Crypto News: BNB Hits ATH, ETH Whale Surge, XRP Accumulates

We’re closing out July with a week of major moves, market signals, and momentum across the board.

XRP enjoyed a massive accumulation, BNB reached a new all-time high price, ETH whale activity increased with a huge stake, and Tron plans to create a shelf offering worth $1 billion. Then, Ethena’s market cap surges to $7.3 billion as GameSquare buys NFT for $5.15 million.

Let’s get to it.

Investors accumulate over 163 million XRP

Ripple enjoyed significant inflows over the weekend as over 163 million XRP, worth around $519 million, were accumulated by investors.

Such behavior is consistent with a bullish outlook for the altcoin, with many investors opting to retain their positions rather than sell. This accumulation is likely to act as a reversal trigger, driving XRP toward its all-time high (ATH) of $3.66.

The NVT ratio, an essential indicator for assessing cryptocurrency valuations, is at a four-month low. This suggests that XRP is not overheated and has room for growth. The low NVT ratio indicates that the altcoin’s current price is justified by its network activity, making it more likely to see price appreciation without excessive speculation.

As the market remains in a healthy state, with strong accumulation and a balanced NVT ratio, XRP is positioned to keep rising. This will provide a solid foundation for the altcoin’s price movement in the coming days.

XRP has recently been trading sideways, hovering near its ATH. Despite a slight downturn, the altcoin’s price remains poised for a possible reversal, with accumulation picking up pace.

This comes in the aftermath of Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen transferring 50 million XRP to several addresses. Crypto analyst ZachXBT reported that an estimated $140 million worth of those tokens landed on centralized exchanges (CEXs) or off-ramp services.

According to on-chain data from CryptoQuant, Larsen’s wallet activity spiked between July 17 and July 24, coinciding with XRP’s peak and subsequent decline. It also showed that Larsen-linked wallets still control over 2.81 billion XRP, worth around $8.4 billion at current prices.

This creates a structural overhang for the token, especially if additional sales occur on open markets. The timing of these transfers – just days after XRP’s all-time high – suggests a deliberate profit-taking strategy.

The move sparked market volatility and renewed scrutiny of wallets linked to founders. This trend is similar to behavior seen during previous market cycles. Most notably, the 2017-2018 bull run, when founder wallet outflows aligned with price tops.

BNB hits a new all-time high price

BNB’s price reached a new all-time high of $827.25 on Sunday, July 27, clearing its previous peak of $809.84. With this surge, nearly $180 million in total positions were wiped out as shorts dominated liquidations.

At the time of writing, CoinMarketCap data indicates that BNB is the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies. It is also the fourth-largest altcoin, excluding stablecoins, with a market capitalization of $114.61 billion.

Along with BNB’s surge to a new ATH, total crypto liquidations reached $178.04 million, with 77,874 traders being blown out of the water. Notably, the largest single liquidation order happened on the Bybit exchange.

Meanwhile, with the BNB price ascending to a new ATH, short positions valued at $1.58 million were liquidated, against a modest $21,720 in long positions.

Funding rates have flipped consistently positive, suggesting aggressive long positioning. Open Interest has surged past $1.3 billion, signaling rising trader conviction. Then, daily trading volume spiked above $5 billion, its highest in months, confirming real momentum behind the rally rather than speculative noise.

Some analysts ascribe the surge to rising BNB Chain network activity and companies expressing interest in a BNB treasury. Some include WindTree Therapeutics and Nano Labs, with more likely to join the trend.

Another posted on social media,

“BNB Chain network activity is rising, Binance continues to be the #1 exchange, and companies are buying BNB for their Treasury. All this demand is certainly going to push BNB above $1,000 by Q4 and possibly $1,800-$2,000 by cycle top.”

Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) hailed community and ecosystem support toward the network’s growth.

ETH whale activity increases with $300 million stake

According to on-chain data publicized by EmberCN, SharpLink Gaming purchased over 77,000 ETH, equivalent to approximately $296 million. It then staked all of it, meaning it is locked to earn rewards from the Ethereum network.

The second-largest corporate holder of Ether, SharpLink Gaming, has shown no signs of slowing down its treasury play. This single purchase is more than the network’s net issuance of Ether in the past 30 days.

After this recent acquisition of ETH, SharpLink Gaming’s total ETH holdings exceed 438,000 ETH, which is worth more than $1.69 billion.

The large-scale ETH purchase and staking by SharpLink Gaming reflects a long-term vision and clear strategy. Last week, it hired Joseph Chalom, an ex-worker at BlackRock, as its new co-CEO. In May, it nominated Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin as its chairman of the board of directors.

SharpLink is the second company to hold more than $1.5 billion worth of ETH in its treasury. It reportedly filed an amended prospectus with the regulators to increase its stock sale from $1 billion to $6 billion. The majority of the proceeds from the sale will be used to buy ETH.

Bitmine Immersion Tech leads the way as its ETH holdings exceed $2 billion. The company also announced its ambitious plan of holding at least 5% of ETH’s total supply, which amounts to more than $23 billion at the time of this writing.

Furthermore, alongside SharpLink Gaming, several other institutions have shown aggressive accumulation of Ethereum and other coins amid a recovering market.

DeFiance Capital, a prominent investment fund, acquired 30,400 ETH worth approximately $114 million. Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, also withdrew 60,000 ETH from Binance, signaling personal or strategic accumulation.

Currently, 6.73% of ETH’s total supply, 8.12 million ETH worth more than $31 billion, is collectively held by corporations and ETFs combined, according to Strategic ETH Reserve.

Tron to create shelf offering worth $1 billion

Tron has filed with the SEC to create a mixed shelf offering worth $1 billion. The firm will sell common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, and more, but retains flexibility in allocating the different types of products.

Tron, a blockchain focused on decentralized app creation, has gone through a lot of changes recently. Since the SEC settled its case against founder Justin Sun, Tron has gone public and entered massive business deals with Trump’s crypto empire.

Its latest move is this mixed shelf offering.

A market shelf offering is a type of stock sale that allows a company to register multiple types of securities at once. However, the firm doesn’t have to commit to specific allocations in advance, permitting greater flexibility in raising capital.

According to the SEC filing, Tron will offer common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, and warrants and rights to purchase them. The SEC filing is just a prospectus, and Tron will provide more details on its exact plans in future supplements.

Without a doubt, Tron is growing in prominence. Last week, the company rang the Nasdaq opening bell. Also, at the time of writing, a user minted $1 billion USDT tokens on the Tron blockchain, the same amount as the market shelf offering proposed to the SEC.

On the one hand, it could be merely a coincidence. On the other hand, it could be a harbinger of things to come, seeing that Tron and Tether have worked together in the past.

With an international profile and diversified business interests, it can be difficult to predict what’s coming next. At the moment, it’s hard to clarify beyond the available information.

Still, with the SEC’s approval, Tron will offer a diverse bunch of stock sales to raise $1 billion in fresh capital.

Ethena’s market cap surges to $7.3 billion

July has been a strong month for the crypto market. Nearly $200 billion has flowed into altcoins, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Ethena (ENA) was a clear standout, ripping 130% on the month and positioning itself as one of the strongest momentum plays in the current market cycle.

Still, ENA’s performance hasn’t been just a short-term impulse move. Its USDe (Ethena’s native yield-bearing stablecoin) is actively driving the rally, making it a narrative that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Ethena’s USDe, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, has pulled in $2 billion in inflows this month. This has pushed its market cap to $7.3 billion, making it the third-largest stablecoin behind USDT and USDC.

And this growth isn’t random.

Instead, it’s being driven by yield. Ethena is offering 10% APY (annual percentage yield) on sUSDe, its staked version, making it one of the highest risk-adjusted returns across DeFi.

As illustrated in the chart below, sUSDe yields recently topped 10.29%, directly reflecting Ethena’s on-chain revenue generation. That is, capital is flowing into USDe not just for stability, but for yield.

Ethena pulled in $30.85 million in fees over the past 30 days, driven by increased demand from users staking USDe for high APY. Meanwhile, on the institutional front, Anchorage and Ethena Labs are launching USDtb—the first stablecoin to comply with the GENIUS Act.

Together, these elements highlight how Ethena is scaling on-chain adoption through USDe’s yield engine. But the real question now is, how does this feedback loop translate into sustained demand for ENA?

USDT and USDC earn yield from the U.S. Treasury holdings and rotate that income into Bitcoin as part of their reserve strategy. Still, Ethena plays a different game as it doesn’t rely on T-bills. Instead, it leans into crypto market volatility, capturing Funding Premiums to generate on-chain yield.

When the market is bullish, Bitcoin traders go long on perpetual futures, and they have to pay a funding fee to those taking the opposite side (shorts). Ethena takes the short side, collecting that funding as yield.

Consequently, that yield is then recycled into ENA buybacks, turning USDe growth into real, sustained demand for the native token. Notably, between the 22nd and 25th of July alone, 83 million ENA (1.3% of the circulating supply) were scooped up across public venues, as part of the Foundation’s ongoing $260 million buyback initiative.

This is why ENA’s 130% rally isn’t just market noise. At this rate, the $1 breakout isn’t hype, it’s just where the chart’s headed.

GameSquare buys NFT for $5.15 million

GameSquare Holdings, Inc. has drawn attention by acquiring CryptoPunk #5577, a well-known NFT, for $5.15 million through preferred shares. Following the deal, CryptoPunk #5577 officially became a strategic treasury asset of GameSquare.

While NFTs have long been speculative digital collectibles, a new wave of companies treating them as treasury assets may redefine their role in corporate finance, if the market holds.

GameSquare’s decision is bold. It places NFTs on the same level as other recent reserve crypto assets like BTC, ETH, and SOL. Several industry insiders have weighed in on the matter.

Garga, CEO of Yuga Labs – the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection – predicted that NFT treasury companies will become a trend. He also expressed a desire to see an APE-focused treasury company.

He said,

“the world isn’t ready for NFT treasury companies, but they are coming anyway.”

Matt Medved, a member of the Digital Art Council at Art Basel, echoed his expectations. Medved believes the NFT market cap is small but still has massive growth potential. Other NFT investors also argue that NFTs hold a unique advantage – their strong cultural and social elements.

Notably, the market is witnessing a sharp rise in NFT trading volume in July.

Data from Dune shows that NFT marketplace volumes exploded in July. On some days, trading volume reached 426 million, with the daily average above $10 million.

Similarly, the floor prices of CryptoPunks and Moonbirds have surged, signaling a potential comeback of the NFT season.

Additionally, Nathan Frankovitz, an analyst at VanEck, cited data from CryptoSlam, noting that Ethereum NFT trading volume on July 23 spiked to the highest level since May 2022.

This shows renewed interest in NFTs, creating favorable conditions for businesses to consider these assets as part of their strategic reserves. Thus, while GameSquare may be the first signal, it is still too early to call it a full-blown trend.

If this movement gains momentum, the most promising NFT collections likely to benefit would include Pudgy Penguins, CryptoPunks, and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Per OpenSea, these collections account for most of the liquidity in the NFT market.

So, like Bitcoin-reserve companies, NFT treasury firms could issue bonds to purchase NFTs, inflating NFT and stock values. Then, retail investors would buy shares in companies holding high-value NFT portfolios which would recycle the capital.

Zypto expands its Crypto Bill Pay service across the U.S.

Zypto’s Pay Bills with Crypto service now supports over 86,000 billers nationwide, giving users the power to cover everything from essentials to indulgences using digital assets.

Think beyond basic utilities – crypto now pays for the things you actually want. That includes:

Luxury & Lifestyle: Ducati, Indian Motorcycle, Moto Guzzi, Restoration Hardware, Reeds Jewelers
Travel & Wellness: Hilton Grand Vacations, Orbitz, Premier Laser Spa, Ideal Image
Big-Name Retail: Nordstrom, JCPenney, Ikea, David’s Bridal
And more: Memberships, loyalty programs, casinos, country clubs and beyond

All available directly in the Zypto App. Find out more here.

Closing remark

Ripple’s buying surge suggests that a wave of optimism is returning to the market, signaling that investors are positioning themselves for a possible price increase. BNB’s breakout to an ATH is backed by strong market activity via positive funding rates and increase in trading activity.

Sharplink Gaming’s ETH purchase, alongside other corporations and institutional investors via ETFs can create a supply shortage for ETH, which can theoretically push the price.

Tron’s plans seem interesting. To that end, crypto enthusiasts are encouraged to keep a watchful eye on the situation as it develops. Finally, assets used for strategic reserves must demonstrate sustainable growth. This is where NFTs fundamentally differ from Bitcoin.

And finally, with over 86,000 U.S. billers now payable in crypto through Zypto, real-world utility continues to expand across the ecosystem.

There you have it folks, your roundup for the week! Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.