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Ethereum shattered its previous all-time high from 2021, soaring to approximately $4,945.60 on August 24, with its market capitalization approaching $600 billion, driven by institutional interest, ETFs, and treasury acquisitions. Analysts highlighted its superior programmability and bullish sentiment as core drivers behind the rally.

Bitcoin pulled back this week, dropping nearly 8% to hover just above $113,000, raising caution amid growing concerns around “Bitcoin fatigue.” However, a dovish-toned speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell—hinting at forthcoming rate cuts—rekindled investor optimism. This helped revive risk appetite, lifting major cryptocurrencies, crypto stocks, and pushing XRP higher as institutional trading volumes rallied.

Crypto whales turned their attention to meme coins, with on-chain data showing significant accumulation in tokens like Little Pepe (LILPEPE), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), SPX6900 (SPX), as well as continued interest in Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Bonk (BONK). These buying trends reflect growing speculative interest and potential breakout setups driven by strong community engagement.

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What is DeFi?

DefiLlama’s leaderboards show that while centralized exchanges (CEXs) still dominate in volume terms, decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to grow in importance.

DeFi is a blockchain-based financial system that is permissionless and transparent and non-custodial, meaning that anyone with an internet connection can participate and users control their own assets, without intermediaries. The DeFi market includes numerous different services, including decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, stablecoins like DAI, lending protocols like Aave, and more.

While DeFi TVL (total value locked) declined in Q1 of 2025, the Trump administration shows a generally favourable outlook for the sector.

In April 2025, President Trump signed legislation overturning an IRS rule that would have classified DeFi platforms as brokers, requiring them to report user transactions. This move was seen as a significant victory for the DeFi industry, alleviating concerns about privacy and operational feasibility.

Tokens by market cap

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Why we are highlighting these token categories

While memecoins have been a huge story in crypto for the last year, AI Agents, Real-World Assets (RWA), and DePIN are reshaping the token economy in profound ways — each opening new frontiers for utility, scalability, and real-world impact. As the crypto space matures beyond speculation, these technologies are driving a more grounded and interoperable future for blockchain.

AI agents are increasingly being integrated into decentralized platforms, where they can execute smart contracts, optimize yield strategies, or help users navigate DeFi ecosystems.

RWAs refer to the tokenization of tangible or off-chain assets — such as real estate, bonds, invoices, and commodities — on blockchain networks. This bridges the gap between traditional finance and DeFi by bringing the value of trillions of dollars of real-world capital onto decentralized rails.

DePIN, or Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, involve the use of blockchain tokens to coordinate and incentivize the deployment and maintenance of physical infrastructure. These systems rely on crypto economics to reward contributors for building out infrastructure in a decentralized, permissionless manner.

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