The crypto venture capital landscape has seen a significant shift back to Bitcoin, driven by its growing acceptance as an institutional asset. In the first half of 2024, the Bitcoin DeFi sector attracted $175 million in funding across 32 venture capital deals. At the same time, Bitcoin treasury companies have injected billions into the market by purchasing BTC for long-term reserves. This trend reflects a broader shift in the crypto industry, with demand for BTC-focused financial services continuing to surge [1].

Beyond Bitcoin, several recurring themes dominated VC activity in July. Investors continued to favor startups in tokenization, stablecoin infrastructure, and settlement technologies. These areas have shown consistent traction, with projects aiming to bridge traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure [1].

Inveniam Capital, a decentralized data infrastructure provider, has committed $20 million to layer-1 blockchain Mantra, aiming to bring institutional-grade real-world assets (RWAs) onto the blockchain. The partnership is expected to boost total value locked (TVL) on Mantra Chain while promoting compliant tokenization. By integrating data sovereignty and asset surveillance capabilities, the collaboration is designed to support more advanced DeFi applications and regulatory-grade transparency. The initiative seeks to expand institutional access to RWAs in both the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Industry research cited by Inveniam suggests the RWA market could reach $18.9 trillion in value within a decade, with some estimates projecting as high as $30 trillion as traditional institutions increase participation [1].

Stable, a layer-1 blockchain network built around Tether’s USDt (USDT), has raised $28 million in a seed funding round to expand its infrastructure and accelerate global USDt adoption. The investment was led by Bitfinex, Hack VC, Franklin Templeton, Castle Island Ventures, Susquehanna Crypto, KuCoin Ventures, and angel investors. The project positions itself as a “stablechain,” emphasizing payment simplicity and instant transactions. The recent passage of the US GENIUS Act is seen as a key regulatory milestone supporting the growth of stablecoins in payment infrastructure [1].

Spiko, a French fintech firm, has raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Index Ventures, with participation from White Star Capital and Blockwall. The funding will support Spiko’s mission to expand access to tokenized money markets, particularly in Europe. The company has already processed over $900 million in working capital, with assets under management expected to exceed $1 billion by the end of the year [1].

Dakota, a stablecoin-powered business banking platform, has raised $12.5 million in a Series A round led by CoinFund. The company, founded by former Coinbase Custody CEO Ryan Bozarth, provides global banking services through digital dollars. With over 500 businesses already on its platform, Dakota aims to improve the speed and efficiency of cross-border transactions. The funding comes as global stablecoin market capitalization reaches $268 billion, with expectations of further growth driven by regulatory developments such as the GENIUS Act [1].

Jarsy, a digital investment platform, has raised $5 million in a pre-seed round led by Breyer Capital, with participation from Mysten Labs, MoonPay, and Anchorage Digital. The platform allows retail investors to access pre-IPO private equity markets via tokenized shares, with a minimum investment of $10. These tokenized opportunities are backed by real shares held in custody, and users can fund their investments with stablecoins like USDC [1].

BridgePort, an off-exchange settlement layer, has secured $3.2 million in seed funding led by Further Ventures, with participation from Virtu, XBTO, and Humla Ventures. The platform provides middleware to connect crypto exchanges, trading firms, and custodians, aiming to improve capital allocation and settlement efficiency. It is now live on Amazon Web Services and is actively expanding its network [1].

Source: [1] VC Roundup: Bitcoin DeFi surges, but tokenization and stablecoins gain steam (https://cointelegraph.com/news/july-vc-roundup-bitcoin-tokenization-stablecoins?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)

By The DeFi Investor

Compiled by Tim, PANews

2025 to date has been a very friendly year for DeFi.

Our regulatory environment has shifted from a hostile stance under Gary Gensler’s SEC to the crypto-friendly landscape we have today, and by almost every metric, DeFi adoption is increasing.

So I thought it was time to take a closer look at these seven charts on the state of DeFi.

The transaction volume from decentralized exchanges to centralized exchanges is reaching new highs

 Source: The Block

Although the progress is slow, the trend is clear: decentralized exchanges are continuously eroding the market share of centralized exchanges.

In June 2022, perpetual DEX held a mere 0.98% market share in the derivatives sector. Three years later, this figure had grown 11-fold.

Fluid is the fastest growing DEX

 Source: DeFiLlama

It is reported that less than a year after Fluid was launched, its daily trading volume once surpassed Uniswap, the leading DEX on Ethereum.

Fluid DEX V2 is about to launch, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Fluid ultimately wins the DEX war on Ethereum.

In terms of capital efficiency, V2 is expected to be much higher than V1.

Interest-earning stablecoins topped the capital inflow list for the first time

 Source: Artemis

Recently, Ethena’s stablecoin USDe surpassed the two major stablecoins USDT and USDC in two-week net inflow for the first time.

Why is this change so important?

USDT and USDC have long led the market in the stablecoin sector, but now crypto-native solutions are emerging to challenge their dominance.

My prediction is that Resolv, Ethena, and Falcon Finance will continue to grow exponentially in the coming months.

Spot Ethereum ETFs Perform Well, But Rally Is Slowing

 Source: Coinglass

After several weeks of continuously breaking the record high for daily inflows, the Ethereum spot ETF recently recorded the largest single-day outflow on record.

The reason may be that some traditional financial giants have already taken profits.

However, if we take a macro view, the past two months have been the best performance period for spot Ethereum ETFs to date.

DeFi is approaching AI’s mind share

 Source: Kaito

For over a year now, AI has been leading in mind share.

But this situation is changing. In the past few months, the attention paid to DeFi has more than tripled. At the same time, the attention paid to meme coins has dropped significantly.

Fundamentals become important again.

Projects with token buyback plans will outperform in 2025

 Source: Dexu AI

This marks the beginning of the market’s preference for tokens with solid fundamentals. Protocol subcategories that conducted token buybacks include Hyperliquid, PumpFun, Maple, EtherFi, Kaito, AAVE, and other projects.

Exchange BTC reserves continue to decline

 Source: Crypto Quant

Since February 2024 (shortly after the launch of the first Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States), exchange BTC reserves have continued to decline, a trend that is exactly the opposite of the previous bull market.

During this cycle, the inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs and the purchasing demand generated by crypto asset reserve companies had a huge positive impact on BTC prices.

To sum up, the above are all the data charts to be presented in this issue.

Binance NFT Marketplace continues to solidify its position as a key player in the digital asset space, offering a centralized platform for buying, selling, and minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform is fully integrated with the Binance ecosystem, enabling users to leverage their existing cryptocurrency accounts and holdings for seamless NFT transactions. It supports blockchains such as Ethereum and BNB Chain, with the latter offering notably low minting costs—often just a few cents—compared to higher fees on Ethereum [1].

The platform is praised for its user-friendly interface, robust security measures, and competitive fee structure, with a flat 1% fee on successful NFT sales, significantly lower than the industry average. These features, along with the availability of unique offerings such as “Mystery Boxes” and “Initial Game Offerings,” attract both collectors and creators [1].

Despite its strengths, the Binance NFT Marketplace is not without its limitations. As a centralized platform, it faces criticism from users who prefer decentralized alternatives, which are seen as more transparent and less susceptible to regulatory interference. Additionally, while the marketplace is growing in its collection offerings, it may not yet match the diversity of more established NFT platforms. The process for becoming an authorized NFT creator also involves strict permissions, which some may find restrictive [1].

Geographically, the Binance NFT Marketplace operates in over 100 countries, but it is restricted in certain regions, including the United States, where Binance has created a separate platform, Binance.US, which does not currently support NFTs. Users attempting to access the global marketplace from restricted countries may face account limitations or bans [1].

For those seeking to engage in NFT trading, the process is straightforward. After completing identity verification and funding the account with cryptocurrencies like BNB or ETH, users can browse, bid, or purchase NFTs through direct sales or auctions. The platform also allows users to list their own NFTs for sale with customizable pricing and royalty settings. Gas fees for minting and burning are minimal, especially on the BNB Chain [1].

Binance NFT Marketplace’s emphasis on security is another key factor in its appeal. It employs advanced security protocols such as two-factor authentication, real-time monitoring, and cold storage for user assets. Additionally, the platform’s Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) provides an added layer of protection in the event of a major security incident [1].

While some users may find the centralized structure of the platform a drawback, Binance’s strong compliance framework and large user base contribute to a high level of trust. The platform is also accessible on both desktop and mobile, ensuring a consistent and responsive experience across devices [1].

Source: [1] Binance NFT Marketplace Review (https://www.cryptoninjas.net/exchange/binance-nft-marketplace-review/)

Ethereum’s on-chain activity has surged to unprecedented levels, signaling a potential turning point in the cryptocurrency’s trajectory. Daily transactions hit a record high of 1.74 million on August 5, 2025, surpassing even the peak levels seen during the 2021 bull run [1]. This surge in transaction volume is part of a broader trend of rising on-chain engagement, with Ethereum processing a total of 46.67 million transactions in July alone [2]. Active addresses have also increased significantly, reaching 683,520, reflecting strong decentralized finance (DeFi) rotation and growing institutional deployment on-chain [2].

The surge in transaction volume is accompanied by a rise in network fees, which have reached $48.2 million—up 41% month-over-month [2]. These metrics underscore robust user participation and confidence in Ethereum’s ecosystem. Additionally, stablecoin supply on the Ethereum network has risen to $138 billion, a 7% increase in the past 30 days [2]. Adjusted transaction volume has climbed to $766 billion, reflecting a 30% increase in the same period [2].

Ethereum’s DeFi sector is also expanding rapidly. Total Value Locked (TVL) in Ethereum-based protocols has reached an all-time high of $187 billion, with major decentralized applications (dApps) like Lido, Aave, EigenLayer, and EtherFi experiencing over 50% growth in assets held over the past month [2]. This surge in DeFi activity aligns with broader Ethereum adoption, particularly with increasing institutional interest.

Institutional demand for Ethereum is evident through significant inflows into spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Cumulative inflows have exceeded $9.2 billion, with BlackRock’s ETHA ETF managing $10.8 billion in assets under management [2]. This trend indicates growing institutional adoption and confidence in Ethereum’s long-term potential. Corporate Ethereum holdings also saw a dramatic rise of 127.7% in July, reaching over 2.7 million ETH, now accounting for nearly half of all ETF-held ETH [1].

On the price front, Ethereum has shown notable momentum. ETH has rebounded nearly 8% this week, reclaiming over 80% of last week’s pullback after reaching a local high of $3,941 [1]. The price has surged 175% from its April low and is currently up 15% from this month’s trough [2]. On August 6, ETH was trading at $3,658, up 2.2% for the day but down 4.7% over the week [3]. The asset has since pushed above $3,840—the highest level since July 31 [2].

Technically, Ethereum is showing strength as the price remains above both the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages. It has also broken above the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level from its April low [2]. These indicators suggest continued upward momentum and raise the possibility of Ethereum testing its 2024 high of $4,100 [2].

Despite the positive on-chain and price action, not all indicators are uniformly bullish. Ethereum ETFs experienced a significant outflow of $465.06 million on August 4—the largest outflow since their launch last year [4]. This highlights a degree of caution among some investors, even as the broader on-chain fundamentals remain strong.

Ethereum currently trades at $3,826.38, with a 24-hour increase of 3.98% [5]. Analysts predict a possible short-term pullback to $3,747.22, though longer-term projections remain optimistic [5]. With momentum building and key metrics trending upwards, Ethereum appears to be entering a phase of sustained growth. The convergence of record-breaking transaction levels, institutional adoption, and expanding use cases in stablecoins and DeFi positions the network for further development.

Source:

[1] AMBCrypto, Ethereum transactions hit a record high: Is a new ATH in sight this August? https://ambcrypto.com/ethereum-transactions-hit-a-record-high-is-a-new-ath-in-sight-this-august/

[2] Crypto, Ethereum price eyes strong rebound as top metrics hits ATH https://crypto.news/ethereum-price-eyes-strong-rebound-as-top-metrics-hits-ath/

[3] Crypto, ETH holds $3.6K as Ethereum daily transactions near ATH https://crypto.news/eth-price-ethereum-transactions-all-time-high-2025/

[4] NewsBTC, Spot Ethereum ETFs Are Bleeding With Record Outflows https://www.newsbtc.com/news/ethereum/spot-ethereum-etfs-are-bleeding/

[5] Bitget, Ethereum (ETH) Price prediction https://www.bitget.com/price/ethereum/price-prediction

The Pi Network is quietly building momentum, bolstered by an infrastructure upgrade that could reshape its decentralized future.

Stellar’s upcoming core update, set to launch on September 3, introduces Web3-ready features that Pi Coin developers see as a major leap forward for the project’s utility.

At the center of this evolution is the Pi Node software, which is deeply integrated with Stellar Core. This connection plays a vital role in powering decentralized use cases such as .pi domain auctions and AI-driven dApps. With the upgrade, developers will have a stronger foundation to launch real-world applications, potentially enhancing the network’s long-term viability.

Fiat Onramp Goes Live Inside Pi Wallet

In another major step toward mainstream usability, Pi Network has integrated Onramper into its native wallet. This feature now enables users to purchase PI directly using fiat currencies such as USD or EUR, bypassing the need for third-party exchanges. The integration is facilitated through KYB-compliant providers like Onramp.money, Transfi, and Banxa, aiming to streamline access for Pi’s 70 million+ user base.

This move significantly lowers the entry barrier for newcomers, making it easier to acquire Pi without relying on centralized trading platforms. From an adoption standpoint, this is bullish – it encourages broader participation and could stabilize Pi’s economy by reducing reliance on volatile secondary markets.

Still, limitations remain. Regional restrictions and low liquidity on currently supported exchanges like Gate.io and OKX could mute the short-term price impact. But over time, this infrastructure could serve as a crucial bridge to real-world adoption and broader utility.

Trading at Historical Lows

Despite the technical buzz, Pi Coin is still hovering near its all-time low, currently priced at $0.3536. The asset has dropped 23.38% over the past month, reflecting ongoing market uncertainty and limited utility in its current phase. While some view this as a sign of weakness, others see it as a potential entry point for long-term upside if upcoming catalysts deliver results.

The 24-hour trading volume surged over 39% to $66.55 million. Its market cap stands at $2.75 billion, showing a 3% uptick in tandem with growing investor interest. Despite being down for the month, analysts are watching key resistance near $0.52. A decisive move above that level could open the door to targets between $0.75 and $1.00, according to crypto analyst Dr Altcoin.

As attention shifts from hype-based coins to utility-driven ecosystems, Pi’s integration with upgraded Stellar infrastructure could position it as a serious contender in the Web3 race – especially if developer activity and token utility continue to rise.

Author

Alex is an experienced financial journalist and cryptocurrency enthusiast. With over 8 years of experience covering the crypto, blockchain, and fintech industries, he is well-versed in the complex and ever-evolving world of digital assets. His insightful and thought-provoking articles provide readers with a clear picture of the latest developments and trends in the market. His approach allows him to break down complex ideas into accessible and in-depth content. Follow his publications to stay up to date with the most important trends and topics.

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