Avalanche (AVAX) 60% Plunge Despite $1.3B Institutional Uprise

Avalanche (AVAX) attracted institutional investment of millions during the year 2025. The token experienced difficulties during this period. Messari reports that while adoption expanded across tokenized funds, loans, and indices, AVAX suffered one of its weakest quarters, falling nearly 60% in Q4. The network experienced growth while the tokens displayed different performance results.

AVAX received increased support from institutional investors after real-world asset tokenization started to become popular. The total value locked in tokenized RWAs on the network surged 68.6% in the fourth quarter and nearly 950% over the year, surpassing $1.3 billion. BlackRock launched its $500 million USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on AVAX in November, which became a major catalyst for the fund.

Fortune 500 fintech FIS created additional momentum by establishing a partnership with Avalanche-based Intain which provides loan tokenization services. The Intain platform now allows approximately 2000 U.S. banks to securitize over 6 billion dollars in loans using the AVAX blockchain. The S&P Dow Jones Index partnered with Dinari to create the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index which tracks both crypto-related stocks and tokens on the Avalanche blockchain.

Source: Messari Report

Traditional finance institutions are increasing their participation in blockchain-based financial products which indicates that they now possess greater confidence in these products. U.S. authorities have become more permissive to crypto experimentation during the past year while regulatory sentiment has become less strict.

Also Read: Avalanche (AVAX) Nears Key Support Level as Short-Term Momentum Faces Test

Avalanche Faces Token Pressure Despite Institutional Growth

The ecosystem expansion led to AVAX underperforming the general cryptocurrency market. The token started Q4 2025 at approximately $12.3 and it has experienced a 10.5% decline which brings its current value to about $11. AVAX has experienced a 92% price drop from its November 2021 peak value of $144.96 while Bitcoin and Ether reached new peak values during this market cycle.

Source: Messari Report

The market disconnect demonstrates how fundamental network strength in cryptocurrency markets fails to deliver immediate price growth.

Avalanche DeFi Activity Strengthens as Usage Rises

The decentralized finance sector of Avalanche showed substantial progress through its financial performance. The DeFi protocols experienced a total value increase of 34.5% which brought their assets to 97.5 million AVAX during the fourth quarter. The number of daily transactions increased by 63% which achieved approximately 2.1 million transactions because more users began to use on-chain activities.

Source: Messari Report

AVAX’s main chain showed stable performance through its stablecoin operations while its total market capitalization increased to $1.741 billion. Tether’s USDT emerged as the leading stablecoin in the market by surpassing USDC through its 42% market share which equals approximately $736.6 million of USD in circulation.

Avalanche creates actual practical applications which draw significant interest from institutional investors. The network continues to demonstrate a strong development path. The token needs to achieve more price recovery before reaching its previous value.

Also Read: Avalanche (AVAX) ETF Goes Live on Nasdaq, Putting $15.50 Level in Focus