Starkiller said on August 21 that it has high confidence the digital asset cycle has bottomed after BTC posted two strong days of gains and the market improved over the past month. The investment firm also said it closed all short positions last month. In its view, BTC and ETH have both reclaimed their 200-day moving averages, while U.S. regulatory efforts and Treasury buybacks of longer-dated Treasurys could help turn the cycle. Starkiller added that it expects assets with real revenue or value capture mechanisms to draw more attention, while weak tokens may become short candidates in the next leg higher. It also said BTC could see a short-term pullback near $80,000, but it remains constructive on stablecoins, tokenization, prediction markets, on-chain perpetuals, its long/short liquidity token strategy, and DeFi market-neutral yield strategy.

Decrypt’s Morning Minute said Pump.fun’s PUMP token is showing its first golden cross since launch, with the 50-day EMA moving above the 200-day EMA after a prolonged downturn. The token fell to $0.001491 in July, traded as high as $0.003 intraday on Monday, and later changed hands near $0.002733. The report tied the move to improving business performance rather than price action alone. According to DefiLlama data cited in the piece, Pump.fun generated $11.52 million in revenue over the past seven days, ranking fourth among all crypto protocols behind Tether, Circle, and Canton. The newsletter also said annualized revenue stands at $458 million against a $1.09 billion market cap, while August 10 to 16 fees reached $10.74 million, up 7% week over week. Pump said Tuesday’s $1.73 million marked its strongest single revenue day since January 30. The article also highlighted Pump.fun’s buyback-and-burn structure, recent product changes including Callout Rewards and lower trading fees, plus broader market, macro, ETF, memecoin, token, and NFT developments covered in the daily roundup.

A PANews opinion piece by columnist Haotian argues that the crypto market has shifted away from trading on narratives and pre-launch expectations and is now focusing far more on cash flow and real-world execution. Based on discussions with several experienced on-chain participants, the author lays out four screening rules for the current cycle. First, he favors tokens with clear value-capture mechanisms, especially protocols that generate fees and return value to holders through buybacks, burns, or distributions, citing $UNI, $PUMP, $PONS, and $HYPE as examples. Second, he says projects should have already achieved product-market fit and built a working business loop, with asset tokenization and the so-called Agentic Economy named as two areas to watch, including examples such as $ONDO, $VVV, and $VIRTUAL. Third, he argues that assets with strong cross-cycle market consensus, including $DOGE, $PEPE, $PEOPLE, $ZEC, and $TAO, remain relevant because they have survived multiple boom-and-bust phases. Finally, he warns against pure VC-backed tokens with high fully diluted valuations, low circulating supply, and ongoing unlock pressure. The article states that the discussion reflects personal views only and does not constitute investment advice.

VVV surges over 20% to $6.78, becoming the top-performing altcoin among top 300. A whale who bought $330K two months ago now holds $310K in profit without selling. Supply cuts of 25% and 17% locked supply underpin the rally.

The crypto market cap fell to $2.64 trillion on May 26, with BTC and ETH posting mild losses while NEAR and DeXe outperformed. ESPORTS dropped more than 90% within hours, and SLX lost 42.27%.

David Hoffman disclosed where his capital went after selling all of his ETH: half was deployed into VVV, NEAR, ZEC, and HYPE, while the remaining half was used to DCA into LIT, sparking sharp debate across the crypto community.

The crypto market dipped slightly to $2.68T total cap, but TON, VVV, NEAR, M, and ICP posted double-digit gains. TON surged 29% on Telegram becoming its largest validator; NEAR rallied on NVIDIA partnership; VVV, M, and ICP each had distinct catalysts.

Crypto market cap hits $2.71T with BTC at $81,054. Fear & Greed Index climbs to 47 (neutral). Germany mulls ending BTC tax exemption, Kraken launches margin trading, White House pushes Clarity Act by July 4, and more.