30s Summary

Crypto tokens surged by over 30% as traders anticipate Trump’s administration may make these assets more appealing to own. The surge in tokens like UNI, LDO, ENA, AAVE and MKR, is aligned with the belief they may increase in value due to system fees. Aave’s proposal of a ‘fee switch’ could enhance the value of AAVE, with similar enhancements predicted for other tokens. The rise may also be attributed to a “buy the laggard” strategy among traders. Additionally, BlackRock’s potential push for its Ether exchange-traded fund in 2025 could see Ether’s value rise if it surpasses the $2,700 level.

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Crypto tokens shot up more than 30% because traders are banking on Trump’s administration to make owning these assets more appealing. UNI was the big winner, with its value increasing over 35% to $9.58. Other tokens like LDO, ENA, AAVE and MKR also saw increases of over 20%.

Up until now, DeFi tokens have often been seen as pointless and without value, except for voting on changes to the system, says Charlie Sherry, a finance and crypto expert at BTC Markets. But, he notes, people are starting to buy these tokens in the hope they’ll one day become valuable because of fees earned by the system they’re a part of.

One reason this hasn’t happened yet is because of concerns of getting into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sherry says, referring to the SEC’s investigation into Uniswap Labs as a classic example. But with Trump taking the presidency from Kamala Harris and the possibility of SEC Chair Gary Gensler stepping down soon, Sherry thinks people are becoming more confident about the future for DeFi projects and their tokens.

As for the future direction of these tokens, Sherry points to lending system Aave’s proposal to introduce a “fee switch” which could make the AAVE token more valuable. The same thing could happen with fees from Uniswap’s new layer 2 Unichain going to UNI holders, turning UNI from a voting token into a useful asset and making it more appealing to investors. And others like LIDO, ENA, MKR and Frax could see similar changes, too.

Meanwhile, Markus Thielen from 10x Research thinks the rise in DeFi tokens could be because traders are opting for the “buy the laggard” approach, or in other words, buying assets that have underperformed hoping they’ll do better next year. There’s also talk that BlackRock might start pushing its Ether exchange-traded fund further in 2025, says Thielen. This could see Ether hit $3,000 if it can break through the $2,700 level. Right now, Ether is trading at $2,845, an increase of 8.5% in the last 24 hours.