Crypto Markets End the Week in the Red, Even as NASDAQ Inches Higher

The crypto markets closed the week on a negative note, with Ethereum and Solana seeing double-digit losses. Meanwhile, traditional markets like the NASDAQ managed a small gain, highlighting diverging trends between digital and equity assets.

📉 Market Summary

Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 3.9%, Ethereum (ETH) fell by 11.6%, and Solana (SOL) dropped by 12.1%. In contrast, the NASDAQ edged up by 0.2%, finishing the week at $19,447.

Year-to-date, Bitcoin remains in the green with an 8.5% gain. Ethereum and Solana, however, have continued to underperform with YTD losses of 32.5% and 28.9%, respectively. The NASDAQ is up slightly at 0.7% YTD.

The total crypto market cap decreased to $3.12 trillion (-5.7% WoW). Bitcoin’s dominance rose to 64.8%, while Ethereum’s dominance declined to 8.8%. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 37, signaling renewed fear in the market.

💹 Weekly Price Performance of Top Coins

The altcoin market posted notable declines.

Top Gainers

$FTN +0.1%
$OKB -0.6%
$BCH -1.5%

Top Losers

$ICP -17.5%
$PEPE -19.3%
$ENA -20.3%

🔍 On-Chain Data Insights

Top Protocols by Total Revenue:

• Tron (TRX)

• UniSwap (UNI)

• PancakeSwap (CAKE)

These platforms continue to collect substantial fees, showing strong user engagement and demand.

Top Protocols by Total Value Locked (TVL):

• Aave (AAVE)

• Lido (LDO)

• EigenLayer (EIGEN)

High TVL reflects user trust in protocol security and relevance.

Chain Revenues (Last Reported):

• Bitcoin: $0.3M

• Ethereum: $1.4M

• Solana: $0.7M

Revenues remain subdued across major chains. Ethereum has not recovered to Q1 2024 levels, and Solana’s memecoin-driven revenue spikes have faded. Bitcoin revenue remains flat due to low transaction volume.

🌍 Macro Highlights

Economic Indicators:

• U.S. Retail Sales: Expected at -0.6% vs. +0.1% prior

• Initial Jobless Claims: Above 240k, signaling rising unemployment

• FOMC: Fed held rates steady; 60% chance of a rate cut in September

• Inflation: PCE expected to rise from 2.1% to 2.3%; Core PCE from 2.5% to 2.6%

Markets are adjusting to higher tariffs and inflation concerns, with expectations for higher unemployment and cautious rate cuts.

Upcoming Data to Watch:

• S&P U.S. Services PMI: 53 expected (vs. 53.7 prior)

• Manufacturing PMI: 51.5 expected (vs. 52 prior)

• Headline and Core PCE data due this week

📰 Crypto Industry News

• Institutional Accumulation: Strategy bought another 245 BTC (~$26M), bringing total holdings to nearly 600,000 BTC.

• Crypto Fund Flows: Global funds saw $1.2B in net inflows, continuing a 10-week streak. BTC and ETH funds led with $1.1B and $124M inflows, respectively.

• Venture Capital: Paradigm led a $15M Series A in Global Token Exchange (GTE), aiming to rival CEXs like Binance and Coinbase.

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