A Transformative Month for Crypto and Tech
January 2025 was a month of chaos, controversy, and shifting market forces. From failed DeFi experiments to explosive memecoin frenzies, the landscape of crypto and tech felt more volatile than ever.
Old cycles collapsed. New market structures emerged. Trust — long assumed to be a foundation of financial technology — was shattered in a matter of days.
This wasn’t just another month in crypto. It was a warning shot for traders, builders, and investors.
Let’s break it down, starting with one of the biggest scandals to hit fintech in years.
🚨 The Fall of Honey: How a “Money-Saving” Tool Scammed Millions
Honey promised effortless discounts and seamless savings, but in reality, it was silently hijacking transactions and manipulating affiliate commissions — leaving millions of users exploited.
The Promise vs. The Reality
What users thought they were getting:
- Automatic coupon finder for the best online discounts
- A trusted, PayPal-backed tool used by millions
- Influencer-approved savings with no hidden costs
What they actually got:
- Affiliate commissions hijacked — content creators lost earnings
- Checkout links manipulated — users unknowingly funded Honey’s hidden scheme
- Millions misled into believing they were benefiting
The Fallout: A Consumer Backlash Like Never Before
- Influencers exposed: MrBeast and other high-profile figures caught in the firestorm as fans turned on them for promoting Honey
- Mass deletions: Over 3 million users deleted the extension in weeks, destroying trust overnight
- Industry-wide scrutiny: If Honey could do this, how many other browser extensions are silently exploiting users?
The Bigger Lesson: Trust in Tech Is Fragile
- Even trusted brands engage in deceptive practices — PayPal’s backing wasn’t a safety guarantee
- Affiliate marketing lacks transparency — zero oversight, zero accountability
- Users must take control of their financial data — if it’s free, you are the product
What You Need to Know Next
What happened with Honey wasn’t just a scandal — it was a wake-up call.
- How did they get away with it for so long?
- What does this mean for online shopping and browser extensions?
- How can you protect yourself from similar scams?
👉 Read the full exposé here: 🔗 The Fall of Honey, Explained
🚨 The USD0++ Collapse: DeFi’s Stability Shattered 🚨
DeFi promises security and stability — USD0++ proved how fast that illusion can break.
Marketed as a safe, treasury-backed asset, USD0++ was a go-to for investors looking to park capital without risk. Then, on January 14, everything collapsed.
The Sudden Depeg: Chaos Hits the Market
The $1 redemption price was cut to $0.87 — panic set in.
- USD0++ lost its peg instantly, dropping to $0.935
- Liquidity providers fled, draining Curve pools
- Leveraged positions liquidated, wiping out $7.5M
Traders who locked funds for years expecting stability watched in shock as USD0++ unraveled in hours.
What Went Wrong?
- Collateral mismatch — USD0++ acted more like a bond than a stablecoin
- User confusion — Investors assumed stability, not realizing the mechanics were flawed
- Liquidity crisis — Once the peg cracked, everyone rushed for the exits
Users had two choices:
✅Exit at $0.87 immediately
✅ Wait four years for a slow return to $1
Nobody wanted to wait.
What This Means for DeFi
- DeFi tokenomics must be clear — if users don’t understand it, they’ll panic
- Governance matters — protocols can’t change rules overnight without consequences
- Liquidity crises move fast — if exits aren’t managed, a protocol is already doomed
USD0++ was a warning to all of DeFi — even “stable” projects can implode in hours.
📢 What Happens Next?
🔍 How did USD0++ break so fast?
🔍 What lessons can DeFi investors take from this?
🔍 Which projects could be next?
👉 Get the full breakdown here:🔗 What Happened to USD0++ and Usual?
🚀 The $TRUMP and $MELANIA Memecoin Frenzy: A Wild Ride
January 2025 saw one of the wildest memecoin explosions ever — a mix of hype, politics, and pure speculation. It started as a historic rally and ended in panic, losses, and scams.
$TRUMP: A 36-Hour Rocket to $15 Billion
When Donald Trump launched his official memecoin ($TRUMP) on January 18, crypto Twitter exploded.
- $TRUMP surged from $200M to $15B in just 36 hours.
- 80% of supply was locked, fueling insane speculation.
- Solana’s trading volume hit $30B in a single day, pushing SOL from $210 to $300.
It looked like the ultimate memecoin moment — until Melania entered the game.
$MELANIA: The Token That Crushed $TRUMP
Two days later, Melania Trump launched her own memecoin, $MELANIA.
- It skyrocketed from $50M to $1.9B in five hours.
- $TRUMP instantly lost 50% of its value as liquidity shifted away.
- Panic spread — was this planned? A Trump family war? A coordinated rug?
The same brand that drove $TRUMP to the top became its biggest liability.
Fake Trump Tokens Flood the Market
As traders scrambled between $TRUMP and $MELANIA, scammers pounced.
- Fake tokens like $VANCE and $ELON appeared overnight, claiming to be “official.”
- Investors fell for false promises, only to be rugged.
- Liquidity drained from real projects, leaving smaller traders wrecked.
The memecoin gold rush turned into a battlefield of grifts and exit scams.
📍 What Happens Next?
🔍 Will Trump’s brand spawn more tokens?
🔍 Can Solana handle another memecoin mania?
🔍 How do you avoid getting rugged in the next hype cycle?
👉 Get the full breakdown here:
🔗 The $TRUMP and $MELANIA Memecoin: How Hype, Greed, and Opportunists Shook the Market
🚨 THORChain’s Emergency Shutdown: A DeFi Experiment Gone Wrong
THORChain was designed to be the ultimate cross-chain DEX — seamless swaps, no middlemen. But in January 2025, its experimental lending system collapsed, forcing a 90-day freeze on withdrawals and nearly destroying the protocol.
The Fatal Flaw: A Lending Model That Backfired
- Loans were backed by BTC and ETH, but repaid in RUNE
- As RUNE’s price dropped, borrowers rushed to repay loans, flooding the market with newly minted RUNE
- This sell pressure drove RUNE’s price even lower, spiraling into a $97M debt crisis
- The “liquidation-free” system became a ticking time bomb
The Emergency Shutdown: Stopping the Collapse
- Lending operations were frozen for 90 days
- RUNE minting was halted to prevent further devaluation
- The DEX remained operational, ensuring asset swaps could continue
This wasn’t just a temporary pause — it was an admission of failure.
What This Means for DeFi
- Lending without liquidations is unsustainable — risk management is crucial
- Token reflexivity is dangerous — minting RUNE to cover debt made the crash worse
- DeFi must simplify — complex tokenomics can break even the strongest protocols
THORChain’s swaps still generate $200K–$400K daily, but trust is shattered. Can it recover?
👉 Get the full breakdown here: 🔗 What Exactly Happened to THORChain????
🚨 Is Altcoin Season Dead? The Changing Face of Crypto
For years, Alt Season followed a simple playbook — Bitcoin surged, capital rotated into altcoins, and traders cashed out big.
That cycle is dead.
Too many tokens. Too much dilution. Liquidity is thin, and traders are exhausted. The market has splintered into two extremes: gamblers and believers.
If you’re still waiting for a market-wide alt rally, you’re already behind.
Why Altcoin Season Collapsed
- Token Overproduction — Over 100 million tokens exist, spreading liquidity too thin.
- Stablecoins Dominate — USDT and USDC have replaced BTC pairs, breaking the old rotation pattern.
- Macro Forces Control the Market — Institutional capital follows traditional finance, not crypto cycles.
The old system is broken — the market plays by new rules now.
The New Market: Gamblers vs. Believers
- Hyper-Speculation (Gamblers) — Traders chase low-cap pumps, memecoins, and AI tokens. Most get dumped on.
- Memecoin Cults (Believers) — Strong narratives and loyalty matter more than fundamentals. Tokens like $GIGA and $SPX6900 thrive on pure belief.
It’s speculation vs. conviction. The winners aren’t just projects with utility — they’re projects with tribes.
How Investors Should Adapt
- Focus on tokens with strong, growing communities
- Ignore short-term hype — watch on-chain adoption trends
- Filter out the noise — most new launches won’t last
- Understand that belief-driven coins can outperform utility-driven ones
Crypto isn’t about riding a cycle anymore. It’s about strategy, survival, and picking the right narratives early.
Final Thought: Adapt or Get Left Behind
- January 2025 proved that the old playbook is useless
- Memecoins, trust collapses, and DeFi failures have reshaped the game
- The future belongs to those who understand that liquidity follows belief — not logic
👉 Get the full breakdown here: 🔗 Is Alt Season Gone Forever?
🚨 January 2025: A Pivotal Shift in Crypto and Tech
January 2025 wasn’t just another month — it was a reset for the entire industry.
- Trust in fintech collapsed as Honey exposed how even mainstream platforms exploit users.
- DeFi’s foundation cracked with the fall of USD0++, proving that even so-called “stable” assets can disappear overnight.
- Memecoins ruled and wrecked traders as the $TRUMP and $MELANIA saga turned into a battlefield of greed and scams.
- THORChain’s experiment failed, reminding DeFi protocols that innovation without sustainability leads to disaster.
- Alt Season died, replaced by a brutal market of high-risk speculation and belief-driven communities.
Crypto no longer follows predictable cycles. The old playbook is useless.
Final Thought: Adapt or Get Left Behind
January 2025 was a warning shot.
The traders, builders, and investors who adapt to this new market will thrive. The ones who don’t? They’ll be left behind.
👉 Missed any part of this breakdown? Read the full stories here:
🔗 The Fall of Honey
🔗 What Happened to USD0++?
🔗 The $TRUMP & $MELANIA Memecoin Chaos
🔗 THORChain’s Lending Collapse
🔗 Is Alt Season Gone Forever?
Astraea is an analyst with a rich background in finance, having worked at various research firms where he gained deep insights into investments and corporate strategies. Now, he blends this expertise with a unique perspective, crafting content for those venturing in finance, tech, or crypto. For more information check out Ascendant Finance.
https://twitter.com/ascendantfi
https://twitter.com/cryptocadetapp
https://twitter.com/thetechjd
A Word of Caution
Nothing in this article is financial advice. This was written purely for entertainment purposes, and we don’t hold or own any of the coins mentioned. If you’re tempted to jump into the meme coin frenzy, remember to do your own research — or at least check if the developer is live-streaming from a dog cage or toilet first.
