Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun is riding a wave of renewed adoption, with its native PUMP token climbing to an all-time high.

According to CryptoSlate’s data, PUMP surged to $0.0086 on Sept. 14, setting a fresh peak before retreating by nearly 3% to trade around $0.008 at press time.

The latest move represents a sharp reversal for the asset, which had struggled for traction since its July debut and appeared to be losing ground to rival projects.

However, Pump.fun has shifted momentum, leveraging product upgrades to regain market attention.

Streaming growth

A key driver of this rebound has been the relaunch of Pump.fun’s livestreaming feature. The platform, once criticized for unsafe broadcasts including instances of self-harm, paused the function last year.

However, its reintroduction has triggered a surge in user activity, with livestreaming now contributing directly to engagement and platform revenue.

Alon Cohen, Pump.fun’s co-founder, said the platform has already overtaken Rumble in average concurrent streams. He added that Pump.fun now controls roughly 1% of Twitch’s market share and 10% of Kick’s.

Alon also signaled that the project no longer limits itself to crypto-native audiences but instead seeks a foothold in mainstream content streaming. He also outlined the several opportunities that streaming on the platform could provide users, by saying:

“When you stream on pump fun you get INSTANT Creator Fees (100x+ of what you earn elsewhere). INSTANT viewership with a community that’s incentivized to support you. Free clipping on X (other socials soon). And 24/7 support from the team.”

Despite ongoing criticism of its approach, Alon has brushed aside concerns, arguing that new entrants inevitably face scrutiny and that competitors will continue to emerge.

He stated:

“first they said that memecoin activity would never sustain then they said that no one would ever stream on pump fun now they’re saying that pump fun streaming is not sustainable I wonder what they’ll come up with next.”

Creator earnings rise

The renewed activity has translated into direct gains for creators on the Solana memecoin launchpad.

Data from Dune Analytics showed that creator earnings on Pump.fun soared to $20 million in the last seven days, which is a record weekly payout for the platform.

The data shows that the top 25 creators earned between $24,100 and $123,000 in the past 24 hours alone.

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On-chain data shows the 7-day average Bitcoin Hashrate has shot up to a new all-time high (ATH) despite network Difficulty being at a record level.

Bitcoin Mining Hashrate Has Seen A Sharp Increase Recently

The “Hashrate” refers to a Bitcoin indicator that keeps track of the total amount of computing power that the miners as a whole have connected to the BTC blockchain. The metric is useful for gauging the sentiment among these chain validators.

When the value of the Hashrate goes up, it means new miners are joining the network and/or old ones are expanding their farms. Such a trend implies BTC mining is looking profitable to this cohort.

On the other hand, the indicator witnessing a decline suggests some of the miners have decided to pull out of the chain, potentially because they are no longer able to pay off electricity bills.

Now, here is a chart from Blockchain.com that shows how the 7-day average Bitcoin Hashrate has changed over the past year:

Looks like the value of the metric has shot up in recent days | Source: Blockchain.com

As displayed in the above graph, the 7-day average Bitcoin Hashrate has seen a sharp surge recently and has set a new all-time high (ATH) of around 1.03 zettahashes per second (ZH/s). This increase in the metric has come as the price of the cryptocurrency has made some recovery.

Miners depend on the asset’s price for their revenue, so bullish price action allows them to expand. Though, while price conditions may have been favorable in the past week, another factor hasn’t been. Namely, the Difficulty.

The Difficulty is a feature built into the Bitcoin blockchain that controls how hard the miners would find their task of BTC mining on the network right now. This metric’s value automatically changes about every two weeks based on network conditions.

More specifically, the Difficulty adjusts according to whether the miners have been slower or faster than the network target rate of 10 minutes per block. The chain ups the metric if miners are going through the average block in less than 10 minutes, while it lowers it if the validators aren’t able to keep pace.

Prior to the latest adjustment, Bitcoin miners were aggressively expanding their Hashrate, becoming significantly faster than the network wants them to be. The chain responded with a notable Difficulty increase that took the metric to a new record of 136.04 terahashes, as data from CoinWarz shows.

The Difficulty adjustments that have occurred over the last three months | Source: CoinWarz

Difficulty increases can squeeze the revenue of the most vulnerable miners, so Hashrate often dips following them. And indeed, the same occurred after the latest adjustment as well, but the drop was temporary.

Thus, it would appear that the spike in Difficulty hasn’t been able to scare away the Bitcoin miners this time.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $116,400, up almost 5% in the last seven days.

The trend in the price of the coin over the last five days | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView

Featured image from Dall-E, CoinWarz.com, Blockchain.com, chart from TradingView.com

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Per CryptoQuant’s second September weekly report, Ethereum’s latest uptrend from about $1,400 in April to a high near $5,000 has unfolded alongside heavier allocations in funds and whale accumulation, a pullback in exchange deposits, and activity peaks across transactions, addresses, and smart-contract calls.

Ethereum trades below a realized price band of $5,200 while fund holdings and on-chain use hit records.

The report frames the next phase around whether price can clear the realized price upper band that capped prior advances.

According to CryptoQuant, Ethereum fund holdings, driven largely by U.S. spot ETFs, have reached 6.7 million ETH, nearly double since April. Addresses holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH added roughly 6 million ETH over the same period, with this cohort now at 20.6 million ETH, a new high.

The “smart money” share embedded in those balances means a material portion of demand is already in place, compressing the room for momentum to do the heavy lifting without fresh flows. The charts on page 2 of the report show both the fund-holding curve and cohort balances making new peaks.

Staking has climbed in parallel.

The total ETH staked stands at around 36.2 million, up by roughly 2.5 million ETH since May. The rising validator count reduces circulating supply and supports a tighter float, yet it also sequesters capital that would otherwise meet new demand if price drifts or volumes thin out.

That mix of lower float and higher commitment from validators helps explain why spot market pressure can ease even when price consolidates.

On-chain throughput has expanded. Total daily transactions peaked at about 1.7 million on August 16, and active addresses reached roughly 800,000 on August 5, both new highs, per the network dashboards. Smart-contract calls surpassed 12 million daily for the first time, marking the heaviest programmatic use of the base layer so far.

Elevated usage across DeFi, stablecoin transfers, and token activity builds fee revenue and reinforces the settlement-layer role that underpins ETH’s cash-flow and utility narratives. If activity cools, volatility often follows as price discovers the correct multiple on lower throughput.

Spot-side supply pressure has eased.

CryptoQuant’s exchange-inflow series shows deposits to centralized venues falling from roughly 1.8 million ETH in mid-August to about 750,000 ETH per day after the early-September price high.

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Fewer coins moving to exchanges typically line up with thinner realized selling, which aids stability during retests. Low inflows can also coincide with quieter order books, so prices can travel more on smaller trades if a catalyst lands.

The technical fulcrum is the realized price upper band near $5,200. CryptoQuant plots that level as the region that repelled advances in 2020–2021 and again in early 2024. ETH trades around $4,400 in the report window, so the market sits one step below a threshold with a track record of pausing uptrends.

Clearing that zone would shift trading into territory where realized holders, on average, sit deeper in profit, and where supply forces depend more on whether newer inflows outpace long-dated distribution.

The flow picture offers a simple checklist for the weeks ahead.

Fund holdings are already at a record, so incremental net creations matter more than absolute size. Whale cohorts hold over 20 million ETH, so net additions from this group carry outsized weight versus retail churn.

Staking is at 36 million ETH, so any acceleration or slowdown in validator deposits will change the liquid float at the margin. Exchange inflows are subdued compared with August, so watch whether that series stays compressed or reverts as price revisits prior highs. All four lines are visible across the report’s holdings, staking, network, and inflow charts.

For valuation context, CryptoQuant ties the April-to-September advance to a dual engine of institutional participation and on-chain throughput. That framing pairs the top-down demand capture of ETFs with bottom-up settlement use across DeFi and tokens.

It also leaves room for periods where activity outruns price or vice versa. In those phases, realized bands and exchange-flow gauges help separate consolidation from distribution, especially when positioning is already heavy among large holders.

The near-term setup, therefore, revolves around whether ETH holds its footing into a second attempt at the realized band, with funds, whales, staking, and activity providing most of the signal on whether the cycle keeps its pace or pauses.

According to the report, the realized price upper band near $5,200 remains the level in focus.

Bitcoin network difficulty reached 136.04 trillion on Sept. 4, while dollar hashprice slipped to about $52 per petahash per day this week. Per Hashrate Index, the last adjustment set a new high for difficulty, and the forward market now prices an average hashprice near $49.17 per PH per day for the next six months.

The squeeze leaves miners deciding whether to sell inventories, consolidate operations, or pursue high-performance computing revenue tied to artificial intelligence.

The production backdrop is firm. The seven-day average hashrate sits near one zettahash per second, while transaction fees contribute a little over 1% of block rewards on recent averages.

That mix compresses gross margins at the same time retail power prices and wholesale data center rents trend higher. Global colocation pricing averaged $217.30 per kilowatt per month in the first quarter, with tight supply in major hubs, per CBRE’s Global Data Center Trends 2025.

Strategic optionality is widening as compute demand reorders the power stack.

CoreWeave agreed to acquire Core Scientific earlier this year in an all-stock transaction that implies roughly $9 billion of equity value. The acquisition would consolidate about 1.3 gigawatts of installed capacity with more expansion potential.

In its deal materials, the buyer outlined lease efficiency gains and operating synergies by 2027, while the transaction is part of the broader AI buildout competing for grid access across North America. The direction of travel is clear: AI workloads are now a core alternative for power and land that previously skewed toward proof of work.

Public market signaling has also shifted with the debut of American Bitcoin Corp. The company began trading on Nasdaq as ABTC after completing a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. Corporate filings detail a controlled structure after the combination, with former American Bitcoin holders owning about 98% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.

The model emphasizes accumulation alongside self-mining, creating another lever for treasury strategies that may dampen or amplify market sales depending on spreads between mining cost, spot price, and financing terms.

Power constraints and policy continue to set near-term supply behavior.

In Texas, miners commonly curtail during the Four Coincident Peak season to manage costs and capture credits, a pattern reflected in Riot Platforms’ June operating update. Curtailments can lift hashprice temporarily and shift revenue timing, but they also illustrate why forward hedging has become standard. Luxor’s market shows an actively traded curve with mid-market quotes published on the Hashrate Forward Curve.

Against this backdrop, break-even math is simple but unforgiving. Using representative efficiency bands and current economics, the ranges below illustrate approximate breakeven power prices, expressed in cents per kilowatt hour, at a $53 per PH per day hashprice and nominal pool fees.

The inputs reference published specifications for the Antminer S21 and WhatsMiner M60S, along with incremental firmware gains evidenced by LuxOS testing.

These thresholds imply that fleets paying above single-digit power rates will feel pressure if hashprice tracks the forward average. That pushes treasurers toward hedges on the hashrate curve, deeper curtailment during high-priced hours, and non-mining revenue.

The last category includes AI colocation and managed GPU services, where contracted rents are quoted per megawatt per year and often load follows compute.

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Recent contracts frame the revenue step change.

TeraWulf disclosed more than $3.7 billion of expected hosting revenue under multi-year agreements, with public reporting estimating an annualized take rate near $1.85 million per megawatt on the initial tranche.

The comparison below uses those public figures and CBRE’s rent benchmarks to show the order of magnitude gap between mature AI colocation and current mining cash generation per power unit at prevailing hashprice.

The delta does not automatically mean every miner should pivot.

Retrofits require capex, liquid cooling, and higher-density racks, which can saturate existing transformers, and contractual take-or-pay obligations can limit near-term flexibility.

Still, the combination of tight colocation supply and announced consolidation, such as CoreWeave’s deal, will likely keep AI rents firm through year-end, which factors into treasury choices whenever bitcoin’s fee share remains low.

Miners able to monetize demand response programs, like the ERCOT 4CP framework, and tune fleets with efficiency firmware can widen their breakeven bands without selling coins.

Case studies illustrate the choice set. Iris Energy continues to expand GPU capacity and cloud revenue alongside self-mining, using a dual track that stabilizes cash flows against hashprice volatility. 

American Bitcoin presents a treasury-led approach combining on-balance sheet accumulation with mining, with control details and share counts in the SEC filing. Those paths sit alongside pure play hosting that captures AI demand and infrastructure premiums.

The near-term market question is whether balance sheets become a supply source by year-end. If hashprice follows the forward curve and fees remain near current prints, miners above the single-digit cost bands are more likely to raise cash by selling coins or locking in forward sales of hashrate.

If AI colocation ramps up on previously announced contracts, some of that selling could be offset by compute reallocation and hedges already layered in at summer premiums.

The balance of those forces will determine how much miner supply reaches exchanges during the fourth quarter.

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Crypto Journalist

Anas Hassan

Crypto Journalist

Anas Hassan

About Author

Anas is a crypto native journalist and SEO writer with over five years of writing experience covering blockchain, crypto, DeFi, and emerging tech.

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Last updated: 

September 8, 2025

Crypto investment products experienced $352 million in weekly outflows as Federal Reserve rate-cut optimism failed to boost digital asset sentiment, with Ethereum leading the exodus at $912 million while Bitcoin attracted $524 million in inflows.

CoinShares’ report shows trading volumes dropped 27% week-over-week, suggesting a cooled appetite for digital assets despite improving prospects for September interest rate cuts.

Year-to-date inflows remain strong at $35.2 billion, running 4.2% ahead of last year’s total.

Regional Divergence Amid Fed Uncertainty

The United States recorded $440 million in outflows, while Germany and Hong Kong saw inflows of $85.1 million and $8.1 million, respectively.

Ethereum products experienced daily outflows across seven consecutive trading days spanning multiple ETP issuers.

According to SosoValue, Spot Ethereum ETFs posted a record $788 million in weekly outflows, with no single fund recording net inflows.

Bitcoin spot ETFs contrasted with $246 million weekly inflows, marking two consecutive weeks of positive flows.

Solana extended its streak to 21 consecutive weeks of inflows totaling $1.16 billion year to date, while XRP reached $1.22 billion over the same period.

Both assets continue attracting steady weekly inflows of $16.1 million and $14.7 million, respectively.

The outflows occurred despite weak August payroll data that reinforced rate cut expectations. U.S. job growth slowed sharply, with unemployment rising to 4.3%, the highest level since 2021, strengthening the case for monetary easing.

According to Reuters, Standard Chartered has revised its projection to expect 50 basis point cuts at September’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, doubling its previous forecasts.

Markets price in a 90% probability of 25-basis-point reductions with a 10% chance of larger cuts.

Similarly, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank maintain that August employment data wasn’t weak enough for 50-basis-point cuts, though consecutive meeting reductions remain possible.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell previously indicated that rate cuts were possible while cautioning about persistent inflation threats.

Traditional Markets Rally While Crypto Cools

Stock markets responded positively to rate cut optimism, with S&P 500 futures gaining 0.2% on Monday following weak employment data.

European and Asian shares rose 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively, as Treasury yields held at lower levels.

Gold surged to record highs above $3,630 per ounce, gaining 38% year to date after a 27% increase in 2024.

Lower borrowing costs enhance non-yielding bullion appeal while geopolitical uncertainty drives safe-haven demand amid Fed independence concerns.

China’s central bank extended gold purchases to 10 consecutive months in August as part of dollar diversification efforts.

Additionally, Goldman Sachs projects gold could reach $5,000 per ounce if Federal Reserve independence deteriorates and investors shift from Treasuries.

The Trump administration moves to exempt gold bullion from country-based tariffs, formalizing previous customs rulings.

Political uncertainty in Japan and France contributed to dollar weakness despite rate-cut expectations supporting traditional risk assets.

Oil prices climbed more than 2% after OPEC+ agreed to slower output increases from October amid weaker global demand expectations.

Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate both posted strong gains following the production adjustment announcement.

Industry Outlook Amid Rate Cut Cycle

Earlier this month, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek expected a strong fourth-quarter performance if September rate cuts materialize, citing improved liquidity conditions for risk assets.

This projection came as the exchange generated $1.5 billion in revenue last year with a $1 billion gross profit.

However, late last month, Santiment warned that social media discussion of Federal Reserve rate cuts reached an 11-month peak, historically indicating euphoric levels preceding market corrections.

Bitcoin exchange supply accumulation has risen by approximately 70,000 coins since June.

Ethereum technical indicators suggest caution despite strong price performance, with short-term MVRV approaching 15% and long-term readings at 58.5%.

These levels historically correspond with profit-taking activity and potential retracements.

Manufacturing PMI data could influence rate-cut timing, with forecasts expecting ISM Manufacturing PMI at 48.9 versus the previous 48.0. Levels below 49.5 typically extend correction periods while improvements support recovery narratives.

Amid this fed rate-cut optimism, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned, in regard to Trump’s threats to the Fed chair, that undermining Fed independence would create “very serious danger” for global economic stability.

She believes that political control over monetary policy carries “very worrying” implications for worldwide markets.

Bitcoin (BTC) treasury companies reached a record holding of 840,000 BTC in August, but underlying data reveal weakening institutional demand.

According to a Sept. 5 report by CryptoQuant, purchase volumes and transaction sizes plummeted to multi-year lows.

Strategy led corporate Bitcoin accumulation with 637,000 BTC, representing 76% of total treasury holdings. At the same time, 32 other companies control the remaining 203,000 BTC.

Holdings surged following the November 2024 US Presidential Election, with Strategy more than doubling its position from 279,000 to 637,000 BTC and other companies expanding their holdings 13-fold from 15,000 to 203,000 BTC.

Declining purchase volumes

Strategy acquired 3,700 BTC in August, down dramatically from 134,000 BTC purchased in November 2024. Other treasury companies purchased 14,800 BTC, which is below the 2025 average of 24,000 BTC and significantly lower than their June peak of 66,000 BTC.

The average Bitcoin per transaction dropped to 1,200 for Strategy and 343 for other companies, down 86% from early 2025 highs. The report attributed the smaller transaction sizes to liquidity constraints or potential market hesitation among institutional buyers.

Monthly holdings growth decelerated sharply for Strategy, falling from 44% in December 2024 to just 5% in August. Other treasury companies experienced similar patterns, with monthly growth dropping from 163% in March to 8% in August.

Despite recording 53 purchase transactions in June and maintaining elevated activity through August with 46 transactions, the frequency masks declining institutional appetite. Treasury companies completed only 14 transactions in November 2024, making current levels appear robust by comparison.

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The report focused on pure-play, publicly-traded Bitcoin treasury companies holding 1,000 BTC or more, excluding mining companies and firms with substantial operating businesses like Tesla and Coinbase.

Regulatory and market pressures mount

The treasury market faces new regulatory headwinds as Nasdaq implements shareholder approval requirements for equity issuances used to purchase crypto.

The rule change targets the crypto-treasury playbook, where public companies sell equity or convertibles to fund token purchases. As a result, this change could slow the rapid capital deployment that characterized 2025.

In addition, Sequans Communications became the first Bitcoin treasury company to execute a reverse stock split, adjusting its American Depositary Shares structure to maintain NYSE listing requirements.

The company controls 3,205 BTC, valued at approximately $355 million, but its stock declined 75% this year, raising concerns about potential asset sales to defend share prices.

The report concluded by revealing patterns similar to the 2020-2021 cycle, when Strategy’s holdings growth peaked at 78% before declining to 6% a year later. The current setup suggests institutional Bitcoin accumulation may be entering a similar deceleration phase.

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MEXC, one of the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchanges, reported record growth in the second quarter of 2025 after rolling out a zero-fee campaign on high-demand futures pairs.

The bold strategy, designed to reduce barriers to entry and capture market momentum, comes as the broader digital asset market continues to embrace stablecoins amid broader crypto adoption.

Zero-Fee Push Aligns with Market Focus

According to the CoinGecko Q2 2025 Crypto Industry Report, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 24% quarter-on-quarter, while the stablecoin market hit an all-time high of $243.1B. $USDC expanded by $1.4B in circulation, highlighting investor appetite for compliant, dollar-backed assets.

MEXC seized on the trend by eliminating trading fees on selected $USDC-margined futures pairs. The initiative gave traders cost-free access to fast-growing markets while positioning the exchange at the center of the industry’s shifting narrative.

By zeroing in on where the liquidity was flowing and removing cost friction, MEXC amplified user participation and market depth across key pairs.

Winners Among Trading Pairs

The exchange’s campaign produced notable winners across both mainstream and emerging assets:

• $TON/$USDC captured 42% market share in its category.
• $ETH/$USDT, the flagship mainstream trading pair, secured a 33% share.
• $ONDO/$USDC and $POPCAT/$USDC each posted more than 5% market share gains.

The results underscored how MEXC’s mix of blue-chip tokens, infrastructure plays, and high-risk meme coins allowed the platform to serve a broad spectrum of trading appetites.

$ETH and $TON attracted institutional-minded investors, while $POPCAT drew in speculative retail traders and meme coin degens chasing volatility.

From Meme Frenzy to Mainstream Focus

The strong quarterly performance also reflected a broader pivot in market psychology. In the first quarter, the meme coin market profited from tokens like Dogwifhat, Brett, and Book of Meme surging in popularity.

But as US regulators passed crypto-friendly rules and fostered a more welcoming blockchain framework, investors redirected their attention to infrastructure upgrades, DeFi applications, and regulatory-friendly assets in Q2.

MEXC’s zero-fee campaign mirrored this change in sentiment. By offering cost-free access to sectors aligned with the new narrative, the exchange effectively turned user preference into trading volume.

Building a Foundation for Long-Term Growth

The zero-fee initiative not only lowered trading costs but also created a feedback loop of higher participation, deeper liquidity, and growing market share.

The campaign laid the groundwork for the exchange’s next phase of expansion, particularly in futures markets where competition among global platforms remains fierce.

With over 40M users spanning 170 countries, MEXC has built a reputation as one of the industry’s most accessible exchanges. The platform frequently lists trending tokens, provides promotional airdrops, and maintains one of the lowest fee structures in the sector.

Its focus on simplicity – under the motto ‘Your Easiest Way to Crypto’ – has helped it build a strong following among both retail traders and more seasoned investors.

Industry Context: Stablecoins and DeFi in the Spotlight

The emphasis on $USDC-margined pairs comes at a time when stablecoins are increasingly viewed as the backbone of the crypto economy. Beyond functioning as a liquidity layer, stablecoins are now integral to payment rails, cross-border settlement, and decentralized finance platforms.

The $243.1 billion stablecoin market cap milestone in Q2 reflects both resilience and evolution.

The sector is expanding not just in raw numbers but also in diversity, with compliant tokens like $USDC gaining traction alongside algorithmic and yield-bearing alternatives.

MEXC’s decision to highlight $ONDO/$USDC as part of its zero-fee campaign reflects how exchanges are now competing not just on volume but also on narrative alignment with emerging sectors.

DeFi has also continued to capture institutional interest, with projects like Ondo Finance ($ONDO) demonstrating new ways to bridge traditional financial instruments with blockchain technology.

MEXC Looks to the Future

The strong quarterly showing cements MEXC’s status as one of the most competitive exchanges in the futures market.

The zero-fee futures initiative may prove to be more than just a short-term promotional boost. By positioning itself as the go-to platform for traders chasing the most relevant narratives, the exchange has built a strategic foundation that could sustain growth well into 2026 and beyond.

As always, do your own research. This isn’t financial advice.

Authored by Bogdan Patru, Bitcoinist – https://bitcoinist.com/mexcs-zero-fee-futures-drive-q2-growth-stablecoins-defi

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Decentralized exchanges (DEX) processed a combined $1.15 trillion in spot and perpetual contract volumes during August, marking the first time monthly DEX activity surpassed the $1 trillion threshold.

According to DefiLlama data, spot DEX volumes reached $506.3 billion in August, falling just $1.5 billion short of the all-time high of $507.8 billion recorded in January.

The August figure represents an 18.4% increase from July’s trading activity, demonstrating sustained growth in on-chain spot trading.

Perpetual contract volumes drove the record-breaking performance, reaching $648.6 billion in August, a 31.3% jump from July and an absolute all-time high for the derivative product category.

The perpetuals surge accounted for 56.4% of total DEX volume during the month.

Ethereum reclaims spot leadership

August marked the first time since March that Ethereum overtook Solana and BNB Chain in spot on-chain trading volume.

Ethereum processed $140.4 billion in monthly spot volume, while Solana registered nearly $120 billion. BNB Chain rounded out the top three with approximately $60 billion in spot trading activity.

Uniswap maintained its position as the dominant spot DEX protocol, capturing 28.2% of total volumes with over $143 billion processed in August. PancakeSwap secured second place with $56.6 billion, while Hyperliquid completed the top three with $21.7 billion in spot volume.

The perpetual landscape showed even greater concentration, with Hyperliquid establishing absolute dominance by capturing 62.5% of the market through its $405.8 billion in monthly volume.

Ethereum-based perpetual protocols processed $72.5 billion, securing second place, while BNB Chain platforms generated $55.1 billion.

Among other perpetual protocols, edgeX captured $43.6 billion in trading volume, while Orderly processed $23.7 billion during August.

The spot volume increase drove the DEX-to-CEX trading ratio up by 0.7% to 17.2% in August. Throughout 2025, this ratio has consistently remained above 10%, indicating sustained adoption of on-chain trading infrastructure.

These numbers indicate a growing acceptance of decentralized trading venues, potentially driven by improved user experience across major DEX platforms.

The $1.1 trillion monthly volume achievement positions decentralized exchanges as a permanent fixture in the cryptocurrency market structure, with perpetuals trading finally receiving attention similar to that of their centralized counterparts.

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As the price of gold is on the cusp of breaking its April peak, the market size of crypto tokens backed by the precious metal has already surged to fresh all-time highs.

The overall market capitalization of tokenized gold topped $2.57 billion, CoinGecko data shows, as the two leading offerings, Tether’s XAUT and Paxos’ PAXG tokens, saw sizable inflows recently. Both tokens’s are designed to track the price of gold and are backed by physical bars held in vaults.

XAUT (XAUT), issued by the firm that’s behind the USDT stablecoin, saw a $437 million jump in its supply to a record $1.3 billion, per CoinGecko. Tether’s Treasury minted 129,000 tokens in early August on the Ethereum network, blockchain data by Etherscan shows.

PAXG (PAXG), the gold-backed token of U.S.-based stablecoin firm Paxos, swelled to a record market size of $983 million, DefiLlama data shows. That’s been fueled by $141.5 million net inflows into the token since June.

Gold currently traded at around $3,470, just shy of the April 22 peak hit amidst the tariff tantrum.

The precious metal, which is widely considered as a safe haven asset during times of uncertainty, has been resurging lately, driven by a steepening U.S. Treasury yield curve.

Read more: Gold’s Rally Has a Big Catalyst, and It Could Help Bitcoin Too