Wall Street, Not Degens, Drives the ETH Pump
gm, Defiers!
Today’s big story:
- ETH is pumping because institutions are finally here — thanks to ETFs
In other news:
- U.S. House votes to bring three crypto bills to final vote during Crypto Week
- Citigroup’s CEO says the banking giant is considering launching a stablecoin
- Liquid staking platform Kinetiq joins top HyperEVM protocols on first day
- Coinbase and L2 Base announce rebrands, block time upgrades, and push toward super app status
- The Stellar development roadmap paves way for expansion and network scalability [SPONSORED]
- Investment policy statements: Ending misalignment and empowering long-term vision in decentralized organizations [SPONSORED]
- DIA's Infra Gardens Event Recap: Building the Future of Crypto & DeFi [MEDIA PARTNERSHIP]
Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.
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📈 Markets in the last 24 hrs:
| TICKER | VALUE | 24H | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bitcoin | $117,785 | -0.59 % |
 | Ethereum | $3,400.28 | 7.07 % |
 | XRP | $3.2 | 7.27 % |
 | BNB | $716.09 | 3.59 % |
 | Solana | $174.4 | 4.78 % |
 MessariPortals | MINDSHARE Rank | MINDSHARE % Change (7d) |
|---|---|---|
 | MINDSHARE Rank | MINDSHARE % Change (7d) |
 |  | -6.33% |
 | | -48.11% |
 | | -54.64% |
| Powered by Messari Portals | ||
Today’s Big Story
ETH Is Mooning — But It’s Wall Street, Not Degens, Lifting It
Ethereum is rallying, but not because the second-largest cryptocurrency is suddenly hosting a viral new dApp or memecoin. The truth is a little more TradFi: ETH is pumping because institutions are finally here — thanks to ETFs.
The price of ETH has surged more than 20% in the past week, crossing $3,400 for the first time since January. The rally is being driven by capital inflows from BlackRock, Fidelity, and the rest of the Wall Street set that only felt comfortable touching ETH once it came in a regulated wrapper.
On July 16, U.S.-listed spot Ethereum ETFs had their biggest day of inflows yet, taking in over $726 million worth of ETH, or more than 200,000 coins, according to data from SoSoValue. That’s over 100 times more than the Ethereum network issued that day, figures from Ultrasound Money show.
But what’s happening under the hood? The picture is mixed. Monthly transactions are at the highest since 2021, and stablecoin supply is at a record, according to Artemis data. Activity is healthy for sure, but not commensurate with the ETH rally. Daily active addresses are still near December levels, TVL is lower than it was then, DEX volumes are sluggish. Fees and revenue are slumping.
Ethereum TVL and DEX volumes over the past year
It’s clear this is an institution-led rally. The trend was just underscored today in a big way: BlackRock filed an amendment to allow staking in its spot ETH ETF. That means BlackRock is looking to earn yield on the ETH it holds for its ETF clients by participating in Ethereum’s validator network.
Institutions are looking to commit capital long-term and integrate with the underlying infrastructure of Ethereum itself. They are buying the Ethereum value proposition as yield-bearing digital infrastructure.
The theory was that Ethereum Layer 1 activity would be able to burn more ETH than what’s being issued. But what’s happening now is that BlackRock and Fidelity buying up that ETH is having a similar “Ultrasound Money” effect.
It’s a reversal from previous cycles, when price followed user growth and fee revenue. Think CryptoKitties, ICOs, DeFi Summer, NFTs. It started with a viral use case, which drove a rally, which fed headlines, and then hype. With ETFs, ETH is acting more like a macro asset, its price dictated by institutional investor flows rather than smart contract experimentation.
But people respond to headlines. And this latest ETF-fueled rally is now creating the kind of narrative that could revive retail attention.
For now though, it’s clear that, for the first time ever, this ETH pump is powered by suits, not SushiSwaps.
With love,
Cami, founder of The Defiant
🎬WATCH
Euler’s Comeback: From Devastating Hack to Top-10 DeFi Protocol
On the latest episode of The Defiant Podcast, The Defiant founder Cami Russo sat down with Michael Bentley, co-founder and CEO of Euler Labs, to explore one of the most remarkable comeback stories in DeFi history.
From a devastating $200M exploit in 2023 to surpassing $1B in outstanding loans, Euler Labs has redefined resilience and innovation in the crypto space. We also dive into the evolution of Euler Labs, the launch of V2, and their groundbreaking innovations in DeFi lending, borrowing, and stablecoins.
Top News in Web3
- House Advances Crypto Bills After Record Nine-Hour Vote After nearly 10 hours of negotiations, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to bring the three Crypto Week bills to a final vote. House leadership said it plans to vote on the stablecoin-focused bill, the GENIUS Act, as soon as today.
- Citigroup Explores Launching ‘Citi Stablecoin’ on Earnings Call On a Q2 earnings call, Citigroup’s CEO said the banking giant is looking into launching a “Citi stablecoin,” joining other major financial institutions embracing stablecoins and crypto services as regulations ease and market demand grows. The CEO cited the crypto-friendly regulatory shift in the U.S. under the Trump administration, especially regarding banks.
- Kinetiq Becomes Top HyperEVM DeFi Protocol on Opening Day Liquid staking DeFi protocol Kinetiq launched on Tuesday and saw its total value locked surge above $460 million within the first 24 hours of operations. Kinetiq’s TVL made it the second-largest protocol based on DEX Hyperliquid's Layer 1, Hyper EVM.
- Coinbase Races into Super App Space with Base App and Speedy Transactions Coinbase is chasing super app status, rebranding its non-custodial wallet, Coinbase Wallet, to Base app — and merging wallet, trading, payments and messaging into one on‑chain app. Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2, Base, also rebranded — now Base Chain — and added an optional new feature for faster block times.
Trending on The Defiant
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- Chinese Brokerage Giant Warns Tether ‘Will Inevitably Be Eroded’ by Compliant Stablecoins
- Texas, Utah, and Arizona Lead in Blockchain Policy, Chainlink Scorecard Shows
- Solana RWA Growth Outpaces Ethereum in 2025
- Hyperliquid’s PUMP Spot Volumes Flip Top CEXs
- TAC Token Rallies 50% as Mainnet Launches to Bring DeFi Back to Telegram
That’s it for today — if you enjoyed this newsletter, tell your friends! https://thedefiant.io/subscribe
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