The cryptocurrency market experienced notable growth in the first half of May 2025, with Ethereum advancing 41.4% and gaining over 50% in value in the past 30 days, while Bitcoin maintained a strong position above $100,000. The stablecoin market cap surged past $230 billion, reflecting a 15% year-to-date increase, with particular emphasis on Solana's ecosystem. Solana-based decentralized applications generated $1.2 billion in revenue in Q1 2025, marking their best quarter in a year, led by Pumpfun with $257 million, followed by Phantom and Photon. USDC's market capitalization on Solana reached $9.7 billion, four times larger than USDT. The overall stablecoin market saw a 145% increase to $12.5 billion, driven by memecoin trading and decentralized finance (DeFi) growth. Venture capital investments focused on crypto's core utility, including payments and security, while retail memecoin activity declined. Additionally, JPMorgan completed its first transaction on a public blockchain, Coinbase joined the S&P 500, Galaxy Digital uplisted to Nasdaq, and eToro launched its IPO. The broader crypto market cap rose 10.8% in April 2025, supported by macroeconomic tailwinds, clearer regulatory frameworks, and optimism around exchange-traded funds (ETFs). DeFi total value locked (TVL) increased, although non-fungible token (NFT) volumes reached multi-year lows, indicating shifts in user behavior and market trends.