Pump.fun, Bitcoin and Sui fall sharply, ignoring SEC Chair Atkins' promise of crypto "golden age"

• Pump.fun, Bitcoin and Sui lead the decline among cryptos on Friday, market cap shrinks to $3.84 trillion. 
• SEC Chair Paul Atkins said that the commission could usher in a “golden age” for crypto, the north star of the Trump administration. 
• Total value of crypto assets locked in DeFi reaches pre-FTX exchange collapse level, driving the narrative of “DeFi summer.”

Paul Atkins, Chair of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), shared a bullish outlook for crypto regulation in the US in a recent speech. Chair Atkins said the changes within the commission’s approach to crypto firms could usher in the “golden age” for crypto during the Trump administration. 

Pump.fun, Bitcoin and Sui prices are down 17.5%, 2.5% and 6.9% in the last 24 hours, as seen on CoinGecko. Crypto values are falling in line with US equities on Friday as a prominent US jobs report showed that hiring is dwindling much worse than expected and the Trump administration's higher tariff rates come into effect.

Pump.fun, Bitcoin and Sui prices down on Friday

CoinGecko data shows crypto market cap slid 7% lower on Friday. Pump.fun, Bitcoin and Sui are the three trending tokens, and most altcoins ranked in the top 100 tokens are hit by a correction. 

Meme tokens were the hardest hit, while blue-chip DeFi tokens suffered least in terms of price declines on Friday. 

SEC Chair Paul Atkins’ speech and the announcement of Project Crypto on Thursday would typically fuel bullish sentiment among traders. Clarity on crypto regulation would typically act as a catalyst for token prices, however, the reaction among traders was the opposite. 

A drop in market cap, correction in prices of top cryptos and a double-digit decline in meme tokens is indicative of “bearish” sentiment among market participants. 

Crypto price changes in the last 24 hours | Source: CoinGecko 

Amidst correction in top cryptos, DeFi tokens are rising in total value locked on their chains. The numbers are reminiscent of the pre-FTX exchange collapse, begging the question whether it is DeFi summer yet.

DeFi summer or not?

The total value of assets locked in DeFi exceeds $136 billion, as seen on DeFiLlama. Back in May 2022, the TVL of DeFi was $138 billion, so it took over three years for the metric to return to that level. 

DeFi TVL | Source: DeFiLlama

It remains to be seen whether TVL will be sustained at this level or correct in H2 2025.