Within the early hours of today, the crypto market saw Maple Finance’s native token, SYRUP, surge 28.5% in 10 minutes. The move propelled it very close to its June 2025 all-time high of $0.6575, marking its 30-day high. Following a mild correction, the asset soared even higher over the subsequent hours, reaching $0.6524, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Maple Finance is an on-chain asset manager and institutional-focused lending protocol operating on EVM chains and Solana. The platform connects users with liquidity providers via over-collateralized loan pools. Its token, SYRUP, enables governance participation, which entitles holders to staking rewards and protocol fee-based buybacks.
SYRUP’s 28% Gain Amid Market Pullback
The primary catalyst behind SYRUP’s rapid surge was its official listing on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange. The listing significantly boosted its visibility and liquidity in KRW, USDT, and BTC trading pairs. Following the listing announcement, trading volume surged, increasing by over 400% to approximately $732 million within 24 hours.
Nonetheless, the price increase also builds on other metrics before the listing. For example, on-chain whales began accumulating the token a few days before its listing, resulting in whale-held SYRUP balances surging to 17.53 million tokens, igniting investor confidence.
Another catalyst is that Maple Finance’s metrics have hit record levels. A few hours before the listing event, the protocol announced that its assets under management (AUM) have increased by 23% from Q1 2025, reaching $2.6 billion. The platform’s quarterly revenue also increased by 154%, reaching $2.98 million.
A governance proposal to increase protocol buybacks from 20% to 25% of revenue has also bolstered investor sentiment. The move aims to tighten the circulating syrup supply and support price appreciation. Although not yet finalized, the proposal has already sparked bullish sentiment among holders, contributing to the token’s recent surge in value.
Together, these fundamentals have propelled SYRUP’s recent jump during a time when many altcoins are underperforming.
Has Crypto Market Playbook Changed?
In previous years, crypto markets thrived on retail hype and meme-driven narratives. However, Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, recently declared that the traditional crypto cycle theory is obsolete. Notably, the original playbook advised investors to buy when whales accumulate and sell when retail jumps in.
His reassessment follows the observation that established whales are no longer selling to retail investors, but rather to new, long-term institutional holders, such as corporate treasuries and ETF entities. He admitted that his previous model failed, and pledged to adopt a more data-driven approach going forward.
