ZORA launched its airdrop today, distributing tokens to early users. The rollout caused confusion, as no official claim site was provided. Users had to check their allocations manually through the smart contract. While the Content Coin narrative boosted coin creation and new users, trading volume dropped sharply from its initial peak.
ZORA’s price fell around 50% in the first two hours after the airdrop. It is now trying to recover, but momentum remains uncertain. The market is still reacting to the airdrop and overall token distribution.
Content Coin Narrative Boosts Zora Usage
The Zora airdrop officially launched today, distributing tokens to early users based on two snapshot periods—but it was met with confusion. Base founder, Jesse Pollak, addresses some of these points in an exclusive interview with BeInCrypto.
Many users were unclear on how to check their eligibility, as no official claim site or checker was provided. Instead, allocations had to be verified manually via the smart contract, leading to mixed reactions across the community.
While 10% of the total 10 billion supply was reserved for early adopters, the decision to allocate 65% of tokens to insiders (team, treasury, and contributors) raised questions about the distribution model.
Coins Created and Unique Creators Per Day. Source: Dune.
Since Base chain began promoting the idea of Content Coins, activity on Zora has noticeably increased. The number of newly created coins has remained above 20,000 since April 17, reaching nearly 28,000 yesterday.
Meanwhile, unique creators on the platform grew from 3,683 on April 16 to 6,206 by April 22.
While this growth suggests rising interest, it also reflects a trend still in early development, with questions remaining around long-term sustainability and utility.
Zora Volume Peaked at $31 Million—Now It’s Down Over 70%
Zora’s trading volume in USDC surged sharply with the rise of the Content Coin narrative, hitting $30 million on April 16 and peaking at $31 million on April 17.
This initial spike reflected a strong wave of early interest and speculative momentum around the new use case for content on-chain. a
The increase aligned with Base’s push to promote content coins as a fresh alternative to traditional meme tokens, drawing attention from creators and traders alike.
However, despite the number of coins created continuing to climb, Zora’s volume fell significantly to just $9 million by April 22.
This divergence suggests that while more users are experimenting with the platform—launching and minting coins—actual trading activity has not kept pace.
The drop in volume may indicate fading speculative interest, uncertainty around the airdrop, or early profit-taking following the initial hype.
ZORA Price Dives After Airdrop, Now Eyes Recovery
ZORA’s price experienced a sharp selloff immediately following its airdrop, dropping roughly 50% within the first two hours of launch.
Such volatility is not uncommon for newly airdropped tokens, as early recipients often rush to secure profits, adding intense short-term selling pressure.
Since then, ZORA has shown signs of recovery, attempting to stabilize and build upward momentum. If it can break above the $0.023 level, it could move to test resistance at $0.0289, with a potential extension toward $0.034 if buying strength returns.
However, the recovery remains uncertain. If ZORA fails to hold current levels and bullish momentum fades, it may retest support at $0.019.
A break below that could lead to further downside, with the next key level around $0.0165.
This price action reflects a typical post-airdrop pattern—initial volatility, followed by a battle between early profit-takers and potential long-term holders looking to establish positions.
YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) has announced its investment in Plume Network (PLUME). It is a fully integrated modular blockchain designed for the rapid adoption and integration of real-world assets (RWAs).
The investment marks a significant step in advancing blockchain infrastructure that seamlessly bridges traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi), further expanding the Real World Asset Finance (RWAfi) ecosystem.
YZi Labs Backs Plume Network to Grow RWAfi Ecosystem
“At YZi Labs, we invest in projects that harness blockchain technology to create real-world impact and Plume is a prime example—they are bringing real-world assets on-chain to unlock new capital, expand access, and drive adoption. By making RWAs as seamless as any other digital asset, Plume is bridging traditional finance and DeFi, paving the way for broader adoption,” Coniglio told BeInCrypto.
Notably, Plume Network provides an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible environment that facilitates onboarding a wide range of assets. These include financial instruments, carbon credits, GPUs, and collectibles. Additionally, it seamlessly integrates these assets into a composable RWAfi ecosystem, enhancing their utility and enabling broader financial interactions.
Through its composable ecosystem, Plume enables users to earn rewards, trade, borrow, lend, swap, and engage in market speculation. By integrating real-world assets on-chain, Plume ensures they are as accessible and user-friendly as traditional crypto tokens.
Meanwhile, Chris Yin, co-founder and CEO of Plume, stressed that the platform aims to address the longstanding infrastructure gap that has hindered the widespread adoption of RWAs in the crypto space.
“Although stablecoins, the original RWA, have successfully proven to onboard new users into crypto, the rest of RWAs have struggled to achieve the same traction. With Plume, asset issuers of all kinds can become Web3 builders, seamlessly connecting to our community, ecosystem, and liquidity,” Yin said.
Despite its strong yearly performance, the RWA has faced a recent pullback. Month-to-date (MTD) sector performance data shows a -12.1% decline, suggesting a correction following its rapid growth. Bitcoin and Ethereum also posted losses, indicating a broader market downturn rather than an RWA-specific issue.
Solana has emerged as a powerful presence in the crypto industry. Since its inception in 2020, the network has dominated the market, demonstrating remarkable levels of user engagement and practical utility, particularly in decentralized finance (DeFi). Many in the industry view it as the next natural contender to receive an ETF approval in the United States.
However, others are more cautious in their evaluations. BeInCrypto spoke with representatives from Gravity, Variant, and OKX to understand the areas where Solana is still lacking. Industry leaders referred to centralization, network reliability, and excessive regulation as points of contention for Solana’s ETF approval.
Bitcoin and Ethereum’s Precedent
The availability of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for prominent cryptocurrencies has grown over the past year. These funds offer investors diversified investment opportunities and act as a bridge between traditional finance and the increasingly mainstream cryptocurrency market.
Meanwhile, the deadline for some filings, including Grayscale’s, was extended until October. Nonetheless, posts on X and some analytical reports suggest yesterday’s deadline as a date of interest for an initial or consolidated SEC response to several applications.
2025 Predictions and Market Expectations
The tentative approval of a Solana ETF has generated much debate across social media platforms. ETF President Nate Geraci formally predicted that 2025 would be the year of crypto ETFs and that Solana would receive its approval this year.
Per previous reports, former Trump White House Secretary Anthony Scaramucci expressed that, with a Trump reelection, Solana ETFs could gain approval during Q1 of 2025. According to his predictions, Solana would receive the SEC’s green light during the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, the prediction market Polymarket estimates an 82% chance that a Solana ETF will get approved in 2025.
According to a Polymarket poll, Solana has an 82% chance of getting an ETF approval in 2025. Source: Polymarket
Several factors make an imminent Solana ETF approval seem plausible. Less than five years after the network launched, Solana quickly became a major player in the crypto industry, attracting users for its high transaction speeds and low gas fees.
“From a network perspective, Solana’s performance has been remarkable, now driving nearly 50% of all global DEX volume– a dominance that fundamentally reshapes the DeFi landscape. The blockchain is not just handling unprecedented transaction volumes… it’s transforming our understanding of blockchain scalability at scale,” Lennix Lai, Global Chief Commercial Officer at OKX told BeInCrypto.
Solana has established itself as a dynamic force in the crypto industry following a successful 2024.
A Messari report detailed particular growth in Solana’s final quarter across DeFi, liquid staking, NFTs, and institutional involvement. The total value locked (TVL) in Solana’s DeFi sector increased substantially, growing by 64% to $8.6 billion, which placed it behind Ethereum as the second-largest network based on TVL.
Solana’s positive performance, coupled with Donald Trump’s reelection to the US presidency, further amplified the crypto industry’s optimism over an ETF approval.
However, some industry experts have expressed more tempered expectations.
Experts Offer Tempered Expectations
A few days before Trump assumed the presidency, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart said Solana ETFs may not be launched in the US until 2026. He cited the SEC’s precedent of taking a lot of time to review filings as the cause for delay.
In another post, Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that ETF approvals for other cryptocurrencies were more likely to occur before Solana.
“We expect a wave of cryptocurrency ETFs next year, albeit not all at once. First out is likely the BTC + ETH combo ETFs, then prob Litecoin (bc its fork of btc = commodity), then HBAR (bc not labeled security) and then XRP/Solana (which have been labeled securities in pending lawsuits),” Balchunas said.
Balchunas further explained that complex legal issues around Solana, relating to its status as a security, need to be resolved before it can gain ETF approval. Consequently, he deemed the approval of Litecoin or Hedera ETFs more likely.
Uncertainty over whether Solana classifies as a security is a major driver fueling doubts over its ETF approval.
Security Classification Concerns
Martins Benkitis, co-founder and CEO of Gravity, explained that Solana’s regulatory classification complicates its path to approval.
“It’s no secret there’s currently a lack of precedent for Layer-1 blockchains beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum in the ETF space, this suggests cautious optimism but with higher regulatory hurdles. Bitcoin, being a commodity in the SEC’s eyes, and Ethereum’s gradual transition to PoS had different legal considerations. Solana, on the other hand, faces concerns over potential classification as a security due to its token distribution and foundation’s involvement,” Benkitis told BeInCrypto.
The SEC identified Solana as a security in lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase over the past two years, although these lawsuits have since been dropped. The SEC argued that these tokens could be considered investment contracts under the Howey Test.
While some interpreted the SEC’s lawsuit withdrawal as a softening stance on Solana’s security classification, others quickly challenged this assumption.
“There is no reason to think [the] SEC has decided SOL is a non-security. That they don’t want to do discovery on a dozen tokens in the Binance case appears to be a litigation tactic, not a change in policy,” said Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant, following the Binance lawsuit withdrawal in July 2024.
Others believe that a pro-crypto administration should be enough to influence the SEC to consider Solana as a non-security. Lai disagrees.
“The changing political landscape, particularly with Trump’s victory and pro-crypto stance, could create a more constructive environment for innovative blockchain platforms like Solana. However, the technical and market structure considerations will remain crucial regardless of administration changes,” he said.
In the meantime, there are several other requirements Solana must meet.
On his part, Lai added other aspects to the list of considerations.
“While Polymarket shows high odds for 2025 approval, several critical factors suggest a more complex pathway: Solana’s technological architecture presents unique challenges with its PoS mechanism; The absence of CME futures raises liquidity and risk management concerns; Historical network downtime incidents need addressing; Centralization questions relative to BTC and ETH remain unresolved; Institutional interest hasn’t matched BTC and ETH levels despite the network driving 48% of global DEX volume; [and] the temporary nature of trending themes suggests caution in using current volumes as primary indicators,” Lai told BeInCrypto.
Concerns about centralization and scalability have long been discussed regarding Solana, even outside of discussions over an ETF approval.
Since 2021, Solana has suffered over a dozen network outages varying in severity. These outages have jeopardized the network’s reputation as stable and reliable– two strongly considered characteristics during the ETF approval process.
“From a market making standpoint, network reliability is crucial as any downtime or congestion can significantly impact trading operations and order execution,” Benkitis affirmed.
However, Solana has successfully curbed the number of outages it has experienced. Once notorious for the frequency of its shutdowns, the last time Solana experienced one was in February 2024.
Meanwhile, developers designed Solana’s upcoming Firedancer validator client to improve network stability and transaction processing. Its distinct codebase offers greater resilience against widespread outages and will enhance Solana’s performance.
Yet, Solana must also mitigate centralization concerns to improve its chances of obtaining ETF approval.
Centralization Concerns
Solana’s validator node requirements, which demand significant hardware investments, can create barriers to entry. These obstacles can potentially concentrate power within the network among those capable of affording the necessary infrastructure.
In turn, the protocol’s limited number of validators compared to other networks raises concerns over centralization. For context, while Solana currently has around 2,000 active validators, Ethereum passed the one million benchmark last year—the largest number recorded by any blockchain network.
Though Solana’s hardware reliance speeds up the network, it also raises decentralization concerns. Benkitis factored this aspect into his evaluation of an ETF approval.
Its currently underdeveloped futures market infrastructure further complicates Solana’s viability as an ETF candidate.
Its filings were unprecedented because the network did not have a previously established futures market. This factor was crucial in determining an ETF approval for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“The lack of CME futures and institutional frameworks comparable to BTC/ETH could influence [the SEC’s] evaluation,” Lai said.
He added that the proliferation of meme tokens minted on Solana could present themselves as a potential roadblock.
“Market reactions reflect Solana’s emergence as the primary driver of this cycle, with DEX volumes exceeding $100 billion and dominating major aggregators. However, I believe the temporary nature of trending themes suggests continued volatility. While technological advancement and growing institutional adoption may provide stronger foundations, we need to maintain perspective on the cyclical nature of crypto trends,” Lai said.
This more recent development in Solana’s attraction also brings its set of downsides.
Meme Coin Influence and Regulatory Concerns
The expanding meme coin market on Solana partially explains its popularity. Platforms like Pump.fun allow anyone to launch their tokens, and this design has even led to celebrities launching their tokens on the platform.
More recently, political figures like Donald Trump and Argentine president Javier Milei have also launched meme tokens on Solana platforms. Yet, these activities have proven to be high-risk. In many cases, meme coin investments have caused smaller retailers millions of dollars in losses.
Benkitis said that the SEC might frown upon the speculative nature of these trading activities.
“While an ETF approval could unlock liquidity opportunities, the market’s heavy dependence on speculative sentiment calls for a measured and cautious approach,” he said.
With so many considerations, approving a Solana ETF in 2025 is far from guaranteed. The SEC’s eventual decision will be a defining moment for the network and the broader crypto industry.
Flight3, the UK’s leading Web3 marketing agency, is proud to celebrate its 4th anniversary with substantial achievements that showcase its unmatched position in the British digital landscape.
The past four years have seen Flight3 grow from a bold startup into a global agency, delivering over $10 million in revenue while partnering with some of the most iconic names in Web3, including Coinbase, Solana, VeChain, Optimism, Ondo Finance, Fabric Ventures, Near, and more. With over 100+ client projects delivered and a growing international footprint with offices in London, Lisbon and Cape Town, Flight3 has cemented its place as a true industry leader.
As part of its ongoing evolution, Flight3 is excited to announce key leadership updates:
Luke Courtenay-Smith has been promoted to Managing Director, bringing his deep operational expertise and strategic vision to steer the company through its next phase of scale. Previously MD at Bolt Digital and COO at fintech startup Droplet, he’s also a mentor at the Creator Network and a one-time feature in Vogue’s David Bailey’s ‘People Set to Define the Next Decade’.
Olesia Lacko steps into the role of Chief Operating Officer, bringing a decade of experience scaling marketing and operations across Web2 and Web3. Previously at IBM driving digital transformation, she’s also led growth at multiple startups and agencies, building teams, systems and sustainable scale. A strategic operator with a bias for action, her appointment means the Flight3 executive team is now 50% women.
A new Head of People will be announced soon, reinforcing Flight3’s commitment to nurturing talent and culture as the company grows.
Coinciding with its anniversary, Flight3 has also moved into a brand-new London HQ in London Bridge, a fresh space designed to foster collaboration, creativity and innovation.
“As we enter our fourth year, this marks a pivotal moment for Flight3” said Harry Horsfall, CEO and Co-founder of Flight3 and Zebu Live. “I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved. We’ve built a world-class executive team with the capability to scale Flight3 into the leading Web3 agency globally. Working with visionary clients like Coinbase and VeChain is a testament to the trust the industry places in us. From four of us working in bedrooms and coffee shops during lockdown, we’ve grown into a global force shaping the future of Web3.”
Flight3 is also gearing up for the 5th edition of Zebu Live, the UK’s flagship Web3 summit, which it proudly organises. Set to take place at the iconic Tobacco Dock, this year’s event will host 4,500+ in-person attendees and an expected 10,000+ virtual participants, reflecting the growing global appetite for Web3 innovation and thought leadership.
As Flight3 enters its fifth year, the mission is clear: scale faster, deliver better and lead the charge in building the future of decentralised marketing.
About Flight3
Flight3 is a leading Web3 marketing agency helping blockchain and crypto companies grow, engage and scale their communities in the UK and beyond. Founded in 2020 by a team of Web3 experts, Flight3 offers services across branding, content, community, KOLs, events and performance marketing. With a focus on creative storytelling and data-driven strategy, Flight3 empowers some of the most disruptive projects in the space including Coinbase and VeChain to stand out and thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. The agency also founded Zebu Live, the UK’s flagship Web3 summit.
Flight3 has received a number of awards over time including CityAM Start-Up of the Year, Marketing Startup Awards National Series Nomination and Best Digital Asset Marketing Agency by The Digital Commonwealth.
