Preface

This report summarizes a series of significant events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector from March 14 to March 20, 2025, including Aave launching the Horizon program targeting institutional-level real-world asset DeFi markets; Solana proposal SIMD-0228 failing to pass, stalling the inflation adjustment plan; CME launching Solana futures with trading volume worth approximately 38,000 SOL; Raydium planning to launch the token launch platform LaunchLab; and the Ethereum Foundation planning to activate the Pectra upgrade on the Hoodi testnet on March 26. These events demonstrate the crypto market’s vibrancy and indicate future development trends.

Abstract

• Aave introduces Horizon initiative for institutional-level real-world DeFi assets
• Solana’s SIMD-0228 proposal fails to pass, stalling inflation adjustments
• CME’s new Solana futures see the trading volume of 38,000 SOL
• Raydium set to unveil LaunchLab, a new token launch platform
• Ethereum Foundation schedules Pectra upgrade for Hoodi testnet on March 26

Key Developments and Updates

3/14 Aave Introduces Horizon: A New DeFi Platform for Institutional Real-World Assets

Aave Labs has unveiled Horizon, a groundbreaking program that bridges traditional finance with DeFi through Real-World Assets (RWA). The platform’s first offering will enable institutions to use tokenized money market funds as collateral for stablecoin loans, primarily through Aave’s native stablecoin GHO.

Horizon’s standout feature is its permissioned RWA system, which creates a secure and compliant environment for institutional investors to participate in DeFi. This approach directly addresses the key concerns of traditional financial institutions, making it easier for them to step into the decentralized finance space while maintaining their regulatory requirements.

The launch is crucial as RWAs gain traction in DeFi, with major financial institutions increasingly looking to blockchain technology for asset management, liquidity solutions, and credit operations. Aave’s Horizon program is positioned to pioneer institutional DeFi services, potentially boosting both the platform’s capital efficiency and GHO adoption. This initiative represents a significant step forward in bridging DeFi and traditional finance (TradFi), setting the stage for broader RWA integration and strengthening Aave’s leadership in the DeFi sector. [1]

3/14 Solana’s SIMD-0228 Proposal Fails to Pass, Stalling Inflation Adjustment Plans

The Solana community’s improvement proposal SIMD-0228 aimed to adjust SOL token issuance rates to better adapt to market demands, with potential inflation rate cuts of up to 80%. The proposal, authored by Multicoin Capital’s Tushar Jain and Vishal Kankani, with support from Anza’s Chief Economist Max Resnick, proposed dynamically adjusting token issuance based on staking rates. The plan would reduce issuance when staking exceeded 50% to prevent over-staking, and increase it when below 50% to encourage participation through higher yields. The inflation rate could vary from 0% to the current Solana emission curve maximum, with the current rate at 3.94%.

However, the proposal failed to pass as the total votes (both for and against) only reached 61.39%, falling short of the required 66.67% threshold. The voting breakdown showed 43.59% in favor, 27.40% against, 3.27% abstaining, and 25.72% of validators not participating, resulting in insufficient support.

While the proposal didn’t pass, it highlights the Solana community’s ongoing interest in managing inflation rates. Future proposals may emerge to optimize SOL’s tokenomics model and seek broader consensus within the decentralized governance framework. [2]

3/18 CME Launches Solana Futures with Trading Volume of 38,000 SOL

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) officially launched Solana (SOL) futures contracts on March 17, which is widely considered to lay the groundwork for the approval of spot SOL ETFs. The new futures contracts include micro contracts (25 SOL) and standard contracts (500 SOL), providing institutional investors with more hedging and investment options for SOL. On the first trading day, SOL futures trading volume reached approximately 38,000 SOL, with a notional value of around $5 million.[3][4]

The launch of CME’s Solana futures contracts reflects a growing institutional interest in the cryptocurrency market while supporting the potential approval of SOL spot ETFs. Multiple institutions, including Grayscale, Bitwise, and VanEck, have submitted applications for SOL spot ETFs, significantly increasing market expectations for approval. Once approved, SOL spot ETFs will greatly simplify the investment process for retail investors, attracting more traditional capital into the Solana market and potentially driving up prices.

Furthermore, recent developments in Solana’s ecosystem across DeFi, NFTs, and payment protocols provide fundamental support for its price. With the launch of CME futures and institutional capital inflow, Solana is positioned for potential breakthroughs in both technical and market aspects, possibly pushing its price to new all-time highs.

3/19 Raydium to Launch Token Issuance Platform LaunchLab

Raydium, a decentralized exchange and automated market maker in the Solana ecosystem, has announced the launch of LaunchLab, a token issuance platform designed similarly to the popular pump.fun. LaunchLab will offer linear, exponential, and logarithmic bonding curves to match market demand and pricing while allowing third-party UIs to set their own fees for enhanced flexibility. Additionally, the platform will support multiple quote tokens beyond SOL and integrate Raydium’s liquidity provider locking feature, providing issuers with stable long-term fee revenue. [5]

LaunchLab’s introduction responds to pump.fun’s announced plans to develop its own AMM, underscoring fierce competition in the Solana DeFi ecosystem, especially in meme token launches. Raydium initially paused the project to avoid competing with partners but promptly resumed LaunchLab’s development when pump.fun revealed its plans. Since pump.fun provides substantial revenue for Raydium, LaunchLab is a strategic initiative to protect revenue streams and maintain market position. Yet, given pump.fun’s strong user base and market presence, LaunchLab’s success will hinge on its user experience, competitive fee structure, and ability to attract high-quality projects.

3/20 Ethereum Foundation Schedules Pectra Upgrade for Hoodi Testnet on March 26

The Ethereum Foundation announced on March 18, 2025, that it will activate the Pectra network upgrade on the new Hoodi testnet on March 26, 2025. This decision comes after the existing Holesky testnet experienced significant inactive leakage in its recovery mechanism. Although network finality has been restored, validator exits require approximately one year for complete removal, making Holesky unsuitable for testing complete validator lifecycles within a reasonable timeframe. To address this issue, the Foundation launched the Hoodi testnet, scheduled to go live on March 17, with the Pectra upgrade activation set for March 26 (15:37:12 UTC, epoch 2048). The Holesky testnet will continue to be supported until September 2025, allowing testing of all Pectra features except validator exits.

The introduction of the Hoodi testnet and advancement of the Pectra upgrade demonstrates Ethereum’s commitment to continuous improvement, ensuring thorough testing to enhance wallet functionality and network scalability while improving user experience and long-term competitiveness. This sets a benchmark for competitors like Solana and Polygon, potentially accelerating their development of similar features while encouraging ecosystem partners (such as staking providers) to migrate to the new testnet. For the industry, Pectra’s scaling solutions (including increased blob capacity) will enhance transaction processing capabilities, address scalability challenges, and incentivize focus on testnet stability and upgrade efficiency. [6]

Summary

This week (March 14-20, 2025) saw several significant developments in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. Notable events included Aave’s launch of the Horizon program targeting institutional-level real-world asset DeFi markets, the failure of Solana’s SIMD-0228 proposal to adjust inflation rates, CME’s introduction of Solana futures with trading volume reaching 38,000 SOL, Raydium’s announcement of the LaunchLab token issuance platform, and the Ethereum Foundation’s scheduled activation of the Pectra upgrade on the Hoodi testnet for March 26. These events highlight the challenges and opportunities facing the industry regarding technical advancement and regulatory compliance.


References

1. X,https://x.com/aave/status/1900188291418513783
2. SIMD Vote,https://simd-votes.stakingfacilities.com
3. CME,https://www.cmegroup.com/media-room/press-releases/2025/2/28/cme_group_to_launchsolanasolfuturesonmarch17.html
4. CME,https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/cryptocurrencies/solana/solana.quotes.html
5. Blockworks,https://blockworks.co/news/raydium-launching-pumpfun-version
6. Ethereum,https://blog.ethereum.org/2025/03/18/hoodi-holesky

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