The crypto lending market is undergoing a structural change—centralized finance (CeFi) loan volume has surpassed decentralized finance (DeFi) loans for the first time since Q3 2023. According to a Galaxy Research report, the size of crypto asset-collateralized loans fell 16.78% to $56.16 billion in Q2 2026. Breakdown: DeFi loans: down 27.61% to $20.43 billion CeFi loans: down 9.62% to $22.98 billion Data interpretation CeFi loans surpass DeFi for the first time. Since Q3 2023, CeFi loan volume has exceeded DeFi for the first time. This is not due to CeFi expansion, but rather a sharp 27.61% contraction in DeFi loan volume in Q2, a decline much steeper than CeFi’s. The overall market is shrinking, but DeFi is contracting faster. Tether dominates the CeFi market. In the CeFi loan market, Tether holds the largest share at 58.5%, with Tether, Maple, and Nexo together accounting for 74.96%—indicating a highly concentrated CeFi loan market dominated by leading institutions. Main reasons for DeFi loan contraction. The decline in crypto asset prices has reduced collateral value, combined with risk events in some DeFi protocols, causing both borrowers and lenders to reduce risk exposure. In conclusion CeFi loan volume has surpassed DeFi for the first time since 2023—this is not CeFi expanding, but D

The Solana ETF market has just experienced a notable capital rebound—but it is not a full-scale breakout. According to SoSoValue data, as of the week ending August 14, the total net inflow of U.S. spot Solana ETFs was about $10.26 million, a nearly 70-fold surge from approximately $145,000 the previous week, marking the strongest single-week capital inflow since May 22. Data overview Weekly net inflow: $10.26 million Week-over-week increase: about 70 times Record time: strongest since May 22 Structure behind the data Capital is highly concentrated in a few products: Bitwise's BSOL: single-day inflow of $8.8 million, accounting for about 86% of the week's total inflow Morgan Stanley's MSOL: inflow of about $1.43 million These two funds contributed almost all the capital The recent surge in funds appears more like a concentrated accumulation by a few institutions rather than a broad strengthening of the entire Solana ETF market. The $10.26 million is still limited compared to the capital scale of Bitcoin ETFs, and the capital source is highly concentrated. Follow-up observation directions Short term: focus on sustainability. For SOL, the real bullish signal is not the 70-fold growth in a single week, but whether net inflows can continue and expand capital sources in the coming weeks. Indirect impact: expected capital rotation. If SOL's capital heat continues to rise, other altcoin ETFs such as ETH and XRP may also attract capital rotation attention—but this transmission requires the SOL ETF's

The crypto industry is transitioning from a phase where "all assets rise and fall together" to a new phase of "different tracks evolving independently." Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stated that the crypto space has fragmented into several independent tracks including Bitcoin, blockchain infrastructure, tokenization, stablecoins, perpetual contracts, Meme coins/NFTs, lending markets, and more. Over the next 12 months, the industry focus will shift to "on-chain finance." Seven Independent Tracks Horsley divides the current crypto industry into seven independent tracks: Bitcoin: digital gold, store of value Blockchain Infrastructure: L1/L2 networks, node operations Tokenization: RWA, tokenized securities Stablecoins: payment and settlement tools Perpetual Contracts: on-chain derivatives trading Meme coins/NFTs: attention economy, community narratives Lending Markets: crypto credit The Next Phase of "On-Chain Finance" Horsley believes that over the next 12 months, the industry focus will turn to "on-chain finance"—the integration and synergy of the above tracks. The core of on-chain finance is to transfer traditional financial core functions (payments, lending, trading, asset management) onto blockchain infrastructure. Tokenized assets (RWA), stablecoins, and perpetual contracts are the key driving tracks in this phase—they will serve as the three pillars of on-chain finance, driving the crypto industry’s transformation from "speculation-driven" to "utility-driven." In Conclusion As the crypto industry fragments from a "whole" into seven independent tracks, investment logic also needs to shift from "buying the entire industry" to

Long-term holders of Bitcoin are pushing supply locking to historic extremes. CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr. stated that the supply held by long-term Bitcoin holders is 16.35 million BTC, just 58,000 BTC below the historic peak of 16.41 million BTC on July 30, and has increased by 1.38 million BTC over the past 90 days. In the last 15 days, the supply held by long-term holders decreased on only 2 days, indicating low selling pressure. Data Interpretation Long-term holder supply is close to historic highs. The 16.35 million BTC held by long-term holders is only 58,000 BTC short of the historic peak, meaning the vast majority of long-term holders are still holding and have not exited en masse. An increase of 1.38 million BTC in 90 days. Over the past 90 days, the net supply held by long-term holders increased by 1.38 million BTC, indicating that the amount of capital buying and holding exceeded the amount sold during this period. Extremely low selling pressure. In the past 15 days, the supply held by long-term holders decreased on only 2 days, showing that long-term holders are generally in a “holding” state rather than a “distribution” state. Cost Basis and Risk Zone The cost basis for long-term holders is approximately $49,400, with the current BTC price around $64,200, placing it in a low-risk zone between $49,400 and $74,100. This range means long-term holders are currently in a profitable position on paper (cost $49,400, current price $64,200), with room to reach historic highs, but the risk level remains relatively controlled—distance from the peak

Crypto mining companies are converting Bitcoin reserves into operating funds. Lookonchain monitoring shows that Riot Platforms sold 9,665 BTC in the first half of 2026 at an average price of $75,785, totaling approximately $732.46 million. Data interpretation: Average selling price of $75,785: This price is higher than the current Bitcoin price of about $64,000, meaning Riot completed most of its sales when Bitcoin was relatively high at the beginning of the year. If Riot had held these BTC until the current price, their value would have shrunk by about $114 million. Volume of 9,665 BTC: At the current price, this batch of BTC is worth about $618 million. Riot's choice to sell above the $75,000 range reflects its strategy to lock in profits at market highs. Mining companies prioritize cash: Riot's large-scale sales reflect a common strategy among miners in the current market environment—to promptly monetize mining output to cover operating costs and capital expenditures, rather than hoarding BTC waiting for higher prices. In conclusion, Riot Platforms sold nearly 10,000 BTC at an average price of $75,785, cashing out $732 million—not a bearish move, but cash flow management at the operational level for mining companies. When Bitcoin's price fell from above $75,000 to $64,000, Riot's timing of sales was especially critical. For mining companies, the choice of selling timing directly impacts

The European Union is expanding the scope of sanctions against Russia to include ownership levels of crypto services. According to Bitcoin.com, on July 23, the EU adopted its 21st set of sanctions against Russia, imposing transaction bans on 14 crypto service platforms in Georgia, Panama, the UAE, Belarus, and other locations. Starting August 25, Russian and Belarusian citizens are prohibited from holding any positions or ownership in crypto service providers under the EU's MiCA framework. Additionally, the EU is authorized to impose a comprehensive transaction blockade on third countries that fail to prevent sanctioned crypto activities. Key points of the sanctions Crypto service platform ban (effective July 23): - Transaction bans on 14 crypto service platforms in Georgia, Panama, the UAE, Belarus, and other locations - These platforms are accused of providing transaction channels for sanctioned entities or individuals Ownership and position ban (effective August 25): - Russian and Belarusian citizens are prohibited from holding any positions or ownership in crypto service providers under the EU MiCA framework - This is a restriction at the individual level and does not involve corporate entities' crypto transaction services Authorization of comprehensive transaction blockade (effective August 25): - Authorizes the EU to impose a comprehensive transaction blockade on third countries that fail to prevent sanctioned crypto activities - This means crypto trading platforms in third countries that provide transaction services to sanctioned entities may face the risk of being fully blocked by the EU Impact on the crypto industry The operational space for MiCA-compliant crypto service providers will be further narrowed. After August 25, any crypto service provider under the MiCA framework will be unable to

Ethereum's development network is about to undergo a profound change in its Gas mechanism. The Ethereum Foundation Protocol DevOps team has issued a warning that the Glamsterdam upgrade will adjust Ethereum's Gas model, potentially causing malfunctions in some wallets, indexers, and Gas estimators. Tools relying on hardcoded maximum Gas limits face the risk of failure. Core changes to the Gas model EIP-8037 will introduce an independent state Gas dimension: Transfer to existing accounts: still 21,000 Gas Transfer to new accounts: will incur additional state Gas fees This change means that transferring to new accounts will cost more than transferring to existing accounts, reflecting the cost of Ethereum's state growth. Tools relying on hardcoded maximum Gas limits may experience estimation deviations due to not accounting for the new Gas dimension. Upgrade schedule This Thursday: Glamsterdam fork activates on the Plataberget public testnet Next: deployment to Sepolia and Hoodi testnets Final: launch on mainnet (specific time to be determined) Other upgrade contents The Glamsterdam upgrade also includes: Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) mechanism: further separates the roles of block building and proposing Block-level access lists: improve transaction execution efficiency Increased contract and initialization code size limits: allow deployment of more complex smart contracts Final note The adjustment of the Gas model is the most noteworthy change in the Glamsterdam upgrade—it changes the

HYPE has once again seen a large withdrawal operation from an exchange. According to Onchain Lens monitoring, a newly created wallet withdrew 57,000 HYPE from Coinbase, valued at approximately $3.36 million. Operation characteristics: newly created wallet + large withdrawal + self-custody. This wallet is a newly created address with no other on-chain activity observed. Withdrawing $3.36 million worth of HYPE from Coinbase to a self-custody address means the holder chose to transfer assets from the exchange to a private key address under their own control. Possible entity type: The $3.36 million worth of HYPE corresponds to a single allocation size typical of a mid-sized institution, but it could also be a high-net-worth individual's allocation. Compared to the previously associated Multicoin wallet (holding 1,777,000 HYPE), this withdrawal is smaller in scale but follows the same pattern—flowing from the exchange to self-custody. Impact on HYPE supply structure: Large amounts of HYPE moving from exchanges to self-custody. When large tokens are withdrawn from exchanges to self-custody addresses, it means these HYPE are no longer in a tradable state on the market in the short term—reducing the liquidity reserves on exchanges. Self-custodied HYPE does not appear on order books, nor is it used for short selling or high-frequency trading, thus reducing the tradable supply in the market. In conclusion: 57,000 HYPE withdrawn from Coinbase to a newly created wallet—another on-chain example of large funds moving from exchanges to self-custody. As HYPE repeatedly appears moving from exchanges to self-custody

Gold bull Peter Schiff is surprised by Bitcoin's recent refusal to decline. Peter Schiff expressed confusion over Bitcoin's recent lack of a drop, viewing the rebound as a selling opportunity for holders, and pointed out that $65,000 is the current key resistance level for Bitcoin. Schiff's key points: 1. Why the confusion? Schiff is puzzled because he believes that under the current macro environment, Bitcoin should be under pressure and decline, but the price has not weakened as he expected — despite rising U.S. Treasury yields and geopolitical uncertainties, Bitcoin has remained relatively stable around $64,000. 2. The rebound is a "selling opportunity." Schiff sees Bitcoin's rebound as a window for holders to exit, not a signal to rebuild long positions. This aligns with his consistent stance as a long-term gold supporter on risk assets. 3. $65,000 is the key resistance. Schiff regards $65,000 as Bitcoin's most important current technical resistance level — previously, BTC has been repeatedly blocked near $65,000, with the $64,600-$65,000 range being a short-term area to watch. In conclusion, Schiff's skeptical attitude toward Bitcoin is nothing new as a gold bull. But the $65,000 resistance level he points out aligns with recent market technical signals — it is a level worth paying attention to, regardless of which side the viewpoint comes from. When market technical signals coincide with the views of long-term critics, it usually means this level truly deserves consideration. $BTC $ETH

The Ethereum Foundation is preparing for the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade. According to Cointelegraph, the Ethereum Foundation has launched the Plataberget testnet for early public testing of the Glamsterdam upgrade scheduled for August 20. Significance of the Plataberget Testnet Plataberget is a dedicated public test network designed to provide an early public testing environment for the Glamsterdam upgrade. It allows developers and node operators to test new features and identify potential issues before the mainnet upgrade. Core changes in the Glamsterdam upgrade: Gas model adjustment: EIP-8037 will introduce an independent state gas dimension, with additional fees charged for transfers to new accounts Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) mechanism Block-level access lists Increased size limits for contracts and initialization code Testing schedule August 20: Glamsterdam fork activation on the Plataberget testnet Subsequently: Deployment to Sepolia and Hoodi testnets Finally: Mainnet launch In conclusion The launch of the Plataberget testnet provides a public testing environment for the Glamsterdam upgrade. Developers can test new features and identify potential issues before the mainnet upgrade. For developers and node operators, this is a window to participate in testing and prepare for the upgrade. When the gas model changes,