While the broader crypto market appears bearish and in “extreme fear,” the social media side of the industry tells a very different story.
According to Santiment’s analysis, certain tokens of the crypto ecosystem are seeing a surge in online discussions and trending conversations.
Bitcoin is gaining social traction
Bitcoin [BTC] is at the top of the listwhich is due to the mining of the 20 millionth BTC on March 9. This milestone marked the beginning of Bitcoin’s final mining phase, with approximately 95% of the total supply already in circulation.
At the same time, institutional accumulation, with companies like Strategy increasing their holdings to around 738,731 BTC, is another factor driving the social media wave.
However, data about the chain show a difference. While weighted sentiment around Bitcoin has remained somewhat positive and stable, 30-day active addresses have fallen to around 11.6 million at the time of writing, one of the lowest levels in recent memory.
This suggests that, despite the optimistic narrative and strong institutional purchases, actual network participation has weakened.
Ethereum is not lagging behind
Ethereum [ETH] is attracting attention as a discrepancy arises between growing network problems and increasing institutional interest. ETH has been accumulated by companies like Bitmine, but Ethereum ETFs experience withdrawals.
Much of the hesitation stems from Ethereum’s wagering system, where long entry and exit queues create a potential liquidity trap, along with ongoing governance debates.
This comes at a time when activity in the chain is showing signs of turbulence. By late February and early March, the number of active addresses had dropped to about 12.8 million, indicating that participation in the network is declining.
At the same time, social sentiment has remained volatile and slightly negative, reflecting continued market uncertainty.
While Ethereum continues to strengthen its position as a core layer for the digital economy, overall the latest data points to more cautious market sentiment in March.
Memecoins are also making waves
While Bitcoin and Ethereum are facing structural shifts, Dogecoin [DOGE] continues to reflect retail-driven speculation in the crypto market.
Excitement has increased following the news that X Money will open early access to the public next month. Although the DOGE integration is still not confirmed, Elon Musk’s involvement has already generated strong reactions.
This created a liquidation imbalance of 779%, catching short sellers off guard as DOGE rose about 5.6% in one day, supported by whale transfers and growing adoption by traders.
On-chain data also highlights DOGE’s dependence on social momentum.
Spikes in social volume are often accompanied by sharp changes in sentiment. From early March, sentiment turned positive while social activity remained high, signaling renewed speculative interest.
What is the secret behind the rise of Tether?
Finally, Tether is gaining popularity due to its more institutional and regulated strategy. In January 2026, USA₮ (USAT) was launched as a US-regulated stablecoin for integration with regulated financial systems.
At the same time, Tether’s XAUT competes in the gold-backed token market with Paxos’ PAXG, which favors controlled redemption, while XAUT is more liquid on exchanges.
Despite these regulatory pressures, USDT continues to play a crucial role in emerging markets, where demand for digital dollars is high. In peer-to-peer markets such as India, USDT is reportedly trading at ₹110–₹115, reflecting limited access to traditional dollar liquidity.
More broadly, stablecoins have evolved beyond trading tools and now process more than $1 trillion in monthly transactions, according to Visa’s on-chain data. Even with newcomers like PYUSD, the market is still dominated by USDT and USDC.
This coincided with a broader discussion in which Aave [AAVE] and Uniswap [UNI] attracted attention despite the market being in a state of ‘extreme fear’.
Final summary
- The 20 million BTC milestone strengthens Bitcoin’s long-term scarcity story, despite weaker participation on the chain.
- With a monthly volume of more than $1 trillion, stablecoins are becoming the backbone of crypto transactions.