Ethereum Treasuries Top $17 Billion as Institutions Bet on DeFi and Web3

Arthur Hayes is moving from crypto battles to stem cell clinics. The BitMEX co-founder, recently pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump, has taken a board seat and a major stake in a stem cell company – the same firm where he’s been a patient for more than a year.

The company, currently rebranding, has not been named. Hayes has been traveling to clinics in Mexico and Bangkok for infusions aimed at extending his healthspan.

Crypto Titans Look Beyond Tokens

Hayes isn’t the only one. Some of crypto’s most familiar names are backing biotech and life-extension projects.

• Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin donated millions, including $25 million in SHIB tokens, to aging research groups.
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong co-founded NewLimit, a genetic startup that raised $130 million this year.
• Former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan co-founded Counsyl, a genomics company focused on disease screening.

For these crypto leaders, extending human life has become just as exciting as building the next blockchain.

Hayes Still Deep in Crypto

Even with his new focus, Hayes hasn’t stepped back from the industry that made him a billionaire. He still invests actively and often shares his market views and experiences with the crypto community, especially on X.

His family office, Maelstrom, funds Bitcoin developers with grants worth up to $250,000 each and has invested in digital asset treasury companies – public firms stockpiling crypto on their balance sheets.

The Trump Factor

Trump’s March pardon cleared Hayes and fellow BitMEX executives of their Bank Secrecy Act convictions. It marked a clean slate for Hayes, who built one of the world’s biggest derivatives exchanges before regulators cracked down.

Since then, Trump himself has embraced crypto, which Hayes sees as validation.

Hayes also hinted that he’s preparing to release a detailed report on stablecoins, adding another layer to his ongoing influence in the crypto space.

Hayes built BitMEX, faced trial, and walked free with a presidential pardon. Now he’s investing in two things that could shape the future: Bitcoin and human longevity.

Bitcoin’s price struggles continued in the past 24 hours as the asset slipped to a three-week low of $112,500 before it staged a recovery to almost $115,000, where it faced another rejection.

Most larger-cap alts stand relatively calm, but BNB managed to surge to a new all-time high, while OKB has stolen the show again with another mindblowing pump.OKB, BNB New ATHs

It seems that the past few days have belonged to digital assets tied to some of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. BNB, for instance, traded at around $830 yesterday, but it skyrocketed to a new all-time high of just over $880 in hours. Although it has lost some traction since then, BNB is still 3% up on the day, trading close to $860.

The daily award for the biggest gains, though, goes to OKB once again. OKX’s native token has flown by 50% to chart a new record of its own at almost $197 (CoinGecko data). The asset has gained 300% in the past month.

Ethereumhas tapped $4,300 after a 1.25% daily increase, SOL has exceeded $185% after a 2% jump, andDOGEis above $0.22 following a 2.5% pump. LINK is close to $26, whileADAand TRX have posted more modest gains. In contrast, MNT has slumped by over 8% following its recent run.

The total crypto market cap has added around $30 billion since yesterday and is up to $3.950 trillion on CG.BTC Struggles Below $114K

While some altcoins have headed north to new peaks, bitcoin’s price actually continued its recent downfall. The asset reached a new ATH last week, but has lost over ten grand since then. The past 24 hours also saw some declines, as BTC slipped to a three-week low of $112,500 (on Bitstamp).

The bulls managed to react rather well to this price drop and didn’t allow a further breakdown, even though there are a few warning signs. Just the opposite, BTC jumped to almost $115,000, but it was quickly stopped there and pushed south to under $114,000, where it currently sits.

Its dominance over the alts has slumped by 0.5% in a day to 57.4% on CG, while its market cap is at $2.265 trillion.

Chainlink has been trending strongly in the crypto market. The token is up more than 3% in the last 24 hours, and excitement around its future is building fast.

According to data from CoinGlass, open interest in LINK futures has soared to a record $1.5 billion, up nearly 60% since the start of 2025. On-chain data also shows a major spike in activity, with 9,625 new LINK wallets created on August 18, the highest daily figure of 2025, while 9,813 active addresses were transacting just a day earlier.

This is being fueled by institutional adoption. More than 30 financial institutions are now piloting or testing Chainlink-powered solutions, pushing confidence that LINK could be one of the biggest winners of this market cycle.

Three Drivers Behind LINK’s Growth

1. Chainlink Reserves Program

The project recently launched Chainlink Reserves, a system where LINK tokens are purchased on the open market and locked away for years. The funds for these purchases come from both DeFi revenues and enterprise clients like Mastercard. By reducing circulating supply, the reserves act like a vacuum, supporting long-term price growth.

2. Wall Street Integration

The Intercontinental Exchange , parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has tapped Chainlink to bring foreign exchange (forex) and precious metals data on-chain. This move could be the first step toward broader Wall Street integration, eventually extending into major exchanges like NYSE and NASDAQ.

3. SWIFT Partnership

Chainlink is also working with SWIFT, the global banking communication network used by thousands of financial institutions. Instead of each bank experimenting with different blockchains, SWIFT is adopting Chainlink as a single “abstraction layer.” This allows banks like Citibank, BNP Paribas, and BNY Mellon to connect to blockchain infrastructure using Chainlink as the bridge.

Price Levels and Market Outlook

Immediate resistance sits around $29–31, while support lies near $21–22. If LINK can reclaim $26 and hold, analysts say it could push it higher into lighter liquidity zones.

For the long-term outlook, many are asking: Can LINK reach $100?

• Bullish Logarithmic Projections show wild predictions as high as $600, though these are widely seen as overly bullish.
• More Realistic Targets suggest $70–$80 this cycle, with $100 possible if adoption accelerates faster than expected.

BNB price has jumped nearly 14% in the last 30 days and recently touched a new all-time high of $881. While the price is now trading just 2% below that mark, what matters more is how it’s holding firm above key resistance.

In the past 24 hours alone, BNB gained another 3.4%, showing solid buyer interest. Two key on-chain signals suggest this rally may not be a one-off event. Both long-term and mid-term holders are backing this run.

HODLers Are Buying Into Strength — And They’re Not Alone

The chart below displays BNB’s HODL waves — a metric that measures the duration investors have held their tokens without selling them. It splits all BNB holders into age bands. The key here is the behavior of two specific groups: long-term holders (1–2 years) and mid-term conviction buyers (3–6 months).

On July 21, the 1–2 year band held just 6.56% of supply. That number has grown to 7.49% as of August 20. Similarly, the 3–6 month cohort rose from 1.5% to 7.3%. These are significant increases, especially when BNB’s price went up during the same time.

This kind of accumulation isn’t happening during a dip. It’s happening during a 14% BNB price rally, meaning these holders aren’t waiting for a pullback. They’re stepping in on strength.

For token TA and market updates: Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

Now look at exchange balances. Between August 19 and 20, BNB’s price jumped from $824 to $869. Over the same period, exchange balances dropped from 31.91 million to 31.38 million BNB — a 530,000 token drop in one day.

That means traders weren’t sending coins in to sell. They were pulling coins out. Combined with rising HODL bands, this is clear: BNB holders expect higher prices.

BNB Price Action Confirms That $881 Was Only the First Barrier

BNB’s price rally hasn’t been random. It’s been following a clear uptrend, with pullbacks respecting Fibonacci retracement levels. The chart shows a trend-based Fib extension plotted from the recent impulse: $730 (start) to $864.95 (peak), retraced down to $812.

Based on that, the 0.5 level — $881 — acted as clear resistance and was tested almost perfectly. This test marked BNB’s all-time high. If this resistance breaks, the next Fib levels at $897 and $920 open up; both would be fresh all-time highs.

But there’s one risk. If the BNB price breaks below $812, the trend structure weakens. The level acted as the key retracement zone, and losing it would shift sentiment. But until then, the setup favors continuation.

By George Glover

Bitcoin was edging lower on Thursday, although other cryptos were picking up gains as investors tried to figure out the Federal Reserve's next move.

The world's largest token was down 0.2% to $113,858 over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinDesk. It's now trading 9% off the record high it hit last week.

Ethereum was up 2.7%, Solana was up 3.5%, and XRP was up 1.2% over the past 24 hours, per data from the crypto exchange Kraken.

Digital-asset prices have soared this year thanks to a slew of positive regulatory developments, but they have lost some steam over the past week after wholesale inflation data came in a little hotter than expected.

Fed chair Jerome Powell's Friday speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday is a likely crunch point for cryptos. If Powell signals a flurry of interest-rate cuts are coming, that ought to reignite the rally. When borrowing costs fall, cryptos tend to get a boost because they are more appealing compared with lower-yielding assets such bonds or cash.

There's also a new meme coin for crypto investors to trade. Rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye, said in a post on X late Wednesday that he was launching a new cryptocurrency called YZY Money, which will trade on the Solana blockchain. The token's launch comes at a time when lawmakers are looking at how to regulate altcoins and questions about its legitimacy will add fuel to the debate.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

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