated to be the year of maturation for cryptocurrency, marked by clearer regulations, increased institutional acceptance, and resilient infrastructure. Indeed, groundwork was established for all these aspects.
However, it also showcased how swiftly narratives can disintegrate when hidden factors encounter price evaluation.
Tokens that debuted with immense enthusiasm, charged significant fees, and then disclosed the ancillary agreements, dilution timelines, and unfulfilled commitments that had always existed.
The connection between Movement’s market-maker controversy and KindlyMD’s 99% equity decline is not mere chance or unfavorable market timing. It’s the same strategy: promote the vision to retail investors, negotiate distinct terms with insiders, and allow liquidity to dissipate once the music halts.
When governance performance turns into a crime scene
In December 2024, Movement Labs pledged a Move-VM-enabled Ethereum scaling solution, supported by polished marketing and notable exchange listings.
By mid-2025, the initiative had transformed into a textbook example of how non-transparent token agreements can swiftly erode credibility, even more so than any technical mishap.
Reports indicated that Movement allocated approximately 66 million MOVE tokens, around 5% of the overall supply, valued at about $38 million, to a market maker associated with Web3Port via an intermediary.
Most of those tokens were immediately sold on the market. Coinbase removed MOVE from its listings as the scandal unfolded, and the foundation suspended and later dismissed co-founder Rushi Manche while initiating an external governance audit.
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As of Dec. 30, MOVE has plummeted by 97% from its all-time high in December 2024.
MOVE token chart indicates a sharp rise to over $1.20 in December 2024, succeeded by a prolonged drop to $0.03 throughout 2025.
When opportunistic capital encounters non-transparent terms
Berachain commenced 2025 as the market’s favored “native DeFi L1,” with total value locked (TVL) soaring past $3.2 billion shortly after its launch.
The blockchain introduced a “proof of liquidity” mechanism designed to incentivize vaults within DeFi protocols that would benefit users.
However, DeFiLlama presently indicates the TVL at around $177 million, representing a decline exceeding 90%.
The token mirrored this trajectory. Early airdrop recipients and yield farmers exited as significant emissions revealed that the majority of on-chain activity was fueled by incentives rather than genuine growth.
Subsequent leaks disclosed that at least one early backer possessed side-letter terms that differed from those in the public round, featuring more advantageous liquidity and vesting arrangements.
This two-tiered agreement contradicted the chain’s “community first” messaging and accelerated the token’s downfall. Berachain illustrated the limitations of opportunistic TVL when paired with non-transparent investor agreements.
Berachain’s TVL peaked above $3.3 billion in early 2025, then diminished over 90% to roughly $176 million by year-end.
As of Dec. 30, BERA has decreased by 93% from its launch price.
#282 Berachain BERA $0.63 +1.12% Market Cap $86.69M 24h Volume $13.69M All-Time High $15.01 Sectors DeFi Layer 1 Token
Concerns over price manipulation
Mantra capitalized on the RWA narrative as a “regulated, Dubai-anchored RWA chain,” with its OM token yielding multi-hundred-percent gains from 2024 through early 2025. The token rose from $0.05 to $9.17 within a year.
#301 MANTRA OM $0.07 -1.87% Market Cap $80.77M 24h Volume $12.91M All-Time High $9.03 Sectors Cosmos Eco DeFi Governance Layer 1 Polkadot Eco +2 RWA Token
While the majority of altcoins faced challenging price movements during this time, OM surged until a harsh reversal took place.
A substantial sell-off pushed the OM price down by 90%, with Mantra attributing the decline to centralized exchanges manipulating order books as large derivatives positions were liquidated on those platforms.
OM token skyrocketed from under $1 to nearly $9 in early 2025, then plummeted over 90% to $0.07 by year-end.
Furthermore, figures within the crypto industry suggested that Mantra and market makers allegedly took advantage of validation gaps to inflate OM token liquidity.
OM exhibits a 98% year-to-date decline as of Dec. 30.
GameFi never materialized
GameFi emerged as the second-worst-performing crypto narrative of 2025, down 75.1% year-to-date, trailing only DePIN’s 76.7% drop in CoinGecko’s narrative profitability rankings.
Data illustrates that the sector’s share of investor interest decreased from 3.7% in 2024 to only 1.3% in 2025, completely removing it from the top 20 most favored narratives and indicating a fundamental erosion of trust beyond mere price fluctuations.
This trend was consistent across both established titles and new releases. Renowned names like AXS, GALA, and SAND remain significantly below previous cycle peaks, while the 2025 group struggled to gain traction beyond speculative farming.
Simultaneously, dApp and chain analytics revealed brief token spikes upon launch, followed by swift declines as user retention remained low and emissions outstripped demand.
Top Gaming Crypto Assets by Market Cap
| # | Coin | Price | 24h % | MCap | 24h Vol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Immutable IMX |
$0.23 | -1.43% | $448.23M | $14.96M |
| 2 |  FLOKI FLOKI |
$0.00004 | -0.2% | $378.52M | $27.47M |
| 3 |  The Sandbox SAND |
$0.11 | -1.9% | $295.44M | $21.13M |
| 4 |  Gala GALA |
$0.00588 | -2.71% | $276.27M | $23.29M |
| 5 |  Decentraland MANA |
$0.12 | +2.76% | $244.88M | $19.41M |
| 6 |  Audiera BEAT |
$1.45 | -22.39% | $232.33M | $57.15M |
| 7 |  WEMIX WEMIX |
$0.37 | -1.74% | $168.15M | $1.76M |
| 8 |  Prom PROM |
$8.69 | +1.18% | $158.64M | $5.09M |
| 9 |  Flow FLOW |
$0.09 | -8.41% | $150.03M | $25.38M |
| 10 |  ApeCoin APE |
$0.20 | -1.04% | $149.91M | $13.65M |
View All Gaming Crypto Assets
The 75% drop in GameFi throughout 2025 marked a stark reversal from its moderate increases in previous years, making it one of only two narratives, alongside DePIN, to record losses exceeding 70%.
The sector’s downfall sharply contrasted with institutional narratives.
CoinGecko chart illustrates GameFi tokens declining roughly 75% in 2025, positioning it among the worst-performing crypto narratives of the year.
A coin mined through phones
Pi Network’s Open Mainnet launch on February 20 triggered significant price fluctuations, as initial excitement transitioned into a rapid sell-off.
The initiative, which spent years as a “free to mine on your phone” trial, finally evolved from a closed beta system to an open blockchain.
The token saw a brief surge of nearly 200% over a week, achieving a peak of $2.98 in late February, although the rally was short-lived.
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By early April, the Pi token had dropped to its lowest point since its inception, trading around $0.50 and losing over 80% of its value since its February 26 peak. By late May, following a brief surge that pushed PI above $1.50, the price had decreased about 50% from that level.
The decline incited organized community backlash. Discontented users threatened to coordinate one-star reviews on the Pi Network app and launch a social media campaign under the hashtag #PiNetworkProtest.
Analysts attributed the drop to ongoing token unlocks, with approximately 120 million PI tokens valued at an estimated $62 million expected to enter circulation in April alone.
Concerns regarding token distribution heightened as nearly 60% of the PI remained under the control of the core team.
Despite the team’s efforts to rekindle engagement, such as initiating Pi Network Ventures with a $100 million fund in May and shifting focus to gaming with the launch of FruityPi, the market had already rendered its decision.
Pi illustrated how long-standing “almost there” projects collapse when price discovery intersects with unlock timelines and retail holders realize the disparity between marketing and reality.
Pi Network token surged to nearly $2.50 in February 2025, then fell over 90% to around $0.20 by year-end.
The PolitiFi scandal
President Donald Trump-inspired TRUMP memecoin set the stage, soaring from below $10 to $70 two days after his inauguration, briefly achieving a fully diluted market value exceeding $10 billion.
Within weeks, the token had declined approximately 70%, and TRUMP is down nearly 90% from its peak as of December 30.
#60 Official Trump TRUMP $4.94 +0.2% Market Cap $988.3M 24h Volume $117.74M All-Time High $17.56 Sectors Made in USA Meme Token
Estimates indicated that the launch generated up to $100 million in trading fees for entities linked to Trump’s business interests, while numerous small investors incurred losses.
Melania-inspired MELANIA memecoin followed shortly thereafter with a similar pattern. The token surged within hours, then sharply declined. As of December 30, MELANIA is down over 98%.
Legal filings reported by Fortune alleged that the token was part of a broader scheme involving multiple fraudulent coins.
LIBRA in Argentina completed the trilogy.
After President Javier Milei promoted the Solana token on social media, its price skyrocketed from negligible levels to about $5, briefly giving it a market cap near $4.6 billion.
However, founders controlling around 70% of the supply sold during this surge, crashing the price by roughly 85% within hours. Argentine prosecutors initiated fraud and corruption investigations.
TRUMP token peaked near $45 in January 2025 before declining to around $5, while MELANIA and LIBRA plunged to nearly zero.
IPOs at tweet speed, rugs at market speed
Launch Coin on Believe was initially the celebrity token PASTERNAK, created by Ben Pasternak, and became the flagship for “Internet Capital Markets” (ICM) on Solana.
The idea was straightforward: mint a token by responding to a Launch Coin post on X, converting social influence into tradable assets. Rapidly, LAUNCHCOIN’s market cap skyrocketed from almost nothing to over $250 million within days during the May ICM frenzy.
By late 2025, the flagship token had been rebranded to BELIEVE and was trading around $0.007, with a market cap close to $9.5 million.
Reports indicated pump-and-dump cycles throughout the platform’s ecosystem tokens. YAPPER, a highlighted ICM token, plummeted more than 75% from its peak.
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The October rebranding from LAUNCHCOIN to BELIEVE included an increase in supply from 1 billion to 1.33 billion tokens.
CoinGecko noted that a US law
