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In February 2026, the on-chain ecosystem exhibited more pronounced structural divergence amid price pressure. On-chain activity did not contract in tandem, but instead became further concentrated on high-frequency and high-efficiency networks. Solana maintained its dominance in high-frequency activity, while Base and Polygon continued to expand. Arbitrum saw a recovery in activity, but its capital retention and value capture weakened. Ethereum shifted from net outflows to significant net inflows, reinforcing its role as the primary settlement layer and a key hub for macro asset deployment. On the BTC side, the price pullback pushed short-term holders broadly into unrealized losses, with profit-taking cooling and sell pressure still concentrated among short-term positions, while the long-term holder structure remained intact. At the sector level, AI Agent, supply-side shocks, and institutional DeFi narratives coexisted. Short-term returns were driven by structural catalysts, while mid-term allocation continued

In February, the overall crypto market showed a weak trend, with notable outflows from BTC ETFs. Major blockchains remained stable throughout the month, with Solana leading by a wide margin at over 100 million daily transactions. Ethereum recorded 13.34 million unique active addresses, maintaining its second-highest level in history. TradFi trading volume on Perp DEXs surged to $47.3 billion, largely driven by Hyperliquid’s HIP-3. The Web3 sector completed 46 funding rounds totaling $986 million, with the top 10 projects accounting for $793 million—three major deals were led by Tether. Meanwhile, Web3 security incidents declined significantly month-over-month, though smart contract vulnerabilities remained the primary risk source.

Gate Research: Large language models and AI agent technologies are pushing trading systems into a new stage of development. Quantitative trading, which previously relied heavily on programming skills and complex engineering systems, is gradually evolving into product forms with much lower barriers to entry. Gate has introduced products such as AI Quant Workspace and Gate for AI, which aim to integrate strategy generation, backtesting, and automated execution within a single platform through natural language interaction, no-code quant tools, and unified trading interfaces, allowing more users to participate in strategy trading. As AI technology continues to mature, trading platforms are also evolving from traditional matching tools into AI-driven trading infrastructure.

Gate Research Institute: Over the past 24 hours, BTC briefly climbed above $71,000, but following a sharp drop and quick rebound during the U.S. market session, it settled back near $69,300. ETH rapidly declined from $2,070 to $2,010 and remains in a recovery phase. Altcoins showed weakness, with most lagging behind BTC, while the Fear & Greed Index remains in the extreme fear range. HUMA, NAORIS, and ARIA saw gains of 50.13%, 39.38%, and 29.02%, respectively, fueled by AI-related narratives. Additionally, Oracle’s earnings beat expectations, driving its share price up nearly 8% after hours, and both Hyperliquid and Circle announced significant product updates.

Gate Research: Between 2025 and 2026, PayFi is evolving from a crypto payment tool into a next-generation payment and financial engine, with stablecoins achieving scale in high-frequency and cross-border payments and demonstrating clear efficiency and cost advantages over traditional systems. As Web2 and Web3 continue to converge, institutions such as Visa, PayPal, and emerging neobanks are becoming key gateways to mainstream adoption, while the combination of stablecoins, real-world assets (RWA), and AI is shaping PayFi’s foundational architecture by enabling automated, always-on settlement, asset mobility, and risk management. Looking ahead to 2026, regulatory clarity, scalable asset tokenization, and the maturity of AI-driven financial systems will be the primary determinants of PayFi’s competitive landscape and long-term barriers.

Gate Research Daily Report: On August 11, BTC broke above the 121,200 USD mark after a period of sideways consolidation, while ETH surpassed its interim high of 4,343.23 USD. In the Solana ecosystem, meme token launch platform BAGS outpaced letsBONK.fun in seven-day revenue. Bitcoin’s market cap overtook Amazon to rank sixth globally, with the total cryptocurrency market cap hitting a record high above 4.1 trillion USD. The LayerZero Foundation proposed a $110 million acquisition of the Stargate cross-chain bridge and its STG token.

With the clarification of regulatory policies and the continuous improvement of infrastructure, the crypto market is undergoing a profound transformation led by institutional capital. Since 2024, landmark events such as the passage of the Stablecoin Act and the implementation of the MiCA regulations in the European Union have driven crypto assets to transition from "marginal speculative instruments" to "institutional core allocations." Traditional financial giants like Strategy, BlackRock, Fidelity, and Nomura have been actively pursuing full-stack strategies, encouraging diverse institutions such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and university endowments to gradually increase their involvement.

This report summarizes the Web3 industry’s fundraising activity in July 2025. A total of 132 funding deals were completed during the month, with an aggregate amount reaching $3.68 billion. Capital primarily flowed into CeFi and blockchain services, reflecting a dual focus on infrastructure and services. Investment was concentrated in growth-stage projects raising between $3 million and $20 million, with Series A rounds emerging as the main battleground for capital. Meanwhile, the accelerated adoption of traditional financial instruments such as Post-IPO deals signals a deepening integration between the Web3 industry and mainstream capital markets.The report also highlights key fundraising projects including Delabs Games, Gaia Labs, Syntetika, Blockskye, and Limitless.

Gate Research Daily Report:On August 12, BTC price briefly touched a historic high of $122,300 before quickly retreating to a range around $118,900; ETH reached a yearly peak of $4,365 with trading volume soaring to $47.1 billion. Altcoins’ total market capitalization hit $1.61 trillion, with market sentiment entering the “greed” zone. BitcoinCash’s Smart Money Index surged to 85.1, reflecting significant institutional inflows. The Uniswap Foundation proposed establishing the “DUNI” legal entity in Wyoming to support decentralized governance. Lido DAO benefited from a favorable SEC ruling, boosting the prospects for liquid staking ETFs with a weekly gain of 54%.

Gate Research Daily Report: On August 6, BTC and ETH showed weak, range-bound performance, with market sentiment turning cautious. The U.S. SEC clarified that certain forms of liquid staking do not constitute securities, paving the way for ETH spot ETFs to potentially include staking mechanisms. AMINA Bank became the first regulated bank to support trading and custody services for SUI. Meanwhile, Mantle saw strong capital inflows, with its stablecoin market cap rising nearly 23% over the past week. The Web3 gaming sector showed notable strength—Illuvium launched a $250,000 pro league, pushing ILV up over 20%. Zebec introduced several crypto cards compatible with Apple Pay, sending ZBCN up 6%, while Saros initiated a token buyback and announced new ecosystem activities, driving SAROS up more than 5%.

Gate Research Weekly Report: This week, altcoins showed a slow downward trend, with the median drop among the Top 100 cryptocurrencies reaching 6.07%.Circle partnered with Corpay to support stablecoin payments for enterprise transactions.PancakeSwap launched perpetual contracts for U.S. stocks.Ethereum dApps have generated nearly $26.8 billion in cumulative revenue, with daily transactions nearing all-time highs.Gate's derivatives trading volume in July grew by 46.5% month-over-month, pushing its market share up to 11%.Pump.fun launched 13,690 new tokens in the past 24 hours, surpassing LetsBonk, though it still lags slightly in daily trading volume.

In July 2025, Ethereum saw a simultaneous rebound in on-chain activity and capital inflows, with transaction volume reaching a record high. Solana and Base led Layer 1 and Layer 2 respectively, showcasing high-frequency interactions and strong ecosystem stickiness. Bitcoin’s realized market cap hit a new all-time high, though short-term consolidation may follow. WorldChain attracted over $100 million in inflows as its ecosystem rapidly took shape. LetsBonk.fun’s token launch market share exceeded 70%, surpassing Pump.fun, while Ethena’s stablecoin TVL rose to $8.4 billion, maintaining its lead in the sector.

Gate Research Daily Report: On August 7, the crypto market extended its rebound, with BTC maintaining a short-term uptrend and ETH leading major tokens by breaking above 3,900 USDT on strong volume. U.S. President Trump signed a crypto-friendly banking order and appointed Miran as a Federal Reserve governor. Meanwhile, Hong Kong launched its RWA registration platform and initiated three Web3 standardization projects. The SEC and Ripple ended their legal dispute, finalizing the ruling that XRP is not a security in secondary markets. Concept tokens saw strong momentum: PENDLE rose 28.4% thanks to HyperEVM’s yield pool surpassing $100 million in TVL; ZORA jumped 34.2% driven by creator economy campaigns with Base and Polcom; ORCA gained 21.1% following the launch of Wavebreak and new buyback proposals.

Gate Research Daily Report: On August 1st, BTC fell by approximately 2.10% over the past 24 hours, forming a bearish candlestick pattern with a lower wick indicating limited buying support at lower levels, while ETH prices dropped by about 3.79% in the past 24 hours, with an RSI of 69.8, nearing overbought territory and suggesting a potential short-term correction. Concurrently, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) officially published an article today titled "Lean Ethereum," authored by EF researcher Justin Drake, outlining a vision for Ethereum's development over the next decade. Separately, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins recently delivered a speech announcing the launch of a committee-level initiative called "Project Crypto," and Ethereum infrastructure protocol Puffer Finance announced that Puffer UniFi AVS has been upgraded.

Gate Research: From July 15 to July 28, 2025, the overall crypto market maintained a moderately bullish trend. BTC traded sideways at high levels with a stable structure, while ETH steadily climbed toward 4,000 USDT, showing relatively stronger short-term performance. In terms of volatility, BTC remained stable while ETH volatility increased, reflecting rising market divergence. Long-short ratios and funding rates declined to a more neutral-to-cautious zone, with open interest staying elevated. Leverage growth was more notable on ETH. Liquidation activity remained relatively rational, with long liquidations peaking at $630 million on July 23, indicating a high-level flush that helped release upward momentum. On the quantitative strategy side, a MACD trend-following strategy achieved over 150% returns trading SUI, demonstrating strong short-term trading potential.