Some of last year’s hottest blockchains saw the steepest declines in onchain activity after viral moments failed to drive sustained growth. Onchain activity declined sharply on several major networks, according to Nansen data, with 11 blockchains posting drops in active addresses in the past year. Ronin fell the most at 70%, while Bitcoin registered a 7.2% decline. Several Ethereum layer-2 networks made the list. Nansen data also showed drops in transaction activity across many of the same networks. ZKsync recorded one of the steepest declines, with transactions falling 90%. Read more
Visa launched USDC settlement for US financial institutions, starting with Cross River and Lead Bank on Solana, with a wider rollout planned for 2026. Payment processing giant Visa has launched USDC settlement services for some United States-based financial institutions. Visa said Tuesday that its USDC (USDC) settlement service is available for US financial institutions, with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank as the first participants; they have already begun settling with Visa in USDC on the Solana blockchain, and a broader rollout is expected in 2026. The report follows USDC issuer Circle’s launch of the public testnet for its layer-1 blockchain Arc, with over 100 major partners, including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, in late October. Visa noted that it is a design partner for the network, which “offers the performance and scalability needed to help support Visa’s global commercial activity.” Read more
Election-linked speculation and viral political tokens reshaped memecoins in 2024 before confidence unraveled in early 2025, CoinGecko data shows. Political narratives helped push memecoins to record highs before accelerating a sharp reversal, according to crypto price tracker CoinGecko. In its 2025 State of Memecoins Report, CoinGecko highlighted how election-driven speculation has reshaped the memecoin sector. The report found that the total memecoin market cap peaked at $150.6 billion in December 2024, surpassing the sector’s previous highs in 2021. CoinGecko attributed the rally to a mix of new token launchpads, Solana experimentation and growing political narratives linked to the United States elections. Read more