What are the characteristics and commonalities of tokens that have performed decently after their TGE in 2025?

Original Author:Stacy Muur, Crypto Researcher

Compiled by: CryptoLeo (@LeoAndCrypto)

Last week, I compiled a research post by Solus Group titled "Over 80% of New Tokens Peak at TGE: The Root Cause and Cure for Web3's False Prosperity", which analyzed the post-TGE performance of 113 tokens in 2025. The vast majority of these tokens peaked at their TGE, with prices starting to decline the day after launch, despite having conditions like substantial funding, community support, and exchange listings.

The article shared today is from crypto researcher Stacy Muur, who compiled several tokens from 2025 that showed significant price increases relative to their TGE and analyzed what advantages/conditions these projects possessed. In contrast, the previous article derived a statistical result from data, while this one focuses more on the projects themselves. In summary: In today's overly homogenized and expansive crypto market, a project's token needs to meet multiple conditions to survive/succeed. Odaily has compiled it as follows:

If you've been keen on trading tokens that had their TGE in 2025, the outcome so far is clear: a hot first week post-launch, followed by a gradual cooling off, and ultimately a resigned acceptance that the "launch price was the peak." Most newly launched tokens perform poorly, or even crash, as the market consistently treats tokenomics and liquidity as fundamentals.

Nevertheless, a handful of tokens in 2025 have managed to maintain price increases relative to their TGE. This increase isn't a "rebound after a price crash" nor "buying at the market bottom," but rather indicates the presence of genuine buying support.

Here are the real post-TGE gainers from 2025 that I've identified: ASTER, FOLKS, AVICI, and SENTIS (along with some "barely passing" tokens like IRYS/FHE/CORN). They don't look exactly alike, but they share certain characteristics.

The Best Post-TGE Gainers of 2025

Aster is a prime example. ASTER got everything a project needs on day one: major exchange listings, deep liquidity, and a widely accepted "Perp DEX" narrative. The story circulating throughout the year was essentially: "Binance-backed Perp DEX, with privacy features."

ASTER's price action is debatable (you could call it ZK-related, a CZ shadow game, or simply better execution). But regardless, it remains one of the few projects that didn't experience an "immediate dump" at TGE.

FOLKS is different: it's a lending token considered Alpha in a "garbage market" year. The formula: "Binance and Kraken signaled support from day one, cross-chain pools kept growing, no massive unlock in sight." That last point is crucial. It performed well until its token unlock on December 15th.

AVICI is different from both. AVICI makes the list not for having the most cutting-edge tech, but for providing CT with the clearest narrative: "Fair launch, genuinely useful product." It emphasizes usage over tokenomics: "Decent neobank app, Visa card, real spending." In a market saturated with endogenous "utility," AVICI is a breath of fresh air—both out-of-the-box and practical. AVICI might be one of the best TGE tokens of the year.

When Tokens Rise for a Reason, Their Prices Tend to Be More Stable

Looking now, the strongest performer post-TGE is SENTIS. Its support pillars are straightforward: AI Agent narrative + continuous incentive distribution + exchange listings. On CT, the dominant framework remains consistent: "AI Agents are the next DeFi automation layer," providing traders with a simple mental model to anchor on.

Mechanically, SENTIS doesn't rely on a one-time listing pump. The token's continuous distribution mechanism (tasks/retrodrop/participation rewards) maintains steady user engagement, which often translates into sustained spot demand as participants prepare for future distributions and ecosystem milestones. This dynamic can support the price even before more meaningful on-chain adoption appears.

The "Barely Passing" Tokens

IRYS and FHE fall into the "AI infrastructure & private transactions" category: both benefited from the AI hype, stayed above their initial ranges, and maintained sufficient liquidity to avoid a price crash. If these projects can translate their narratives into on-chain usage, they can survive. Narrative support alone isn't enough.

Then there's CORN. CORN isn't highly volatile and is relatively stable compared to its peers, but it functions more like a "structured product." In 2025, that's not a bad thing. When the market "punishes" overdevelopment, survivability becomes important.

What Characteristics Do 2025's Well-Performing Tokens Share?

Stripping away the narratives and vibes, some clear structural patterns emerge:

1. Token Distribution Matters More Than Hype

The strongest performers avoided massive insider liquidity at TGE. AVICI (0% team allocation), SENTIS (activity-based emissions).

Lesson: At launch, who holds the tokens matters more than who invested privately.

2. Reasonable Launch Valuation Beats Perfect Timing

Many top performers didn't launch at the peak of market hype, but at reasonable valuations, allowing the market to re-rate them upwards.

AVICI launched a working product at an ~$3.5M FDV, creating an asymmetric upside potential relative to FDV.

Lesson: Tokens that "earn" their way up perform better than those starting with high valuations.

3. Project Usage (or Credible Near-Term Usage) Is Priced In

Aster's Perp trading volume, Folks' lending scale, Avici's card spending—these aren't just whitepaper promises but observable signals.

Sentis started early but also tied token emissions to on-chain activity, creating a feedback loop between usage and price.

Lesson: The market is now impatient. Utility > Vision.

4. Unlock Structure > Unlock Size

Linear and transparent token unlocks matter, as their dilutive effect is priced in by the market. For example, SENTIS gradually releases tokens through participation mechanisms.

Elsewhere, what destroys user confidence isn't dilution itself, but risky cliff unlocks.

Lesson: Predictable unlocks are tolerable; surprise unlocks are not.

5. Exchange Listings Are Necessary, But Not Sufficient

Almost every token had decent exchange access, but that alone doesn't determine anything. Listings amplify outcomes: they help strong tokens accelerate upwards and weak tokens get dumped faster. AVICI's performance wasn't that bad even without a Binance listing.

Lesson: Exchange liquidity is an accelerator, not a foundation.

Key Takeaways

Overall, the situation for 2025 TGE tokens marks a shift.

The market is no longer rewarding "potential" but is starting to reward "structure":

- Healthy circulating supply

- Fair token distribution

- Reliable adoption metrics

- Controlled unlock mechanisms

The 2025 "gainers" aren't perfect projects; they were just built to survive post-launch. If 2024 was about narrative, then 2025 is about token design under pressure. And this is a lesson most projects launching their TGEs have yet to learn.