Ethereum, takes centre stage in ETF inflows; crypto mcap rises 13% in July

The global cryptocurrency market observed a significant boost in July 2025, with market capitalisation climbing 13.3 per cent, according to Binance Research. This growth was primarily propelled by Bitcoin reaching new peaks and a notable shift in investor focus towards altcoins, particularly Ethereum. The surge in institutional interest for Ethereum and other altcoins, alongside enhanced regulatory clarity due to new US stablecoin laws, played a pivotal role in this market expansion.

Bitcoin continued its upward trajectory, achieving an all-time high of $123,000 in July, although its market dominance decreased to 60.6 per cent. Meanwhile, altcoins captured more market share, with Ethereum rallying 51 per cent due to increased institutional participation and a rise in corporate holdings. These developments reflect a shift in market dynamics, favouring direct cryptocurrency holdings over traditional ETFs.

The altcoin market saw significant gains, with XRP, SUI, ADA, DOGE, and BNB among the top performers, with respective increases of 34.6 per cent, 33.8 per cent, 30 per cent, and 22.1 per cent, respectively. These altcoins benefited from ecosystem upgrades, corporate treasury adoption, and positive sentiment stemming from broader DeFi and tokenization narratives.

July marked a pivotal moment for the crypto market, with altcoins, especially Ethereum stepping into the spotlight. The market is showing a clear evolution from being price-driven to being shaped by deeper structural shifts, said Kushal Manupati, Regional Growth & Ops Lead of South Asia at Binance.

“We are seeing stronger institutional participation, regulatory clarity that builds long-term confidence, and growing use cases that connect blockchain technology directly to real-world finance. The rise of corporate ETH adoption, the strengthening role of stablecoins as global payment rails, and the growing momentum in tokenization all point to a maturing ecosystem,” he said.

Ethereum scaled $4,300 mark on Tuesday as the second largest crypto asset has surged nearly 46 per cent in the last one month. Its volume surged nearly 30 per cent in the last 24 hours as Ethereum worth $45 billion exchange hands in the last 24 hours. Ethereum’s dominance in the crypto market stood at 13.1 per cent as of the same time.

Commenting on same, Edul Patel, Co-founder and CEO at Mudrex said that it a validation of the network’s growth into core financial infrastructure. “We’re seeing institutional capital recognizing Ethereum’s unique position as both a store of value and the foundation for programmable money. In the past week alone, ETH ETFs saw about $1.8 billion in net inflows,” he said.

The passage of the GENIUS Act on 17 July marked a milestone for the stablecoin sector, establishing a federal framework for AML-compliant stablecoins in the US. This development accelerated institutional adoption, with giants like JPMorgan and Citi exploring tokenized solutions, and Visa expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities. On-chain stablecoin volumes, approximately $2.1 trillion, continued to surpass Visa’s 30-day rolling payment volumes, highlighting their growing role in global transactions.

Nasdaq-listed Fundamental Global bought 47,331 ETH worth $196 million, suggesting the Ethereum price is gearing up to outperform all the major tokens in the market in the upcoming bull run, said CoinDCX Research.

In the NFT sector, trading volumes rebounded by 49.9 per cent, driven by a dramatic increase in CryptoPunks sales. Ethereum-based NFTs regained leading sales volume status, increasing by 58 The global cryptocurrency market observed a significant boost in July 2025, with market capitalisation climbing 13.3 per cent, according to Binance Research , followed by Bitcoin NFTs at 28.1per cent. Discussions around integrating NFTs into ETF structures indicate potential institutional interest.

Tokenized stocks experienced a surge reminiscent of the early DeFi movement, with market cap reaching $370 million. Active on-chain addresses skyrocketed, evidencing rising investor interest. If just 1per cent of global equities were tokenized, the market potential could reach $1.3 trillion.

Ethereum’s performance in July was particularly noteworthy, with institutional participation reaching record levels. Corporate holdings of Ethereum grew by 127.7 per cent to over 2.7 million ETH, now comprising 46.5per cent of ETF-held ETH. The demand for Ethereum is driven by staking yield advantages and its deflationary supply model.

While Bitcoin continued to anchor the market’s stability, the notable increase in altcoin dominance by nearly 10 per cent to 39.2 per cent underlines one of 2025’s most significant monthly market shifts. Improvements in macroeconomic conditions and expectations of a Federal Reserve rate-cut cycle further bolstered investor confidence.

Bitcoin’s strong momentum as it approaches its all-time high is being driven by a record-breaking wave of institutional participation, largely through US spot Bitcoin ETFs. As demand has increased, ETF providers have had to directly buy and hold bitcoin, thereby reducing the supply in the market, said Vikas Gupta, Country Manager at Bybit India.