Ether Keeps Outdrawing Bitcoin
Circle corners blockchain patents, Lido reworks ETH staking, and Coinbase chases token launches
These were the biggest stories in crypto and DeFi today:
- Ether ETFs pull $104M, tripling bitcoin's inflows
- Circle buys IBM's blockchain patent portfolio
- Lido overhauls ETH staking with bonded operators
- World extends proof-of-human to AI agents
- Coinbase opens a Launches tab for new tokens
- Lynq taps Nonco for 24/7 institutional stablecoin liquidity [Partner]
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.
The CLARITY Act's Make-or-Break Moment
The CLARITY Act's market-structure text is public and the clock to a Senate vote before the August recess is running. The Defiant team breaks down what's in the bill and whether the votes are there.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Other Stories Worth Your Time
Ondo Recasts Its Blockchain as the Ondo Network — CEO Ian De Bode said Ondo will fold its earlier chain into a new execution layer, the Ondo Network, that “isn't a blockchain today,” with Ondo Perps as the first app.
Phantom to End Monad Support on Aug. 26 — The wallet is dropping the EVM chain nine months after mainnet, a day after adding Robinhood Chain; MetaMask offered to cover migrating users' gas fees.
Magic Labs Sells Wallet Business to Kraken Parent Payward — The embedded-wallet pioneer offloaded its core product to Kraken's parent and is rebranding as Newton Labs to build an onchain transaction-authorization layer.
Storj Files Chapter 11, Floats Equity Path for Token Holders — The decentralized storage firm filed voluntary Chapter 11 to clear legacy liabilities and proposes letting STORJ holders take equity; the token fell about 18%.
Securitize Registers Capital Affiliate as SEC Investment Adviser — Securitize Capital became a registered investment adviser with the SEC, adding an advisory license three weeks after the tokenization firm's NYSE debut.
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