This report provides a comprehensive overview of the cryptocurrency market, highlighting significant developments, investment trends, and on-chain data from key sectors like DeFi, RWA, and LSD.
Major Industry Developments
Regulatory Updates
Singapore has established a regulatory framework for stablecoins. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) finalized rules for single-currency stablecoins (SCS) pegged to the Singapore dollar or any G10 currency, aiming to foster innovation while ensuring value stability.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee, emphasized the region's commitment to Web3 development. The government is actively exploring regulatory arrangements for stablecoins and considering the development of a dedicated public blockchain for Hong Kong.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs announced a new organizational category for "virtual currency businesses." This allows industry participants to form guilds, promoting compliance and self-regulation.
In Europe, Jacobi Asset Management launched the first spot Bitcoin ETF, Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF (BCOIN), on Euronext Amsterdam. Meanwhile, the U.S. SEC is poised to approve the first Ethereum futures ETFs, with multiple firms like Volatility Shares and ProShares awaiting green lights.
Coinbase received regulatory approval from the NFA to operate as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), offering federally regulated crypto futures trading to eligible U.S. customers.
The ongoing Ripple case saw a New York court judge approve the SEC's request for an interlocutory appeal, with further submissions expected by early September.
Project Updates
OpenSea announced a shift to optional creator fees, effective August 31, 2023, aligning with decentralized ecosystem principles.
Archblock, developer of TrueUSD, launched a tokenized U.S. Treasury Bill fund, providing non-U.S. USDC holders access to short-term Treasury investments.
Immutable zkEVM testnet went live, built on Polygon Supernets, allowing seamless migration of existing smart contracts and Solidity code.
Sei airdrop claims opened, requiring users to update Compass wallets to version 0.7.9. Shiba Inu launched its L2 solution, Shibarium, focusing on metaverse and gaming applications.
Unibot introduced a unified trading terminal, Unibot X, with plans for loyalty programs and security upgrades. Conversely, crypto exchange Txbit announced its closure scheduled for September 14.
EigenLayer increased its LST restaking caps for stETH, rETH, and cbETH on August 22, allowing more users to participate until new milestones are hit.
Friend.tech, a decentralized social platform on Base, rapidly gained traction, surpassing the combined unique buyer count of OpenSea, Blur, and LooksRare in its first week.
PayPal updated its terms to include a "cryptocurrency hub," enabling buying and selling of crypto for specific users.
Ethereum developers discussed Devnet 8 progress, EIP-4788, and the new Holesky testnet in the latest ACDE meeting.
SpaceX reportedly sold Bitcoin worth $373 million acquired in 2021-2022, though the exact timing remains unclear.
Investment and Funding Roundup
DeFi Sector
TonUP, a launchpad on The Open Network (TON), received a six-figure investment from TONcoin.Fund to foster project development within the TON ecosystem.
TRON DAO Ventures invested $2 million in CRV tokens, paving the way for Curve's deployment on TRON and BTTC networks.
Ellipsis Labs, a Solana DEX developer, raised $3.3 million in a seed round led by Electric Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures and angel investors.
Web3 Innovations
Port3 Network, a decentralized social data layer, secured millions in funding from EMURGO, Adaverse, and Gate Labs, following an earlier round led by Jump Crypto and KuCoin Ventures. Total funding reached $10 million, with additional grants from Binance Labs and others.
Web3 security firm Aegis completed a seed round with Generative Ventures, Northern Light Venture Capital, and Vision Plus Capital participating. The company aims to build a low-threshold security platform for end-users.
Jada AI, a blockchain-AI project, raised $25 million from LDA Capital to expand its development team and organizational structure.
NFT and Gaming
MasterExchange, a music royalty investment market, raised $2.7 million from Vectr Fintech and others. Its first Initial Music Offering (IMO) sold out, with more planned for autumn.
ZepetoX, a 3D metaverse platform, secured $13 million in seed funding led by Jump Crypto. The platform, a collaboration between Naver's Zepeto and Jump Crypto, will feature NFT land sales soon.
Asset Management
Crypto payment firm CityPay raised over €2 million in seed funding, including $500,000 in crypto from Tether and Presto Ventures, to expand its market presence.
Infrastructure
ZetaChain, an omnichain interoperable Layer 1, raised $27 million in equity funding from Blockchain.com, Jane Street Capital, and others.
Dinari, a blockchain-based securities investment platform, raised $7.5 million from SPEILLLP and 500 Global. Its dShare platform offers stock trading on Arbitrum, excluding U.S. users due to regulatory constraints.
Shuttle Labs, developer of AI-powered blockchain analytics platform Lore Explorer, raised $2.3 million from SALT.org, Arca, and angel investors to enhance its EVM-compatible analysis tools.
Key Sector Data Analysis
Real World Assets (RWA)
The total value locked (TVL) in RWA protocols reached $1.247 billion, ranking 9th among sectors on DefiLlama. The space includes 23 protocols, with U.S. Treasury tokenization dominating at $640 million and average yields above 5%. Franklin Templeton Benji Investments on Stellar leads with a $294 million market cap and a 5.19% yield.
MakerDAO saw significant growth in DSR deposits, with Dai holdings increasing to 1.47 billion. The DSR rate of 8% attracted substantial inflows, now accounting for 26.9% of total Dai. EOA holders represent 56% of Dai distribution, while Spark Protocol's TVL surged to $629 million, partly driven by potential retroactive airdrops. RWA contributions now make up 58% of MakerDAO's revenue.
Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSD)
ETH staking on the beacon chain reached 25.69 million ETH, representing 21.6% of total supply, with over 800,000 nodes. The staking yield stands at approximately 4.14%.
Among major protocols, Lido's ETH staking increased by 1.59%, Rocket Pool by 0.98%, and Frax by 1.93% weekly. However, their native tokens—LDO, RPL, and FXS—fell by 10.37%, 8.67%, and 9.15%, respectively.
Lido Finance granted funding to Nil Foundation for developing a zkOracle to enhance accounting report integrity. Frax Finance community approved using $1 million FRAX from its treasury to purchase and stake CRV, boosting its Curve ecosystem influence. Coinbase Ventures made a strategic investment in Rocket Pool by acquiring RPL tokens.
Ethereum Layer 2 Solutions
Layer 2 TVL decreased by 5.93% to $9.92 billion, primarily due to declining ETH prices. Arbitrum remains dominant with a 56.34% share. Base, Coinbase's L2, grew 16.03% to $228 million TVL, now ranking fifth after dYdX. StarkNet's TVL dropped nearly 40% due to OKX integration testing, according to team explanations.
opBNB mainnet opened to infrastructure providers, moving closer to public launch.
Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)
The total DEX TVL stands at $12.2 billion. Uniswap leads, followed by Curve, PancakeSwap, Balancer, SUN, and Sushi. TVL declines were observed across the board due to market conditions.
DEX trading volume accounted for just 4% of total global crypto exchange volume ($325 billion). Uniswap, Curve, THORWallet DEX, and PancakeSwap were top performers by volume.
Decentralized Derivatives Exchanges
Derivatives DEX TVL declined due to falling token prices and reduced trading activity. GMX leads in TVL, followed by dYdX, Gains Network, NUX Protocol, and ApolloX.
dYdX recorded the highest trading volume at $320 million in 24 hours, with GMX at $270 million.
Upcoming Token Unlocks
Several projects face significant token unlocks, potentially impacting market dynamics. Avalanche (AVAX) has the largest unlock value exceeding $100 million. Yield Guild Games (YGG) will unlock tokens equivalent to 7.04% of its circulating supply, warranting investor attention.
👉 Track real-time unlock schedules and market data
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization?
RWA tokenization involves converting physical assets like Treasury bills or real estate into digital tokens on a blockchain. This enables fractional ownership, enhances liquidity, and provides access to traditionally illiquid markets, often offering yields based on the underlying asset's performance.
How does liquid staking work?
Liquid staking allows users to stake their cryptocurrencies (e.g., ETH) and receive a derivative token (e.g., stETH) in return. This derivative represents the staked asset and its rewards, which can be used in other DeFi protocols while earning staking yields, maintaining liquidity without locking assets.
What are the benefits of Layer 2 solutions?
Layer 2 solutions scale Ethereum by processing transactions off-chain or through optimized systems, reducing fees and increasing throughput. They maintain security by settling finality on the mainnet, enabling faster and cheaper transactions for users and developers.
Why did StarkNet's TVL drop significantly?
The sharp decline in StarkNet's TVL was attributed to OKX conducting integration tests, involving large deposits and withdrawals. Such movements are often temporary and related to exchange operations rather than fundamental protocol issues.
How do token unlocks affect market prices?
Token unlocks increase the circulating supply, potentially leading to selling pressure if holders decide to liquidate. Large unlocks, especially those representing a significant percentage of circulating supply, can impact price volatility and market sentiment.
What is the significance of Ethereum futures ETF approval?
ETF approval simplifies institutional and retail access to Ethereum exposure without direct asset custody. It enhances legitimacy, attracts traditional capital, and may increase market liquidity, though futures-based ETFs differ from spot ETFs in structure and exposure.