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15 hours ago
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Institutions Are Driving Ethereum's 'Comeback'
For a year, Ethereum, the second largest blockchain, has lived in the shadows of its competitors, as cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and solana jumped in price and dominated the conversation. Amid criticism from investors and some community members, ETH languished at levels below $1500 as recently as April. But on Monday ETH was near $3800, up 13% year-to-date, and analysts pointed to numerous signs of a turning point for the project. Some have pointed out that the momentum of the ecosystem has returned partially thanks to the explosion of stablecoins and tokenization on Ethereum. 'For institutions looking to get exposure, Ethereum is the primary on-chain option, leading in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization with $7.8 billion in tokenized assets, or nearly 60% of the total RWA market cap,' said Jake Koch-Gallup, a research analyst at Messari, to CoinDesk. As of the beginning of July 2025, Whales with addresses that hold between 1,000-10,000 in ETH have increased their holdings of the token, according to data from Glassnode. Collectively they hold about 14 million ETH units, up from roughly 12 million at the end of 2024. Vivek Raman, who founded Etherealize and spends his time speaking with institutions to market ETH as an asset class, believes that ETH should be seen like BTC as 'a store of value," comparing it to 'digital oil.' The layer-2 ecosystem, which are auxiliary blockchains atop of Ethereum used to transact for faster and cheaper, have appeared en masse over the past few years, and institutions have started to also build with them. JP Morgan recently announced they launched a proof-of-concept for tokenizing their deposits on Coinbase's Base chain, while Robinhood, the retail trading giant, shared its plans to build its own layer-2 with the Arbitrum stack. If it works, it could bring Ethereum's technology to an even broader mainstream audience and deepen its position as the backbone for a new generation of financial applications. Some believe layer-2 networks were taking away value from the Ethereum base layer and making user experience more disconnected, but Raman argues that institutions view them differently. According to Raman, the customizability of a layer-2 network is a plus for these institutions. 'You can be a landlord and get access to the liquidity of Ethereum,' said Raman in an interview. 'So the validation of the L2 ecosystem is now pretty undeniable.' Koch-Gallup, at Messari, believes that protocol changes that enhance the scaling of Ethereum as a base layer will position the network well for the future. 'A 100-1,000x throughput jump collapses gas fees, reopens the space for consumer-grade apps, and refutes the 'L2s are eating the L1' narrative,' he said. 'Concurrently, bigger blocks and more activity feed back into base-fee burn, tightening ETH's supply during periods of high demand.' Ethereum is also benefitting from the corporate treasury trend, with a growing number of companies adopting ETH as a strategic treasury asset. That is, not just for holding, but for staking to generate yield, signaling a shift from traditional treasury strategies, often limited to cash or bitcoin, to one that leverages Ethereum's staking rewards, programmability, and integration into DeFi and stablecoin ecosystems. SharpLink Gaming, a NASDAQ-listed sports betting firm, BitMine, and BitDigital, both crypto mining firms, have all shifted their crypto treasury strategies to this. 'SharpLink Gaming (SBET) saw its stock price [rise 412%] after announcing its ETH treasury strategy, showing there's a clear market appetite for publicly traded companies holding ETH on their balance sheets,' Koch-Gallup told CoinDesk. The company is chaired by Joseph Lubin, one of the founders of Ethereum. BitMine, which recently saw Wall Street personality Tom Lee join, also shared that it holds over 300,000 ETH in its treasury. 'Collectively, these trends suggest a deeper institutional re-rating of Ethereum, not just as infrastructure, but as a yield-bearing, balance-sheet-worthy asset and a directional bet on the future of on-chain finance,' Koch-Gallup said. Read more: The Node: Is Ether Back From the Dead?
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
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Asia Morning Briefing: U.S. BTC ETF Inflows Dwarf Hong Kong's as Local Investors Stick With Stocks
Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets: Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook from CoinShares continues to highlight the gap in investor enthusiasm between the U.S. and Hong Kong when it comes to bitcoin (BTC) ETFs and other listed digital asset products. Digital asset products in the U.S. generated $4.36 billion in inflows last week, accounting for nearly the entire global total of $4.39 billion, according to CoinShares. In Hong Kong, inflows into crypto ETFs totaled just $14.1 million (USD). The disparity comes despite strong demand for exchange-traded products in Hong Kong overall. From July 14 to 18, Hong Kong-listed ETFs saw approximately $880 (USD) million in net inflows, according to data from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. Most of this capital was invested in equity-focused funds that track local stocks and sector themes, with crypto accounting for only 1.6 percent of total ETF inflows. Even within the U.S., where equity ETFs saw net outflows of $11.75 billion and bond funds brought in $5.55 billion, crypto funds defied the trend by drawing in capital at record pace. The contrast highlights the increasing importance of crypto as a distinct asset class in American portfolios, whereas in Hong Kong, investors continue to view it as a niche asset class. However, a path may be forming that could shift the dynamic. At Consensus Hong Kong in February, Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology, suggested a potential regulatory route for mainland Chinese investors to gain exposure to crypto, without breaking mainland China's crypto ban. Speaking on stage, He pointed to the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) program, which already allows select mainland investors to purchase U.S.-listed ETFs using RMB. A similar structure, he argued, could be adapted to Hong Kong's spot bitcoin and ether ETFs. Under this model, mainland investors would not directly hold crypto, but would gain exposure through licensed intermediaries, mirroring how they currently trade Hong Kong or overseas equities. "If they have a system for you to buy and sell in RMB, but never move money outside China, then it's just another regulated investment product," He said. While capital controls remain the core barrier, the proposal reflects a changing tone in Beijing. "I see some signal from financial regulators," He said at the time. "They're beginning to talk about bitcoin, saying we need to pay more attention and do more research on digital assets." This would not amount to China unbanning crypto, but rather integrating it within an approved sandbox. Such a move could dramatically increase participation in Hong Kong's crypto ETFs, which have struggled to gain traction despite strong infrastructure and regulatory clarity. For now, though, U.S. dominance in crypto fund flows remains unchallenged. However, if Beijing were to permit crypto exposure through Hong Kong's ETFs, the flow dynamics in the region could look significantly different in the years ahead. Market Movements: BTC: Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading above $117,000, remaining locked in a tight range. ETH: Ethereum (ETH) surged near $3,800 on Monday, up 13% year-to-date, as analysts pointed to signs of a potential turnaround after months of underperformance. Gold: Gold rose 1.2% to $3,391.90 on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar and growing expectations of lower interest rates. Nikkei 225: Japanese stocks rose as markets reopened Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 up 1.12% to 40,254.18, as investors reacted to the ruling party's loss of its upper house majority in weekend elections. S&P 500: US stocks closed mixed Monday, but the Nasdaq and S&P 500 still hit fresh record highs. Elsewhere in Crypto: Robinhood CEO Acknowledges OpenAI Crypto Stock 'Controversy', But Is Doubling Down (Decrypt) Pudgy Penguins CEO predicts NFT mania, crypto gaming comeback (Blockworks) BitGo Files to Go Public as Crypto Market Surges Past $4 Trillion (CoinDesk)Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15 hours ago
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Solana Breaks $200 as Jito's BAM Draws Bullish Bets
Solana (SOL) surged past the $200 mark for the first time since March, as network player Jito introduced the Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM), a move that some observers said boosted investor interest in SOL. The token jumped nearly 9% in the past 24 hours, peaking at $203 before slight profit-taking. SOL's rally was backed by strong flows into derivatives, with the SOL CD20 product posting an 8.87% gain and volume nearly tripling to 4.87 million units, per CoinDesk Analytics. The breakout followed the announcement of BAM, a new high-performance block-building architecture developed by Jito Labs and the Jito Foundation. Scheduled to go live in the coming weeks, BAM introduces a dedicated layer for transaction sequencing, promising faster execution, minimized MEV, and programmable control over blockspace. 'Solana surged past an important price level at $200 after the announcement of the Block Assembly Marketplace, which would create a new system for transaction processing,' shared Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, in a note to CoinDesk. 'Investors were bullish as the development would greatly enhance the efficiency of Solana transactions with more privacy and flexibility across the network.''Traders believe that Solana has been oversold as developers continue to build on the blockchain despite the downfall of the memecoin market. We're optimistic that Solana can rise higher as an innovative hub with new opportunities for developers and traders,' Ruck added. At a technical level, BAM relies on a network of scheduler nodes using Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) to privately sequence transactions before they reach validators. This means the use of nodes that privately decide the order of transactions before they hit the main Solana network, helping avoid front-running and ensuring fairness. Additionally, BAM introduces a plugin system that allows developers to create custom rules for sorting transactions, whether that involves prioritizing specific types of trades, bundling orders, or charging for access. In short, blockspace becomes programmable, and anyone building on Solana can now earn money by shaping how that space is used. Meanwhile, strength in SOL stems from an increase in institutional inflows into SOL investment products hit $39 million, with pre-commitments to the proposed REX-Osprey SOL ETF now totaling over $73 million. Data from SoSoValue shows that 2.95 million SOL, worth approximately $531 million, have been accumulated by corporate wallets so far in July. SOL is now up more than 33% in July, outperforming both bitcoin and ether. And technical improvements, such as the rollout of BAM, may continue to boost tailwinds.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
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What Are Traders Saying as Solana Reclaims Spotlight? ETH, DOGE, ADA See Profit-Taking
Ether (ETH) extended its climb over the weekend, jumping past $3,770 as capital shifted from bitcoin (BTC) to major tokens. The move continues a trend that has defined July trading, with slow, steady gains for BTC alongside large breakouts across Layer 1s and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens. Bitcoin held firm above $117,400, gaining a little over 1% in the past 24 hours. XRP (XRP), BNB (BNB), dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano's ADA (ADA) showed mixed movements as traders took profits, while Solana's SOL (SOL) surged 8% to $203, its highest price level since late February. The strength in SOL came as ecosystem player Jito introduced the Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) in a move that some observers said boosted investor interest in SOL, as CoinDesk reported. DeFi bluechips like Uniswap and Aave have posted 20%–30% jumps in the past week. Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, attributed this to a mix of strong ETF inflows and optimism over the GENIUS Act, a legislative proposal expected to clarify the regulatory path for DeFi platforms. 'Investors are rotating into Ethereum en masse, which explains its sustained rally over the weekend. Bitcoin still remains strong at $117,000, but it's clear that momentum has shifted towards Ethereum - the Ethereum ETFs are seeing record inflows,' Mei said in a note to CoinDesk. 'This makes sense as Ethereum is still trading well below its all-time highs and traders believe it will close the gap in the coming months,' Mei added. At current prices, ETH is still nearly 25% below its record high from 2021, providing swing traders with a defined target to aim for. As bitcoin cools near its recent highs, some fund managers are already rotating capital into ether, betting that it's next in line for a breakout. Part of that optimism stems from the growing role of ETH in institutional portfolios, especially as U.S. spot ETFs see accelerating inflows. 'We expect that Ethereum will climb back higher against BTC due to institutional support of new reserve strategies while investors fear missing out on an ETH surge similar to Bitcoin's rush to $120,000 this year,' said Nassar Al Achkar, chief strategy officer at CoinW, in a Tuesday note. Meanwhile, some say that global markets are flashing early signs of a renewed inflationary cycle. Long-dated yields are holding firm at elevated levels across major economies, while inflation breakevens — a key measure of future price pressures — have quietly climbed back to multi-year highs. 'Inflation expectations have creeped back in with long-dated yields staying elevated globally, while inflation breakevens have climbed back to the highest level in years as financial conditions stay loose,' Augustine Fan, head of insights at SignalPlus, said in a Telegram message. 'Crypto has certainly not shied away from our own FOMO moment. It certainly feels like that the good days are back until further notice,' Fan in to access your portfolio
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a day ago
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Solana's SOL Tops $191 After $11M in Shorts Liquidated and Fund Inflows Hit $39M
Solana (SOL) extended its bullish streak Monday, climbing to $191.56 after a wave of short liquidations and fresh capital inflows into institutional funds. The price jumped 6.55% in the past 24 hours, per CoinDesk Data, supported by multiple on-chain and off-chain signals pointing to rising investor demand. According to Solana news source SolanaFloor, more than $11 million in short positions were liquidated as SOL surged through the $190 level. The largest single liquidation occurred at $188 and totaled $1.13 million, suggesting aggressive bearish positioning was caught off guard by the move upward. Momentum also appears to be supported by institutional participation. CoinShares' latest Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report, released Monday, showed Solana products attracted $39 million in inflows for the week ending July 19. Crypto trader DonAlt, posting Monday on X, said he still prefers Ethereum but acknowledged Solana's potential breakout setup, noting that 'if this resistance goes I think it'll not stop at prior ATH.' His chart suggested a bullish bias contingent on SOL maintaining momentum above current levels. Technical Analysis Highlights From July 20 09:00 UTC to July 21 08:00 UTC, SOL rose 5.01%, moving from $180.77 to $189.82, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis data. Trading range spanned $178.08 to $190.77, a 6.65% spread. Key support formed at $178.30 with strong buying at 22:00 UTC on July 20 as volume spiked to 2.27 million. Resistance at $183.20 was broken early July 21 with persistent volume above the 24H average (1.29M). In the final hour (July 21 07:09–08:08 UTC), SOL moved from $189.26 to $189.70, peaking at $190.77 at 07:48.V olume topped 65,000 during the 07:37–07:48 UTC rally, followed by light profit-taking into the close. Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
