Pendle Finance and Notcoin have recently emerged as top performers in the altcoin market, experiencing significant price growth of approximately 58.6% and 400%, respectively. These notable surges reflect the evolving dynamics within the cryptocurrency space and shed light on key factors driving investor interest.

The recent momentum in the altcoin market follows the approval of spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, contributing to a 20% surge in the total altcoin market capitalization in May. Ethereum's pivotal role in this growth underscores its influence on the broader altcoin ecosystem.

Moreover, upcoming airdrops scheduled by projects like LayerZero, Etherfi, Blast, and zkSync are poised to further ignite excitement in the altcoin market. These airdrop events, distributing project tokens worth billions of dollars to decentralized finance (DeFi) users, hold the potential to catalyze increased participation and investment.

Amid this backdrop, Pendle Finance has seen notable growth driven by the growing hype around liquid restaking. Pendle's interest derivatives multichain protocol allows users to split yield-bearing token assets into principal and yield components, facilitating enhanced yield generation and liquidity management.

Pendle's price and total value locked (TVL) surged by 58.6% and 50.5%, respectively, in May, positioning it as a leading player in the DeFi space. With a TVL of $6.28 billion as of June 3, Pendle has surpassed Uniswap to become the sixth-largest DeFi protocol.

The surge in Pendle's growth can be attributed to its robust ecosystem, with liquid staking tokens driving significant TVL. Notably, assets like Renzo Protocol's weETH pool contributed significantly to Pendle's TVL, reflecting the platform's appeal to users seeking to optimize yield generation.

Furthermore, the introduction of point multipliers by liquid restaking protocols has incentivized airdrop farmers to deposit their assets into Pendle. Leveraged point farming, enabled by these multipliers, aims to maximize future airdrop allocations, further enhancing the utility of liquid restaking tokens within DeFi.

However, Pendle's reliance on liquid restaking tokens poses a single-risk exposure, as evidenced by a sharp $1-billion outflow in late April following the distribution of airdrop allocations from other projects. Despite this, Pendle remains resilient, with projects like Etherfi, Ethena, and Renzo announcing second seasons of their airdrops to maintain TVL.

In a parallel development, Notcoin (NOT), the native token of a Telegram Mini decentralized application (DApp), has witnessed a remarkable price surge of over 400%. Notcoin's unique design, embedded within major social media platforms like Telegram, has attracted over 35 million users, showcasing its accessibility and mass appeal.

With its simple earning model and widespread distribution, Notcoin has garnered attention as a memecoin within The Open Network ecosystem. The recent surge in NOT price could be attributed to increased community awareness driven by collaborations with applications like Catizen, which supports NOT for in-game purchases.

Catizen's success during The Open League Season 3, coupled with strategic burns of NOT tokens, has contributed to the positive sentiment surrounding Notcoin. As the TON ecosystem continues to expand, Notcoin's role within the community is poised to evolve, reflecting the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency landscape.