Gate Research Institute: CeFi lending scale rose by 14.66% month-on-month | Bitlayer TVL tops BTC L2 track

Summary

1. This week, BTC and ETH fell by 7.58% and 9.81% respectively, as cryptocurrencies entered a period of adjustment after a significant rise.
2. U.S. retail sales in July increased by 0.5% month-on-month, marking significant growth for the second consecutive month.
3. Wormhole plans to acquire StarGate at a high price and requests to suspend the "LayerZero acquisition of STG" vote.
4. MANTRA proposed to abolish ERC20 OM and plans to adjust the token inflation rate to 8%.
5. The number of active addresses on Bitlayer has increased by 118% in the past 7 days, and its TVL ranking has risen to the top position in the BTC L2 track.
6. The outstanding borrowing scale of CeFi reached 17.78 billion USD, a month-on-month increase of 14.66%.

Market Interpretation

Market Commentary

• BTC Market —— BTC has dropped 7.58% this week. At the beginning of the week, the BTC price was above $120,000, but it has now dipped to $114,000. This drop is mainly influenced by macroeconomic concerns, particularly higher-than-expected inflation data that has weakened market expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Technical analysis shows that BTC has broken below the ascending wedge pattern, indicating a weakening of short-term momentum. If the support at $112,000 is lost, it may further drop to $110,000.
• ETH Market —— This week, ETH has dropped by 9.81%. After successfully breaking through the psychological barrier of $4,000, it once reached a high of $4,537. Although it subsequently fell back to around $4,200 due to ETF fund outflows and institutions taking profits, the overall upward trend has not been disrupted. After stabilizing around $4,000, ETH still has the opportunity to further challenge its historical high.
• Altcoins — This week, the overall trend of mainstream altcoins shows a decline. In the past 7 days, the median drop of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization is 10.81%. However, AB and MNT have risen by more than 10%, becoming the focus of market attention.
• Macroeconomic Data - U.S. retail sales in July increased by 0.5% month-on-month, achieving significant growth for the second consecutive month, with a year-on-year increase of 3.9%. June data was significantly revised up to 0.9%. After adjusting for inflation, real retail sales grew by 1.2% year-on-year, maintaining positive growth for the tenth consecutive month, indicating strong resilience in consumer spending.
• Stablecoins —— The total market capitalization of stablecoins is currently $287.8 billion, with continued inflows of funds.
• Gas Fee —— This week, the Gas fees on the Ethereum network have shown a downward trend. As of August 21, the average Gas fee for the day was 0.226 Gwei.

Popular Concepts

This week, mainstream cryptocurrencies continue to rise, and market sentiment remains optimistic, with most altcoin sectors also increasing. According to Coingecko data, this week the oracle, chain abstraction, and RWA protocol sectors have all shown a significant upward trend, rising by 7.0%, 4.0%, and 3.2% respectively over the past 7 days.

oracle

Oracles securely and reliably bring off-chain data into blockchain smart contracts, connecting real-world information with decentralized applications, providing a trustworthy data foundation for digital economy scenarios such as DeFi and prediction markets, and enhancing the automation and transparency of contract execution. — Over the past 7 days, this sector has risen by 39.3%, with Api3 increasing by 84.0%; Chainlink rising by 8.3%.

Chain Abstraction

Chain abstraction unifies the underlying interfaces of different blockchains, allowing developers to build decentralized applications without worrying about the differences between chains, thereby achieving efficient interoperability in a multi-chain environment. Its core value lies in lowering the development threshold, enhancing application scalability, and providing a technical foundation for the circulation of cross-chain assets and data. — Over the past 7 days, this sector has increased by 38.3%, with Cycle Network and Rujira rising by 74.1% and 57.4% respectively.

RWA Protocol

The function of the RWA protocol is to complete the digital transformation of physical assets. It achieves this by legally certifying, custodying, and valuing assets off-chain, and then mapping the rights to the asset's income in the form of tokens onto the blockchain. This move allows these tokenized assets to integrate into the DeFi ecosystem, used for lending, trading, or forming more complex financial products. — Over the past 7 days, this sector has risen by 3.2%, with Swarm Markets and Maple increasing by 70.8% and 71.4%, respectively.

This Week's Focus

Wormhole plans to acquire StarGate at a high price and requests to suspend the "LayerZero acquisition of STG" vote.

According to a statement from the Wormhole Foundation, LayerZero proposed to acquire StarGate (STG) for approximately $110 million in ZRO, but Wormhole believes this offer undervalues the StarGate protocol's assets and growth. StarGate's bridging volume reached $4 billion in July, a tenfold increase year-on-year, with a TVL of $345 million and an expected annual revenue of $2 million. Wormhole plans to submit a higher offer and requests a 5-business-day pause on the current Snapshot vote to refine the bidding process and protect the interests of STG holders.

The strong growth demonstrated by the StarGate protocol highlights its core competitiveness and market potential in the cross-chain bridging field. Although LayerZero's acquisition offer is attractive, Wormhole's opposition and higher bidding plans reflect the strategic value of StarGate as a premium asset, which may trigger fierce competition for key infrastructure within the DeFi space. This event not only underscores the importance of cross-chain protocols in the blockchain ecosystem but also indicates that market expectations for the valuation of high-quality DeFi projects are rapidly increasing.

MANTRA proposes to abolish ERC20 OM and plans to adjust the token inflation rate to 8%.

MANTRA Chain is proposing to abolish the ERC 20 version of the OM token and plans to fully migrate it to the MANTRA Chain as the sole native foundation. This proposal aims to promote ecological development by consolidating liquidity, adjusting the token inflation rate to 8%, setting a supply cap of 2.5 billion OM, and enhancing network security. Since the launch of the MANTRA Chain mainnet, approximately 250 million OM have been successfully migrated. If the proposal is approved, the ERC 20 OM token will be officially deactivated on January 15, 2026, and any ERC 20 OM tokens that have not completed the migration will be considered forfeited.

MANTRA Chain proposes to abolish the ERC 20 version of the OM token and completely migrate it to its own chain, marking an important transformation of the project in the construction of a decentralized ecosystem. This initiative aims to optimize the token economic model and enhance network security by integrating liquidity, setting a supply cap of 2.5 billion OM, and adjusting the inflation rate to 8%, demonstrating MANTRA Chain's strategic consideration for long-term sustainable development.

Jito Governance Forum released JIP-25 and JIP-XX proposals

The Jito Governance Forum has announced the JIP-25 and JIP-XX proposals. JIP-25 proposes to expand the number of validators from 200 to 400, removing the over-optimization of voting points, with rankings based on commission, MEV commission, validator age, and voting points in descending order. JIP-XX allows JitoSOL stakers to express delegation preferences to multiple eligible validators. JitoSOL in DeFi applications will be allocated to compliant DeFi validators, while the remaining stakes will be distributed according to the JIP-25 proposal. Both proposals are expected to enhance the liquidity of JitoSOL and the scale of DeFi applications.

The new governance proposal put forward by the Jito community aims to promote the ecosystem towards a healthier and more decentralized direction by optimizing the validator selection and capital allocation mechanisms. On the one hand, it plans to attract more validators and reform the ranking rules to break the inward competition of a single metric and encourage diversified development. On the other hand, it allows stakers to express their delegation preferences for the first time, which will enhance capital efficiency and strengthen user sovereignty. These changes are expected to significantly enhance the liquidity foundation of JitoSOL and pave the way for its widespread application in the DeFi sector.

Highlight Data

The number of active Bitlayer addresses has increased by 118% in the past 7 days, and the TVL ranking has risen to the top position in the BTC L2 track.

According to DeFiLlama data, the TVL of the Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure project Bitlayer has exceeded $430 million, successfully ranking first among Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem projects. At the same time, according to Nansen data, the number of active addresses on the Bitlayer blockchain surged by 118% in the past 7 days, reaching 27,700, making it the fastest-growing among mainstream public chains.

The key factor driving the rapid growth in activity is that the YBTC series of assets recently issued by Bitlayer has officially launched and been deployed to multi-chain ecosystems including BSC, Sui, Avalanche, Ethereum, and Plume. As the minting and staking activities of YBTC increase across multiple protocols, it further stimulates on-chain interaction demand and capital inflow.

The CeFi outstanding loan scale reached 17.78 billion USD, a month-on-month increase of 14.66%.

According to unfolded data, as of June 30, the outstanding borrowing scale of centralized finance (CeFi) has risen to $17.78 billion. This figure has increased by $2.27 billion compared to the previous quarter, a quarter-on-quarter growth of 14.66%; compared to the bear market low of $7.18 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, it has achieved a significant growth of 147.5%. In terms of lending party distribution, Tether, Nexo, and Galaxy rank in the top three, occupying the core share of the CeFi lending market.

The continuous expansion of CeFi lending scale reflects the obvious rebound in market demand for leverage and liquidity. On one hand, the improvement in macro market sentiment and the stabilization of cryptocurrency asset prices have provided a foundation for lending demand; on the other hand, the compliance and transparency enhancements of leading institutions in stablecoins, collateral management, and clearing mechanisms have also increased user trust in CeFi lending platforms.

Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs have recently seen significant net outflows, putting pressure on the market.

According to SoSoValue data, on August 19th, Eastern Time, mainstream cryptocurrency spot ETFs experienced significant capital outflows. Among them, the Ethereum spot ETF saw a net outflow of $430 million in a single day, marking the second highest level in history; the Bitcoin spot ETF recorded a net outflow of $523 million, marking the third consecutive day of capital withdrawal.

On the Ethereum front, Fidelity's ETF FETH saw a net outflow of $156 million in a single day, followed closely by Grayscale's ETF ETHE with a net outflow of $122 million. Nevertheless, the historical cumulative net inflow for Ethereum spot ETFs has reached $12.042 billion, with current total assets under management (AUM) at $25.930 billion, accounting for 5.34% of the total ETH market capitalization.

In terms of Bitcoin, Fidelity's ETF FBTC had a net outflow of $247 million on the day, and Grayscale's ETF GBTC had a net outflow of $116 million. Currently, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $146.184 billion, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $54.329 billion, accounting for 6.47% of the total market capitalization of BTC.

Recent significant net outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs highlight the market's growing risk-averse sentiment. In particular, Ethereum recorded its second-highest single-day outflow in history, indicating a cautious attitude among investors in the face of short-term price fluctuations and macroeconomic uncertainties. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has seen three consecutive days of capital withdrawal, suggesting that leading investors are taking profits or adjusting their positions. However, from a long-term perspective, the cumulative net inflow into these two major cryptocurrency ETFs remains substantial, exceeding $54.3 billion (BTC) and $12 billion (ETH) respectively, indicating that institutional funds are still deeply involved. The short-term capital outflow is more likely to reflect emotional corrections in the market after a period of high performance, rather than a reversal of long-term trends.

Financing Weekly Report

According to RootData, from August 15 to August 21, 2025, a total of 13 crypto and related projects announced the completion of financing or mergers and acquisitions, covering multiple sectors such as DeFi, AI, and CeFi, reflecting the market's continued investment and focus on financial services and user ecosystem expansion. Below is a brief introduction to the top three projects by financing scale this week:

Galaxy Digital

Announced on August 15 the completion of a $1.4 billion project financing to support the development of its Helios data center campus located in West Texas.

Galaxy Digital is a technology-driven financial services and investment management firm that provides a full suite of financial solutions covering the digital asset ecosystem for institutional and direct clients. The company operates five synergistic business lines: trading, asset management, proprietary capital investments, investment banking, and mining.

IVIX

Announced the completion of a $60 million Series B financing on August 18, led by OGVP.

IVIX is a blockchain-based Web3 project focused on detecting financial crimes in the digital age and bridging the tax gap through transparent data tracking and decentralized compliance solutions.

Almanak

Announced the completion of a $8.45 million financing on August 16, with participation from Delphi Labs, HashKey Capital, BanklessVC, NEAR Foundation, and others.

Almanak is a Web3 simulation infrastructure that utilizes a proxy-based model to optimize DeFi and gaming projects. The goal of Almanak is to maximize the profitability of crypto protocols while ensuring economic security.

Focus Next Week

token unlock

According to data from Tokenomist, the market will see significant token unlocks over the next 7 days (2025.8.22 - 2025.8.28). The top 3 unlocks are as follows:

• HUMA will unlock approximately $11.91 million worth of tokens in the next 7 days, accounting for 21.8% of the circulating supply.
• SOON will unlock approximately $11.1 million in the next 7 days, accounting for 17.5% of the circulating supply.
• VENOM will unlock tokens worth approximately $9.63 million in the next 7 days, accounting for 2.8% of the circulating supply.
  Reference Source

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Coinmarketcap, https://coinmarketcap.com/
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Coinglass, https://www.coinglass.com/LiquidationData
• jin10, https://rili.jin10.com/
• Coinmarketcap, https://coinmarketcap.com/view/stablecoin/
• etherscan, https://etherscan.io/gastracker
• Coingecko, https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories
• X, https://x.com/WormholeFdn/status/1958198131558080626
• X, https://x.com/MANTRA_Chain/status/1958136539265020006
• X, https://x.com/buffalu__/status/1958339386963321141
• X, https://x.com/MarcShawnBrown/status/1955507198814990404/photo/1
• DeFiLlama, https://defillama.com/chain/bitlayer
• X, https://x.com/cryptounfolded/status/1958334709575880866
• SoSoValue, https://sosovalue.com/zh/assets/etf/us-btc-spot
• Rootdata, https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising
• Tokenomist, https://tokenomist.ai/

Disclaimer Investing in the cryptocurrency market involves high risks, and it is recommended that users conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products being purchased before making any investment decisions. Gate does not accept any responsibility for any losses or damages resulting from such investment decisions.