Ethereum Breaks Free

GM Anon!

What a week — Powell cracked the door open for rate cuts at Jackson Hole, and markets went risk-on. ETH ripped to new all-time highs, backed by positive ETF flows and mega-whale accumulation, while BNB joined the party with fresh records of its own. Even as BTC faced outflows, it still tested new highs, showing the bid for crypto is alive and well. Momentum is building — the tide is clearly shifting in crypto’s favor.

TLDR

• Powell’s Jackson Hole remarks fueled a risk rally; markets priced in September rate-cut odds.

• ETH hit a fresh ATH, with ETFs, treasuries, and whale accumulation driving flows.

• BNB hits ATH.

• BTC tested new highs but faced five straight days of ETF outflows.

• Institutions ramped ETH exposure: BMNR $2B, Sharplink 12K ETH, BTCS “Bividend” in ETH.

• BTC treasuries expanded: KindlyMD $200M, Amdax treasury, Metaplanet multibillion raise.

• XRP rallied after its SEC win, pairing it with a $200M Rail acquisition.

• Speculative plays swung wildly: TROLL & LIGHT ATHs, YZY pump-and-dump, Plasma 10x, OKB 6x post-burn.

• Regulators advanced: SEC “Project Crypto,” CFTC “Crypto Sprint,” EU euro stablecoins, Wyoming stablecoin, Japan SBI ETFs.

• Corporates stayed active: Bullish $1.15B IPO via stables, SoFi Lightning, Animoca RWA marketplace, Circle profit +53%, Robinhood SUI launch.

Market Update

Markets ended the week on a high note after Jerome Powell signaled at Jackson Hole that the “balance of risks” has shifted, opening the door to September rate cuts. Equities surged, with tech megacaps leading the charge, and crypto followed with a broad rally. ETH hit fresh all-time highs, and BNB printed new records intraday. The total crypto market cap pushed higher in tandem with stocks, marking another sign of tightening correlation.

Institutional inflows have been relentless, with Sharplink adding another 12K ETH, BMNR flipping MARA to become the second-largest DAT, and BTCS paying out a one-time “Bividend” in ETH. BMNR, Galaxy Digital, and other treasuries have accelerated accumulation, while JP Morgan called for “meteoric growth” and Arthur Hayes projected ETH could reach $20K this cycle. 

On-chain, treasuries now exceed $10B, daily transactions are near record levels, and Ethereum ETFs are firmly outpacing BTC products. Network development also pressed forward, with DBS announcing tokenized notes on Ethereum and Circle acquiring consensus engine Malachite.

BTC’s performance was steadier, held back by five consecutive days of ETF outflows even as it recently tested fresh highs. Institutional allocations continued nonetheless: KindlyMD raised $200M in debt to buy BTC, Dutch firm Amdax confirmed a new BTC treasury, and Metaplanet prepared for a multibillion-dollar equity raise. 

Meme coins were more mixed: TROLL and LIGHT both hit new ATHs, Heaven captured nearly half of PumpFun’s daily revenue, while PUMP slipped despite surpassing $800M lifetime revenue. Kanye West’s YZY token spiked to a multibillion-dollar valuation before crashing, leaving most wallets in the red, and Plasma exploded 10x from presale to a $5B FDV. OKB extended its rally after another burn, now up more than sixfold this year.

Industry and regulatory headlines painted a picture of accelerating adoption. The SEC launched “Project Crypto” and delayed rulings on Truth Social’s ETF filings, while the CFTC unveiled its “Crypto Sprint Initiative” and signaled openness to futures exchanges. The EU accelerated euro stablecoin timelines, China tested yuan-backed stablecoins while cracking down again on domestic trading, and Japan’s SBI pushed deeper into tokenized stock trading. Wyoming became the first U.S. state to launch a stablecoin, while UBS reported Chinese family offices are now allocating around 5% to crypto.

Corporate activity in crypto stayed red-hot this week. Bullish made waves by closing a $1.15B IPO entirely in stablecoins, while SoFi confirmed integration with the Bitcoin Lightning Network and Gemini secured a Ripple-backed credit line ahead of its own IPO plans. On the venture side, Chamath launched a crypto-focused SPAC, Scaramucci revealed plans to bring tokenized RWAs to Avalanche, and Trump-linked Thumzup said it will dive into DOGE mining. Meanwhile, Google increased its stake in TeraWulf to 14%, MetaMask rolled out its mUSD stablecoin, and Robinhood expanded its offering with support for SUI trading.

Overall, ETH’s new all-time high defined the week, but the broader picture showed a market in full structural acceleration — ETFs, treasuries, tokenization, and stablecoins are converging into mainstream finance, even as short-term volatility from PPI and ETF outflows keeps traders on edge. With majors testing new levels and altcoins swinging wildly, the stage is set for another decisive move as macro and institutional flows collide.

Market Data Points

Interestingly, ICP has flown under the radar this cycle, but real-time data shows it quietly leading the pack in throughput with over 1,080 TPS, ahead of Solana and the rest of the field. While it hasn’t been a dominant narrative in 2025, the numbers suggest developments are moving forward and capacity is scaling. If sentiment rotates, ICP could quickly step back into the conversation.

Pumpfun has re-entered the top 10 fee-generating protocols, highlighting renewed activity around its launchpad model. At the same time, Uniswap has climbed back into the leaderboard after being out of the top 10 for a stretch, pulling in strong daily revenues that reaffirm its dominance as DeFi’s liquidity hub. Meanwhile, Jupiter, Hyperliquid, and Aave continue to post steady fee flows, keeping the derivatives and lending sectors firmly in the mix.

The cumulative ETF flows chart highlights just how dominant BTC and ETH have become in institutional portfolios. BTC leads with roughly $55B in net inflows, driving its ETF AUM past $118B, while Ethereum has quietly built up close to $12B in inflows, bringing its AUM to nearly $20B. 

The divergence highlights BTC’s role as the primary institutional anchor, but ETH’s steady climb shows it’s emerging as the clear number two — giving institutions both a “digital gold” and a “tech growth” asset to allocate into.

Global liquidity keeps trending higher. The combined M2 money supply of the four major central banks (Fed, ECB, BOJ, PBOC) has expanded relentlessly, now pushing toward $100T. While the YoY growth rate (red line) has swung with tightening cycles, the structural trend (green and gold bars) shows that liquidity only moves one way long term — up. For risk assets like crypto, this backdrop reinforces why global M2 remains the ultimate “master variable” to track.

BTC reserves on exchanges have been falling without pause, dropping to levels never seen before. This isn’t just random movement — it reflects a structural shift in the market. Spot ETFs have been steadily absorbing supply, while long-term holders continue to accumulate and move coins into cold storage. 

With fewer BTC sitting on exchanges, the liquid supply is drying up. That combination of institutional demand via ETFs and relentless long-term holder accumulation is creating one of the tightest supply conditions BTC has ever faced, setting the stage for outsized price moves.

Majors & Memes

Last week belonged to BTC, which briefly hit fresh all-time highs before a hot PPI print knocked it back into range. This week the baton passed to BNB and ETH. BNB ripped into record territory above $890 midweek, while ETH stole the spotlight yesterday, breaking into new highs off the back of Powell’s Jackson Hole comments and surging ETF inflows. Both moves reinforced the rotation into majors even as volatility stayed high.

SOL spiked above $200 but couldn’t hold into the weekend. ADA outperformed with a clean +20% rally, while DOGE and TRX posted smaller gains. XRP and XLM lagged, slipping as profit-taking hit payment plays.

Away from the top caps, rotation favored DeFi and exchange-linked tokens. OKB was the standout, nearly doubling on the week and now up more than 6x this year. ARB added +23% as L2 flows returned, while AAVE and LINK each climbed around +20% as liquidity rotated back into DeFi. AVAX, OP, and staking names like LDO and JITOSOL also found steady bids.

On the losing side, smaller caps bore the brunt. QUBIC, KTA, and SKY all dropped double digits, with REKT, PLUME, and DOG also bleeding lower. Even recent meme favorites like HYPE slipped around 6% as speculative flows cooled.

Big picture: BTC’s highs last week set the stage, and this week BNB and ETH confirmed majors are still driving the cycle. After the PPI shakeout and Powell’s Jackson Hole boost, the market feels like it’s pausing—gearing up for the next decisive move.

Mindshare

ETH dominated attention this past week with 9.91% share, even as it slipped -4.62%. The decline came before its rally on rate-cut expectations, and with ETH now sitting at fresh all-time highs, the next update is likely to show renewed upside momentum. BTC (6.74%, -0.93%) and SOL (5.07%, -0.08%) stayed steady, keeping their weight but without sparking major moves.

Beyond the majors, flows were more selective. LINK, HYPER, and MONAD edged higher, while meme names like TROLL, PEPE, and FART faded. Overall, positioning still revolves around ETH — with BTC and SOL consolidating while infra and memes track the next signal from ETH.

Mindshare across the meme sector over the past week has been dominated by LIGHT, which held the top spot throughout and steadily widened its lead. Its sustained visibility lines up with what we’ve seen in the accumulation section of this letter — smart money has been rotating into higher-beta plays, and LIGHT’s consistency suggests it’s becoming a core narrative anchor.

Just below, SPARK and TROLL battled for share, each maintaining meaningful slices of attention through the week. Both tokens also showed up in smart money activity, with accumulation climbing, reinforcing that flows and narrative momentum are aligning here. SPARK in particular benefited from rotation, gaining ground after midweek softness and finishing strong.

Other names like Block, Tokabu, and URANUS remained visible but with choppier profiles. Tokabu, for example, carried weight in attention yet saw trimming in smart money positioning, highlighting a divergence between visibility and actual conviction. On the flip side, CLIPPY and Ani had smaller but consistent mindshare, echoing their place in wallet data as emerging, higher-risk bets.

Overall, the past week indicates a meme market that is consolidating around a few leaders (LIGHT, SPARK, TROLL) while leaving room for tactical flows into secondary plays. Where attention and accumulation overlap, conviction is building; where they diverge, it suggests traders are watching but waiting for a catalyst before committing further.

Smart Money Accumulation

Smart money activity across the Solana ecosystem over the past week indicates that risk is firmly back on, with wallet behaviour showing a decisive tilt toward higher-beta plays.

SPARK was the standout, held across 22 wallets with accumulation rising +118.89% to about $2.28M in value. CLIPPY followed with the sharpest gain of the week, up +168.6% across 9 wallets, now worth $575.65K. LIGHT also saw strong inflows, climbing +59.84% to $1.29M across 9 wallets, while CLANKER rose +31.31% to $1.54M across 8 wallets.

Mid-tier names posted meaningful additions as well. dollo advanced +21.19% to $535.35K across 8 wallets, memecoin gained +16.73% to $216.99K across 7 wallets, and TRENCHER edged higher +2.06% to $352.37K across 7 wallets, showing steady support.

At the same time, some long-held favourites were trimmed. Tokabu fell -8.16% but still sits in 12 wallets with a sizeable $2.18M balance, URANUS dropped -18.44% across 7 wallets to $826.57K, and LAUNCHCOIN was cut -5.78% across 8 wallets to $305.16K.

The data indicates a clear risk-on shift with multiple tokens recording double- and triple-digit accumulation gains, smart money is positioning aggressively for Solana-led momentum in the weeks ahead.

Smart money positioning across the EVM ecosystem over the past week indicates selective accumulation rather than broad rotation, with activity picking up momentum as ETH hit fresh all-time highs. Compared to Solana, flows have been less aggressive, but signs are clear that things are starting to heat up.

CULT led in wallet count, now spread across 11 wallets with holdings climbing +14.37% to about $796.40K. SHRUB posted one of the sharpest increases, up +75.03% across 8 wallets to $184.70K, while Mog rose +32.81% across 7 wallets to $405.04K. SBET also grew +20.22% across 7 wallets, reaching $208.52K.

Among mid-tier plays, AP gained +17.94% to $186.01K across 6 wallets, and MOONKIN jumped +42.31% to $85.61K across 5 wallets, showing that appetite for higher-beta names is returning. TRWA held steady with a modest +1.92% increase but remains the largest balance at $1.33M, acting as a more defensive anchor.

The standout move came from BITCOIN, which surged +158.6% across 5 wallets to $698.54K, underlining a strong rotation into proxy plays as the market leans risk-on. Meanwhile, PEPE slipped slightly (-0.67% across 6 wallets) but still dominates with $29.32M in total holdings — its role as a cornerstone smart money position remains intact.

In summary, with ETH breaking into new highs, EVM smart money is starting to lean in. It hasn’t been as aggressive as Solana’s recent rotation, but the shift is clear — steady conviction remains in majors like PEPE ($29.32M across 6 wallets), while sharper moves into names like BITCOIN (+158.6% to $698.54K) and Mog (+32.81% to $405.04K) suggest traders are widening their bets.

That wraps up this post—we hope you found the insights valuable. See you next week, anon! 🚀