HTX said crypto markets turned sharply higher during the week of Aug. 17-23 after a months-long slump, with Aug. 19 marking the key pivot. On that day, U.S. President Donald Trump convened crypto companies, regulators, and traditional finance representatives at the White House and publicly urged Congress to move forward with digital asset legislation. The U.S. Treasury also said it would at least double the cap on single long-end Treasury liquidity support repo operations, raising it from $2 billion to $4 billion. According to the report, the 30-year Treasury yield fell by about 9 basis points that day, risk assets strengthened, and Bitcoin rose more than 8% within 12 hours. For the full week, Bitcoin gained about 22% and broke above the $60,000-$70,000 range that had held for much of the year. Between Aug. 19 and Aug. 22, the total market capitalization of crypto assets excluding Bitcoin increased by roughly $215 billion, moving back above $1 trillion. HTX said assets across several sectors rose in tandem on its platform, with Meme and DeFi names showing the most concentrated gains. TRUMP, TUT, PEPE, and PUMP all posted strong advances, while PENDLE, AAVE, and MORPHO moved higher after Pendle expanded its PT Looping incentive program. ZEC also surged after Grayscale filed an amended registration statement tied to a planned spot ETF conversion, while XRP ranked among the stronger large-cap performers of the week.

DeFi has been one of the most active corners of the crypto rebound as Bitcoin and Ethereum rallied over the past few days, lifting a wide range of altcoins with them. Rather than chasing price alone, the article argues that protocol revenue offers a cleaner way to judge whether a project still has real users and real demand. Using revenue data from Tokenomist and DefiLlama, with revenue defined as protocol income after distributions to supply-side participants such as LPs, the piece reviews top earners across decentralized exchanges, lending markets, and ETH staking. Uniswap led DEX revenue over the past 30 days at $7.18 million, while Solana-based Jupiter, Meteora, and Raydium also ranked high. PancakeSwap on BNB Chain and Aerodrome on Base were highlighted for their own strong income and distinct value-capture models. In lending, World Liberty Financial posted the highest 30-day revenue at $10.47 million, ahead of Aave. In ETH staking, ether.fi and Lido both made the list. A key takeaway is that high revenue does not automatically translate into direct tokenholder returns: some protocols use buybacks and burns, some route income to locked-token holders, and others generate strong protocol income without passing it through in full.

Altcoins have rallied alongside Bitcoin and Ether, pushing the sector’s total market capitalization back to roughly $1.13 trillion, according to CoinGecko data cited by Blockcast. Since Aug. 19, the segment’s market value has expanded by more than $250 billion at its peak, while CoinGlass data shows daily altcoin trading volume climbed from about $86.23 billion to as high as $132.43 billion, a 53.6% increase. Even so, the report argues that a broad-based altseason has not yet arrived. The strongest gains have been concentrated in a limited group of tokens rather than the market as a whole. Among the top 100 tokens by market capitalization, the 30 best performers posted an average 7-day gain of more than 34.9%. ENA rose 98%, PUMP gained 80.5%, ZEC climbed 69.7%, and AAVE added 60.7%. The article links those moves not only to improving market sentiment, but also to token-specific catalysts such as Ethena’s $1 billion FalconX financing arrangement, Arthur Hayes’ public support for ENA, product upgrades tied to PUMP, and ETF-related developments around ZEC. Blockcast’s report also says the current setup differs from past cycles. CoinGlass’ Altcoin Season Index has recovered to 48 but remains below the 75 level often used to confirm altseason. Bitcoin dominance stands at 57.6%, while the combined share of altcoins excluding Ether and stablecoins is just 20.64%. With institutional money increasingly entering through spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs and crypto treasury vehicles, and with the number of listed tokens continuing to surge, the article says the old “everything pumps” phase may be much harder to repeat.

Bitcoin ripped more than 26% last week, touching $79,500 on Aug. 21 and breaking above its 200-day moving average for the first time since November 2025. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $1.918 billion last week, while spot Ether ETFs drew $697 million. Coinbase’s Bitcoin premium index turned positive at 0.0032%, ending a 97-day negative streak, and Polymarket now puts the odds of BTC reaching $90,000 before 2027 at about 48%. Ether outperformed with a weekly gain of nearly 30%, but on-chain deleveraging signals remained visible.

Altcoins have rebounded alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum, pushing the sector’s total market capitalization back to about $1.13 trillion and lifting daily trading volume from roughly $86.23 billion to a peak of $132.43 billion since Aug. 19, according to CoinGecko and CoinGlass data cited by PANews. Within the top 100 tokens by market value, the 30 best performers gained more than 34.9% on average over the past seven days, with ENA, PUMP, ZEC and AAVE rising 98%, 80.5%, 69.7% and 60.7%, respectively. The report says the move has not yet developed into a full altcoin season. CoinGlass’ altcoin season index has recovered to 48, still below the 75 level commonly used as confirmation. Bitcoin dominance also remains elevated at 57.6%, while the market share of the rest of the altcoin segment, excluding Ether and stablecoins, stands at 20.64%, with little recent change. PANews argues that money is returning selectively rather than spreading across the market. Capital has been concentrating in high-beta names, stronger narratives and tokens with clear catalysts, especially in privacy, DeFi, meme, payments and trading-related sectors. The piece also points to structural changes in the cycle, including greater participation from Wall Street institutions through spot ETFs and crypto treasury channels, as well as a sharp rise in the number of tokens competing for liquidity. In that setting, a future altcoin season may still arrive, but the old pattern of nearly every token rising together looks less likely.

DeFi tokens dominated the top of the crypto secondary market gainers board on Aug. 24, according to HTX market data. SPK posted the strongest daily move in the group, rising more than 26% on the day and 44.8% over the past week. MORPHO gained 20.84% and was quoted at $2.751 at the time of the update. Other DeFi names also moved sharply higher, with AAVE up 16.76% to $144.07 and PENDLE up 14.34% to $1.847. ENA added 13.64% on the day to $0.1685, while its seven-day gain reached 96%. HTX data also showed ETHFI, LDO, and MET each rising more than 10% during the session. The move placed DeFi tokens at the center of the day’s gains across the broader crypto secondary market, with SPK and MORPHO highlighted as leading names in the rally.

Blockworks Research researcher AJC said PONS ranked No. 13 in crypto market revenue over the past 30 days, yet its FDV-to-revenue multiple stood at just 0.7x, the lowest among the top 15 revenue-generating tokens. The comparison he shared showed CARDS at about 2.8x, PUMP at 7.7x, CAKE at 9.6x, AAVE at 45.2x, HYPE at 168.5x, and LINK at 212.2x. Based on those figures, AJC argued that PONS is trading at a valuation that is notably lower than other high-revenue protocols relative to its revenue base. The comment was published in an Odaily newsflash citing AJC’s post and focused on relative valuation rather than token price moves or broader market direction.

Altcoins held onto their upward momentum over the weekend, according to market data cited by BlockBeats from HTX on Aug. 23. ZRO posted the biggest 24-hour gain among the tokens listed, rising 20.40% to $1.198. DGB followed with an 18.47% increase to $0.00494, while STX climbed 16.24% to $0.2341 and PUMP added 15.67% to reach $0.005314. FF rose 14.18% to $0.08578. Several other tokens also posted solid gains. ENA was up 11.68% at $0.1760, ETHFI rose 9.27% to $0.6374, and MORPHO gained 8.47% to trade at $2.433. PENDLE increased 7.25% to $1.775, YB advanced 7.09% to $0.0967, SAGA climbed 6.71% to $0.01527, XPL rose 6.65% to $0.10437, and BOME added 6.33% to $0.0012187. AAVE also remained in positive territory, up 5.53% over the past 24 hours at $132.6, putting it above the $130 mark.