Solana‑based xStocks have cleared a new milestone one month after their June 30 debut, with cumulative trading volume reaching $1.66 billion as of July 30. 

According to the project’s official dashboard at Dune, the growth has been driven overwhelmingly by centralized exchange (CEX) activity. CEX volume stands at $1.57 billion, roughly 95% of the total, while decentralized venues amounted to $85.2 million. 

On‑chain transaction volume across the xStocks ecosystem totals $356.4 million, indicating significant token activity even as most turnover occurs off‑chain.

xStocks are tokenized versions of stocks issued by Backed Finance on the Solana blockchain.

AUM grows

Assets under management (AUM) are approaching the $40 million mark, with participation broadening to 24,528 unique holders. 

Within that set, Tesla xStock (TSLAx) dominates by both reach and balance sheet. TSLAx counts 10,742 holders, more than any other listing, and leads AUM at $8.88 million.

Rounding out the top tier are SPYx with $4.76 million AUM, NVDAx with $4.39 million AUM, CRCLx with $3.67 million AUM, MSTRx with $3.38 million AUM, and GOOGLx with $1.85 million AUM. 

The ranking shows investor appetite spanning megacap techs, such as TSLAx, NVDAx, GOOGLx, broad‑market exposure with SPYx, and crypto‑linked equities with MSTRx. The presence of CRCLx in the top stocks by AUM signals interest in stablecoin‑adjacent plays.

Cooling activity

Despite the headline totals, activity has cooled into late July. On-chain transaction volumes have slid from early-month spikes around July 1–2 and mid-month bursts near July 15–21, registering lower highs.

DEX trading shows the same pattern, with firm peaks in the first half of the month, followed by lighter bars into July 29–30. The divergence suggests the market is moving from launch‑phase discovery into a more selective trading regime, with liquidity concentrating on larger listings and CEX rails.

The first‑month data paints a clear picture of how xStocks are being used. CEXs currently provide the deepest liquidity and tightest spreads, explaining their dominance of turnover.

Meanwhile, on‑chain flows and DEX volumes are meaningful but secondary, likely reflecting portfolio rebalancing, transfers, and a subset of users who prioritize self‑custody and permissionless execution.

Mentioned in this article

Analysts at banking giant Citi are laying out price targets on Bitcoin (BTC) based on a surprisingly simple forecast model.

In a new report seen by the Financial Times, Citigroup analysts Alex Saunders and Nathaniel Rupert offer a new way of valuing digital assets, ostensibly suggesting that the price of Bitcoin is influenced simply by how many people want to own it.

While Citi’s previous Bitcoin price models incorporated various data inputs like mining electricity costs, adoption rates and more, the analysts have updated their forecast to account for the reality that crypto assets are very much a part of the traditional macroeconomic picture, rather than an isolated subset without relevance to the average investor’s portfolio.

“Around the fall of FTX, the majority of client questions were, ‘How does crypto effect MY market or the macroeconomy?’ – the answer then was, probably not much.

We think that is changing. Firstly, crypto assets have grown and now represent a more meaningful amount of capital. Crypto market-caps now rival all but the largest-cap equity names. Secondly, crypto-related assets are now meaningful parts of some of the largest financial indices. Crypto-related securities are now members of the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Russell. Importantly, this means even crypto-agnostic clients need to have a view to manage their portfolios.”

Citi now has a “bull case” price target of $199,340 for BTC at the end of this year, a “base case” for $135,133, and a “bear” case for $63,675.

As of late, the analysts say that the price of BTC is primarily driven by one factor.

The Citi analysts say that the net weekly flows into Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have had a “very strong contemporaneous relationship” with the returns on BTC.

“Since launch, 41% of Bitcoin return variation can be explained by flows alone (the relationship is just as strong even accounting for equity returns). So far this year, we have seen just over $19 billion of flows, including $5.5 billion month-to-date. We expect flows to continue for the rest of the year as more institutions approve and potentially advise underlying clients on these vehicles.

There is significant uncertainty around these flows; we forecast $15 billion given the pace seen so far year-to-date. This would slightly exceed last year’s launch, but the recent acceleration in flows presents upside risk – given each $1 billion of weekly flows is associated with a 3.6% return increase, flows have a meaningful impact on our forecast.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Why it matters: Vaping has been around for a long time, but its popularity didn’t skyrocket until the early 2010s. Since then, it has significantly contributed to the world’s e-waste problem, with thousands of disposable devices filling landfills and recycling centers. Not only are e-cigarettes damaging to the environment, but they are also a growing fire hazard.

Fire Rover, a company that specializes in automated and semi-automated fire suppression systems, released its annual report noting that waste and recycling fires are steadily rising. In 2024, the company recorded 2,910 fires – a 60-percent increase from 2023’s 1,809 and a 100-percent jump from 2022’s 1,409 incidents. The report also notes that fire crews dispatched to emergencies at trash and recycling facilities hit a record high of 398, a steady growth since Fire Rover began tracking the stat at 275 incidents in 2016.

Lithium-ion battery fires are not new, nor are they the only cause of trash and recycling blazes. Fire Rover CEO Ryan Fogelman told Ars Technica things like fireworks, pool chemicals, and hot barbeque briquettes pose just as much risk. However, batteries, particularly those in disposable vaping products, are a rapidly growing cause mainly because of consumer ignorance and a lack of widespread e-waste collection.

Many well-meaning customers know not to throw their vapes in the regular trash, so they use the other option – recycling bins, which is no better. No matter which facility these devices land in, they can ignite in many ways. Crushing pressure, puncturing, short-circuiting, and vibration from facility operations are common causes. However, battery defects, internal cell failure, and overheating are indirect means of ignition that refuse centers cannot control. Fogelman estimates that about half of the incidents Fire Rover tracks are battery-related, costing facilities approximately $2.5 billion in 2024 alone.

The CEO says that a properly functioning e-waste infrastructure could reduce this trend, but that does not currently exist and does not seem to be a high priority. Furthermore, the few facilities offering e-waste collection are abandoning or restricting it, likely because of the associated costs.

For example, my local refuse center used to pick up e-waste once a year. It recently discontinued that service. Customers can still bring in their e-waste, but the facility has a long list of items it refuses to accept. The added inconvenience of having to haul in their old electronics and the annoyance of not having anywhere else to dispose of the unaccepted items has likely led many to just chuck the lot into the regular recycle bin or the trash.

Video of a Fire Rover suppression system identifying fire and then smoke to extinguish a blaze before it spreads.

Fire Rover points its finger at the vaping industry, believing it should take more responsibility for helping clean up the mess it has helped create.

“Not only are their batteries being improperly discarded in waste and recycling bins, but the vape industry has done the bare minimum to invest in the technology needed to address the 1.2 billion vapes entering our waste and recycling streams annually,” the report states.

Of course, you could always just use them to charge your phone.

Image credit: Vaping360