Hola DD amigos! Crypto markets have remained upbeat, and the collective market cap is approaching $4 trillion. Following Bitcoin’s all-time high just above $123K, ETH and SOL also broke out, bringing much-needed hope to drought-stricken altcoins. What we can say is that we are headed towards an “explosive phase of face-melting rallies”. This week’s stories will explain why. Read on!
Here’s what we have for you in this issue:
- Solana’s on fire
- Crypto’s taking a new Wall Street lover — JP Morgan
Solana’s Killing It🔥
The Solana ecosystem has been busy — accumulating value, growing its user base (both retail and institutional), and expanding its use cases.
July has been particularly charged for Solana. The jumps and dips on the chart have been driven both by price and product. In the past two weeks, Solana:
- Crossed $100 billion in market cap
- Hit $10 billion+ in DeFi TVL
- Saw $23 billion in DEX volume
- Attracted $48 million in institutional buys
- And launched a $100 million AUM ETF in just 12 days
SOL breaks above $200
The SOLUSDT pair soared north of $200 after five months, thus attaining the $100 billion market cap mark again.
DEX volumes on Solana increased by 22% week-over-week. Over 350,000 new tokens were deployed in a single week.
$100 million ETF AUM
The REX-Osprey Solana ETF (SSK) hit $100 million AUM in 12 days. It’s not just a spot ETF — it includes on-chain staking, giving TradFi investors staking yield inside a compliant wrapper.
And the best thing to happen to the ETF? SOL’s rally, which made it one of the best-performing crypto ETPs of the month.
Institutional frenzy
SOL’s institutional demand has skyrocketed.
Upexi dropped $20 million for 100K SOL, and Defi Dev Corp added another $28 million worth of SOL to their stash.
Source: @AkaBull_
And, Solana’s biggest flex amidst rising demand? Jito’s proposal to launch a Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) that enables dark pools, CLOBs, and “just-in-time” oracles without modifying the base layer.
This BAM design:
- Adds verifiable privacy and custom sequencing for traders
- Bypasses the need for private mempools or off-chain deals
- Channels fees back to validators, stakers, and the Jito DAO
- And hints at a future where Solana isn’t just fast — it’s finance-native
Talk about being “the de facto blockchain of finance”, and Solana is on the way to becoming one with all the necessary tools and firepower.
- Liquidity (DEXs, ETFs, staking yield)
- Infrastructure (block markets, plugins, DAO-based revenue flow)
- Institutional fit (privacy + determinism for HFTs)
While Ethereum debates fee markets and L2 fragmentation, Solana is building a well-organised, vertically integrated execution layer.
JPMorgan U-Turns on Crypto Hating😁
JPMorgan is finally doing it. *drumroll*
It is preparing to offer loans backed by Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Yes, you read that right. Talk about integrating crypto collateral into traditional banking rails, and you have the perfect launchpad.
What’s particularly interesting is that this move comes within days of the GENIUS Act’s passage, giving US banks regulatory clarity to handle tokenized assets.
Source: @theRWAguy
How it started: In 2017, JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon called Bitcoin a fraud.
Fast forward to 2025: According to Reuters and FT, JPMorgan is rolling out a two-phase crypto collateral lending program:
- Phase One: Accepting spot Bitcoin ETFs (like BlackRock’s IBIT) as collateral
- Phase Two: Lending against direct BTC and ETH holdings, held with regulated custodians like Coinbase or Anchorage
The GENIUS Act, passed on July 19, paved the way for tokenized dollars, tighter stablecoin oversight, and crypto-backed financial products — the exact kind of regulatory clarity JPMorgan (and every other TradFi giant) has been waiting for.
And thanks to this, Wall Street’s wasting no time in coming up with a crypto-collateral-backed loan playbook:
- Tap into $39 billion+ in demand for crypto-backed loans
- Avoid speculative exposure or balance sheet risk
- Use ETFs and custody partners to stay Basel-compliant
Crypto’s credit layer is now moving from fragmented DeFi ecosystems to mature, robust TradFi systems.
It’s just a matter of successful execution. If JPMorgan nails this, they won’t just offer loans against crypto — they’ll define the rulebook for doing it at scale, likely answering questions such as:
- What’s considered valid crypto collateral?
- What happens in a default?
- How are on-chain pledges enforced under US law?
- What are the margin requirements for volatile assets?
And with this, JPM will lay the foundation for a parallel crypto-finance stack — one that’s regulated, structured, and risk-priced.
After witnessing a big bank’s transition from its hardline “Bitcoin is a scam” stance to “we’ll lend against it” across 8 years, we can proudly say —“Crypto has truly made it!”
If this is not bullish for crypto, we don’t know what is?
Crypto markets are increasingly becoming lucrative and sought after by institutional bigwigs. After years of entertaining hobbyist retail plebs and degens, the digital asset ecosystem is finally getting the adoption it deserves. The crypto party just went institutional, and we’re suited up for it.
That’s all for this issue. See you at the next one. Ciao👋
