The decentralized finance (DeFi) market is mired in gloom and red candles as prices bleed out. Ethereum is lingering below $3,000, while Bitcoin is stuck around $61,000. Most on-chain altcoins have suffered painful drawdowns of 30-60% from their peaks.

Amid this, traders are finding solace in niche narratives like Runes, along with select meme coins like ANDY, NORMILIO, and Sharkcat, which have seen upside swings while everything else is caught in a downdraft. Even the much-hyped FOMO launch faltered, with the project raising $15 million but injecting just $600,000 into its liquidity pool – likely leaving presale investors underwater.

The newly launched 1intro token immediately plunged 57% to a $40 million fully diluted valuation, though the KAI launch fared relatively better. As one trader lamented, "Things are feeling slightly desperate out there."

Trading Volumes Holding Up

Surprisingly, decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volumes have not fallen as precipitously as prices. Yesterday's total volume across platforms was $75 million – multiples higher than the fall of 2023 and in line with Q1 2024's average daily levels.

Solana and BASE have maintained relatively robust volumes, while Ethereum continues struggling. Pockets of strength emerged in tokens like NAI (arguably the best new launch), RUNIC, BYTE (doubling in 24 hours), and RB tapping new all-time highs of around $30 million.

FUNGI, a Base-native project, also rallied 30% over the past day as traders sought out potential "make it all back" trades amid the broader sell-off.

New Projects to Watch

According to analysts, several newly launched or upcoming projects are garnering attention and could offer opportunities:

- Runigun's liquidity bootstrapping pool goes live today, piggybacking on the Runes frenzy.

- Fantasy Top, an airdrop that just opened claiming, has traders buzzing.

- Heroglyphs, Magic Internet Money, iAgent, DRIFT, Rune, Hajime, and Macrocosmos are other tokens generating chatter.

- Cove is gearing up for a launch on the Bazaar DEX next week.

- Igloo, Eidon (an interesting AI project), Multisynq, and Soar Chain's mainnet are on the radar.

- HueHub is billed as the first RGB++ decentralized exchange.

- Anomaly Games, a gaming platform backed by Shima Capital and partnered with Animoca Brands, has investors intrigued.

- InfinityChain positions itself as an EigenLayer Ethereum Virtual Machine.

- Superseed is a new Layer 2 solution founded by David Iach.

- PinLink is prepping the launch of an RWA token called DePin.

- A Runes-based DEX is slated to go live on 4/20.

- Sandglass and WorldPVP are two other names making the rounds.

As the prolonged DeFi downturn grinds on, barely two days to the epoch-setting Bitcoin halving event, traders remain on high alert for the next big narrative shift. For now, it’s mostly boredom and despair– along with pockets of rampant speculation, as the search continues for that elusive "make it all back" trade.

Image source: Bitmex