The total DeFi market cap peaked at $144 billion in August and has now dropped to $77 billion at press time.
Although the broader crypto market is on an upward trajectory, some DeFi tokens have made little to no gains. In fact, several DeFi tokens saw demand collapse, turning into nearly forgotten assets.
Despite the drop, some of these forgotten DeFi tokens have attempted to recover through whale pumps and team wallet initiatives. AMBCrypto observed a few such DeFi tokens, including Monad, Curve DAO, and PENDLE.
Are aallets accumulating forgotten DeFi tokens?
Significantly, the crypto boom of the past year has remained uneven: some surged, others dipped, and others stagnated.
Monad rallied to a new all-time high of $0.049 shortly after it was launched three months ago. However, the crypto crashed by 61% from its ATH as sentiment turned bearish and community attention waned.
With the altcoin struggling to remain relevant and survive amid a prolonged broader downtrend, Category Labs stepped in to rescue.
According to Category Labs, the firm committed to purchasing $30 million of MON tokens on the open market through Q1 2026.
While Category Labs refused to commit to purchasing a specific amount of tokens, it assured its intention to purchase at any suitable market condition.
Markets responded positively to the commitment, and MON jumped 2.04% on the daily charts, reflecting newfound demand.
DeFi token CRV sees renewed interest
Another largely forgotten DeFi token is Curve DAO [CRV]. The altcoin has traded within a descending channel since July 2025, dropping from $1.16 to $0.36.
This marks a 68.7% drop from its July peaks, indicating strong downward pressure. With CRV on a downtrend, whale wallets started 2026 on a positive note.
Wallet holdings of 10-100 million CRV tokens added 33 million tokens through early January 2026.
Source: Arkham
Coupled with that, a large amount of CRV has flowed into Curve.fi, rising to 10.9 million, worth $4.3 million. This implies that large holders have turned to yield farming to defend their positions amid a weakened market.
Pendle upgrades to sPendle as whales accumulate
Pendle peaked at $6.1 in August 2025 and has traded within a descending channel since. The altcoin has experienced reduced market attention, and the community has mostly gone silent.
As the altcoin faced reduced demand, Pendle [PENDLE] fell into the ranks of forgotten DeFi tokens. However, the core team has made a major move to prevent further collapse.
In a major shift, Pendle announced an upgrade to its token, introducing sPENDLE. The upgrade aims to unlock deeper liquidity, diversify revenue streams, and strengthen its position in the on-chain yield and rates segment.
Besides the upgrade, whales have continued to accumulate PENDLE. According to Nansen data, top holders have added 9 million PENDLE tokens over the past two days.
Source: Nansen
This marks a shift from the behavior at the start of January, when top addresses made few purchases. This shift signals renewed market interest in the altcoin.
Often, such market conditions have boosted asset prices. With whales returning to these DeFi tokens, it positions them in a better position for price appreciation.
Final Thoughts
- DeFi market cap has fallen from $144 billion to $70 billion, a decline of over $74 billion.
- Still, investors continue to accumulate some forgotten DeFi tokens such as Monad, PENDLE, and Curve Dao.