Crypto Market Overview

• BTC (-1.84% | Current Price: 112,885 USDT): BTC is currently trading around $112,800, remaining in a short-term downward consolidation pattern. On August 23, it experienced a strong rally, briefly reaching a high of $117,417, but failed to hold and subsequently retraced. Overall, BTC’s short-term trend is bearish, with attention needed on whether the $110,600 support level can hold. On August 22, BTC ETFs saw a net outflow of $23.2 million, including $198 million outflow from BlackRock’s IBIT and $50.9 million inflow into Fidelity’s FBTC.
• ETH (-0.63% | Current Price: 4,739 USDT): ETH has entered a short-term consolidation phase, trading within a critical support and resistance range. On August 23, ETH spiked to a high of $4,956 but failed to break the $5,000 resistance level, then moved sideways and retraced slightly on August 25. Key support lies between $4,700–4,680, and if broken, a further pullback toward $4,500 is possible. On August 22, ETH ETFs recorded a net inflow of $337 million, with $109 million into BlackRock’s ETHA and $117 million into Fidelity’s FETH.
• Altcoins: Most major altcoins experienced slight declines, with market sentiment remaining “neutral” to “buy.” The Fear & Greed Index is currently 47, indicating a cooling in market sentiment compared to previous levels.
• Macro: On August 22, the S&P 500 rose 1.52% to 6,466.91; the Dow Jones increased 1.89% to 45,631.74; and the Nasdaq gained 1.88% to 21,496.54. As of 2:00 AM (UTC) on August 25, spot gold is priced at $3,362 per ounce, down 0.27% in the past 24 hours.

Trending Tokens

NEON — NEON EVM (+46.89%, Market Cap: 39.21M USD)

According to Gate data, NEON is currently priced at 0.166 USD, up 46.89% in 24 hours. NEON EVM is an Ethereum Virtual Machine solution deployed on the Solana blockchain, providing a fully EVM-compatible environment that allows Ethereum dApps to run on Solana without code modification.

Solana maintains a leading position in performance and adoption, and NEON leverages EVM composability to capitalize on this trend. Recently, NEON was integrated into a European fintech company’s crypto card payment platform, enabling global crypto spending. Price-wise, NEON had long consolidated in the 0.08–0.09 USD range with low trading volume. Starting August 24, a surge of capital pushed the price above the consolidation zone, signaling accelerated inflows and a fundamental shift in market sentiment.

QTUM — Qtum (+33.25%, Market Cap: 348M USD)

According to Gate data, QTUM trading at 3.32 USD, up approximately 33.25% in 24 hours. Qtum is an open-source blockchain platform combining Bitcoin’s security (UTXO model) with Ethereum’s smart contract capabilities, using a PoS consensus mechanism for energy efficiency. QTUM is used to pay transaction fees, participate in governance voting, and earn staking rewards.

Recently, Qtum announced a partnership with umycomofficial, enabling users to pay with Qtum for travel experiences and cost savings. Technically, QTUM broke out strongly after a long consolidation, with multiple bullish candlesticks accompanied by high volume, surpassing long-term resistance. The price hit a high of 3.487 USD, marking a new peak since May, and currently trades at 3.32 USD. This breakout suggests sentiment has shifted from cautious to bullish, and sustained high volume could maintain QTUM’s upward momentum.

NEO — Neo (+10.67%, Market Cap: 551M USD)

According to Gate data, NEO is currently trading at 7.88 USD, up about 10.67% in 24 hours. NEO is a community-driven open-source platform that leverages blockchain and digital identity to enable asset management automation via smart contracts. The project aims to build next-generation Internet infrastructure through distributed networks, laying the foundation for large-scale blockchain adoption and realizing a smart economy vision.

Neo X recently launched ZK Trust Relay, supporting its Anti-MEV solution via a Distributed Key Generation (DKG) zero-knowledge encryption protocol, audited by multiple institutions for security. Since mid-August, NEO’s price has steadily risen alongside significantly increased trading volume. It has recently broken previous resistance levels, reaching a high of 8.49 USD. NEO now trades above all major moving averages, with a bullish alignment, indicating a strong upward trend.

Alpha Insights

USDC Usage on Ethereum Hits All-Time High with $748.3 Billion Monthly Transfers

According to Token Terminal, USDC usage on the Ethereum network reached a record high. In July 2025, monthly USDC transfers totaled $74.83 billion, up approximately 300% from the January 2024 low, with 8.3 million transactions executed. Industry experts note that this transaction volume is approaching the scale of traditional large banking systems, highlighting USDC’s strong liquidity and wide-ranging applications within the stablecoin market.

The surge in USDC usage on Ethereum reflects its evolving role as an “on-chain dollar,” serving as a key bridge between crypto markets and real-world value flows. This growth is driven not only by the continued expansion of DeFi and on-chain payment solutions but also by rising trust in compliant stablecoins among institutional and retail users. As USDC’s transaction volumes approach those of traditional banks, stablecoins may play an increasingly central role in future financial infrastructure—albeit under closer regulatory scrutiny.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority to Implement Basel Crypto Asset Capital Rules from January 1, 2026

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced that it will fully implement the Basel Committee’s new capital requirements for crypto assets starting January 1, 2026. This move brings crypto assets under the international banking capital framework, making Hong Kong one of the first jurisdictions to enforce these standards rigorously.

Under the new rules, crypto assets using permissionless blockchain technology may carry a risk weight of up to 1250%, meaning banks must allocate capital on a 1:1 basis to cover the associated risk exposure. Experts warn that the high capital cost may discourage most banks from holding such high-risk crypto assets directly.

Hong Kong’s regulatory update underscores its forward-looking approach to compliance and risk management while signaling that traditional financial institutions will adopt a highly cautious path toward crypto adoption. In the short term, this may reduce banks’ willingness to hold crypto directly and limit market demand. In the long term, however, standardized capital requirements are expected to enhance market transparency and financial stability, laying a solid institutional foundation for compliant participation in the crypto ecosystem.

SBI Group Partners with Chainlink to Accelerate Global Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets

SBI Group (SBI) announced a strategic partnership with Chainlink aimed at accelerating the adoption of blockchain and digital assets in global financial markets. The collaboration focuses on key institutional use cases in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, including cross-chain transfers of tokenized real-world assets such as real estate and bonds; integration of the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) for secure cross-chain transactions with compliance and privacy protections; and using CCIP with Chainlink SmartData to transmit NAV data of on-chain tokenized funds, enhancing liquidity and operational efficiency.

Additionally, the partnership will leverage Chainlink CCIP for PvP settlement in FX and cross-border transactions and utilize Chainlink Proof of Reserve to provide transparent on-chain verification of stablecoin reserves.

This strategic collaboration exemplifies the deepening convergence of traditional financial institutions and blockchain infrastructure providers. The joint efforts of SBI and Chainlink not only offer secure and efficient digital asset solutions to financial institutions but also advance tokenization of real-world assets, cross-chain interoperability, and stablecoin transparency. For the market, it signals accelerated institutional adoption of digital assets in the Asia-Pacific region and highlights the practical value of blockchain technology in compliant, transparent, and efficient financial operations.


References

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/eth/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data
• Investing, https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
• Investing, https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
• CoinGecko, https://www.coingecko.com/categories
• X, https://x.com/tokenterminal/status/1959628031233835258
• caixin, https://finance.caixin.com/2025-08-23/102354563.html
• PR Newswire, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sbi-group-and-chainlink-announce-strategic-partnership-to-accelerate-institutional-digital-asset-adoption-in-key-global-markets-302537166.html

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Disclaimer
Investing in cryptocurrency markets involves high risk. Users are advised to conduct their own research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products before making any investment decisions. Gate is not responsible for any losses or damages arising from such decisions.