Ether Keeps Outdrawing Bitcoin

These were the biggest stories in crypto and DeFi today:

Spot ether ETFs pulled in $104 million last week, roughly triple what bitcoin funds managed.

The split traces to BlackRock: its ether fund ETHA absorbed $96.3 million over five sessions while IBIT, the largest crypto ETF, bled $95.5 million, including back-to-back withdrawals north of $200 million on Thursday and Friday. It's the second straight week ether products out-raised bitcoin's, and bitcoin's weekly haul has now dropped 55% week-over-week even as ether's held flat.

The rotation is happening while prices mark time. ETH trades around $1,940, still 61% below its 2025 high, and bitcoin sits near $64,800. Corporate treasuries lean the same way — BitMine Immersion added 104,512 ETH in 30 days and now holds 5.78 million, about 4.8% of supply. Whether allocators keep picking ether once bitcoin's outflows steady is what the next few weekly prints decide.

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MARKETS

Ether ETFs Pull $104M, Tripling Bitcoin's Weekly Inflows

Spot ether funds took in $103.8 million in the week ended July 24, against $33.9 million for bitcoin, per Farside Investors data. BlackRock drove the gap: ETHA added $96.3 million while IBIT posted a $95.5 million net outflow. Bitcoin funds actually started the week stronger, pulling $226.8 million on Monday, before flows reversed hard into the weekend. Fidelity's FETH was the category's lone ether outflow.

	TICKER	VALUE	24H
	Ether ETFs Pull $104M, Tripling Bitcoin's Weekly Inflows BlackRock's ETHA absorbed $96M while its bitcoin fund IBIT bled $95M — the second straight week ether products out-drew bitcoin's. thedefiant.io

Why this matters: The marginal institutional dollar is picking ether over bitcoin for a second straight week, and the swing is showing up first inside the BlackRock wrappers.

TRADFI

Circle Buys IBM Blockchain Patent Portfolio

Circle acquired the core of IBM's blockchain patent portfolio — more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide — making it, by its own account, the top blockchain patent holder in the US. Terms weren't disclosed. General counsel Sarah Wilson said the IP backs USDC, the Circle Payments Network, and Arc, the enterprise chain Circle is building. The two plan to explore further commercial deals.

Why this matters: Patents are a moat. Circle is fencing off foundational blockchain IP just as stablecoin rivals and bank entrants crowd into its lane.

BLOCKCHAINS

Lido Unveils Curated Module v2 in Ethereum Staking Overhaul

Lido launched Curated Module v2, its biggest change since 2023, requiring its 34 professional node operators to post slashable bonds in ETH or stETH for the first time. The upgrade migrates more than 8 million staked ETH onto Ethereum's high-balance validators, which Lido expects will cut the network's validator count from about 880,000 to 628,000 — a third — and trim attestation load 29% per epoch. Migration runs for months.

Why this matters: Reputation alone secured Lido's operators for five years. Real capital at risk, plus far fewer validators, changes both accountability and the load on Ethereum's consensus layer.

INFRASTRUCTURE

World Enters 'Phase 3,' Extends Proof of Human to AI Agents

World, Sam Altman's iris-scanning identity project, said it entered “Phase 3”, winding down WLD token rewards and selling proof-of-human verification to apps, enterprises, and AI agents. It has issued 18 million human credentials and logged 450 million World ID uses. Its AgentKit lets agents act for verified humans and request human approval for sensitive actions; World is working with Okta, Vercel, Shopify, and Coinbase on integrations.

Why this matters: Bot and agent traffic is exploding, and “prove you're human” is becoming a paid service. World is betting agents will need to borrow a verified person's identity.

DEFI

Coinbase Opens 'Launches' Tab for New Base, Solana Tokens

Coinbase turned on a “Launches” tab that lets users trade Base and Solana tokens the moment they go live onchain. The tab sits inside its built-in DEX, which routes to onchain liquidity, so tokens trade without a formal exchange listing. It needs a self-custody wallet and isn't available everywhere, and Coinbase hasn't published a screening bar beyond “sufficient liquidity.” It follows the November acquisition of Solana trading app Vector, built by the team behind NFT marketplace Tensor.

Why this matters: This puts the biggest US exchange head-to-head with dedicated memecoin launchpads, chasing the earliest and riskiest flow the moment tokens hit the market.