Fed’s First Rate Cut of 2025 Lifts DeFi: Ondo, Hyperliquid, and Uniswap Stand Out

The Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut of 2025, lowering the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. The move pushed the U.S. dollar to its weakest level in more than three years while risk assets, from equities to commodities to crypto, surged on the shift.

For decentralized finance (DeFi), the policy shift may act as a catalyst for fresh inflows. Here are three DeFi projects analysts say could benefit the most.

Ondo Finance: Tokenization Magnet

Ondo Finance has established itself as a leading platform for tokenized real-world assets. The project recently expanded through a partnership with Ledger, allowing direct access to tokenized stocks and ETFs.

Ondo is trading at $1.05, up 4.48% in the past 24 hours. The price moved between $1.00 and $1.07 during the day. It is still down about 51% from its all-time high of $2.14, reached on December 16, 2024.

Source: TradingView

With interest rates moving lower, investors are expected to search for yield opportunities and the platform already manages over $1.6 billion in total value locked (TVL). The analyst said that the Ondo token has held strong support and may retest previous highs if trend continues.

Hyperliquid: Perpetuals on the Rise

Hyperliquid is a fast-growing decentralized exchange focused on perpetual futures. With borrowing costs set to decline, leveraged trading activity may increase. The exchange has already surpassed $500 million in daily trading volume, and its native token HYPE has seen rising open interest.

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token is priced at $58.45. Over the past 24 hours, it traded between $54.49 and $59.39. The token set a new all-time high of $59.39 on September 18, 2025, just hours ago, and is now trading about 1.5% below that peak.

Source: TradingView

A breakout above current resistance levels is on cards, especially as Hyperliquid integrates new stablecoin options like USDC and its own USDH.

Uniswap: Preparing for Bitcoin Layer-2

Uniswap remains the dominant decentralized exchange, with nearly $6 billion locked in its pools and daily volumes around $4 billion. The protocol is now preparing to integrate Bitcoin through a new layer-2 network, expanding beyond Ethereum and attracting liquidity from BTC holders.

Source: TradingView

As macro conditions favor DeFi blue chips, Uniswap’s scale and liquidity give it a natural advantage. The analyst said that there is support at $6.50 and resistance near $12. A successful rollout of Bitcoin layer-2 integration could push UNI back toward its yearly highs.

Source