Web3 Handwritten Report: Industry Highlights and Hot Products Not to Miss This Week

Foresight News brings you a quick overview of this week's hot topics and recommended content:

01 Ethereum 10th Anniversary

"Ethereum Still Has 100 Times Growth Potential"

The Ten-Year Itch of a World Computer

"The Risk Dilemma Behind the Ethereum Treasury"

02 Regulatory Trends

"The Regulation of Hong Kong's Stablecoins is About to Take Effect, and the License Competition has Begun"

"New SEC Standards Announced, Is a Wave of Spot ETF Approvals About to Unfold?"

"Full Text of SEC Chairman's Speech on 'Crypto Plans'"

The Power Games Behind Stablecoins

"Under 4 Trillion Market Value: Dissecting the Financial Flow of the Cryptocurrency Market"

03 The Wave of Tokenization in US Stocks

How to Make the US Stock Market Great Again?

"Net profit of $386 million in Q2, Robinhood made a fortune this time relying on 'crypto trading'"

"Robinhood's Crypto Ambitions: Becoming the 'Only Financial Gateway' for the Younger Generation"

"The tokenized stock market is expected to grow by 2600 times, who will benefit?"

01 Ethereum 10th Anniversary

On July 30th, Ethereum celebrates its tenth anniversary, with a market value growth of 3600 times over the past decade, reaching $450 billion, making it one of the top thirty assets globally. Its ecosystem has nurtured epoch-making products such as stablecoins and DAOs. This article analyzes whether it can achieve another hundredfold growth in the future. Recommended article:

"Ethereum still has 100 times the growth potential"

Looking back over the past decade, at least three groundbreaking products have emerged from the Ethereum ecosystem, just like Apple's launch of the Mac, iPhone, AirPods, and iPad, with Ethereum being the absolute leader in the market.

Stablecoins had an annual trading volume of 28 trillion USD, with over 70% of the trading volume occurring on Ethereum; in 2016, the world's first DAO was born on Ethereum, and today over 90% of the largest DAOs by global TVL (Total Value Locked) are in the Ethereum ecosystem; during the summer of DeFi in 2020, Ethereum was the only center, with a market share as high as 95%-99%; in 2021, NFTs broke into the mainstream for the first time, with Ethereum as the main battleground, accounting for over 90% of the annual trading volume... while the tokenization of US stocks, tokenization of US debt, RWA, AI Agent memes, etc., are just beginning.

What about ten years later? Ethereum has become one of the top 30 assets by market capitalization globally, surpassing well-known companies like Meta, TSMC, Visa, and Mastercard. Is this its endpoint?

No, this may actually be the real starting point.

Ten years ago, it ignited the imagination of decentralization with a white paper. Ten years later, it remains the core of the crypto world, but it is no longer the only stage. Recommended articles:

The Ten-Year Itch of a World Computer

The Rollup-centric approach embraced by Ethereum in recent years has alleviated pressure on the main chain but has also resulted in a significant amount of transactions and value remaining on the layer two network, failing to flow back to the mainnet. Standard Chartered Bank explicitly stated in a report at the beginning of 2025 that the rise of layer two networks has eroded the value capture of Ethereum's main chain. The report estimates that just the leading Ethereum layer two, Base, launched by Coinbase, has 'taken away' approximately $50 billion of the Ethereum ecosystem's market value.

Recently, the news that PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has invested in the Ethereum mining company BitMine has shaken the market. Meanwhile, several companies continue to increase their holdings of Ethereum. Wall Street investment bank Bernstein pointed out that Ethereum's treasury faces liquidity and security risks when staking for returns, and companies need to carefully balance these risks, which has also attracted significant attention from various sectors. Recommended articles:

"The Risk Dilemma Behind the Ethereum Treasury"

Analysts point out: "If the Ethereum treasury stakes ETH for yield, the staking contracts usually have liquidity, but sometimes unlocking requires waiting in line for several days. Therefore, Ethereum treasury enterprises must find a balance between ETH liquidity and yield optimization. In addition, more complex yield optimization strategies, such as re-staking (for example, Eigenlayer's re-staking model) and DeFi-based yield generation, also need to address the issue of smart contract security risk management."

Bernstein added: "The advantage of the Ethereum treasury model is that staking rewards can provide actual cash flow for operations, but liquidity risks and security issues still need to be a key focus."

02 Regulatory Trends

On August 1st, the Hong Kong "Stablecoin Regulation Draft" officially came into effect. The competition for licenses has long begun. Recommended article:

"The Regulation of Hong Kong Stablecoins Is About to Take Effect, the License Competition Has Begun"

It is worth noting that the Monetary Authority has repeatedly pointed out that the core of determining whether to grant a license is not limited to the level of asset reserves, but rather depends on whether the stablecoin business model proposed by the applicant has practical application scenarios and sustainability. In this regard, the regulatory body maintains a tone of 'strict at first, lenient later', cautiously maintaining the licensing pace in the early stages of the system to prevent market bubbles and concept hype, and emphasizes the steady advancement of the long-term sustainable development of Hong Kong's digital asset ecosystem.

Deeper changes are underway, and U.S. regulations are also gradually deepening. On July 29, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the approval of a physical creation and redemption mechanism for cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs). Previously, cryptocurrency ETPs primarily used a cash creation and redemption model. This change significantly reduces trading costs and improves efficiency. Recommended article:

"SEC New Standards Announced, Will a Wave of Spot ETF Approvals Soon Unfold?"

According to data from SoSoValue, as of July 31, 2025, the total net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States has reached 55.11 billion USD. The total net inflow of Ethereum spot ETFs has achieved 9.62 billion USD, and has seen rapid growth after breaking free from a slump. The approval of spot ETFs undoubtedly plays a positive role in supporting the rise of their coin prices.

On July 31, the chairman of the U.S. SEC announced the "Crypto Initiative," aimed at making the United States the "global crypto capital." This initiative will promote the modernization of securities regulations, facilitate the comprehensive on-chain migration of financial markets, attract crypto companies back, and lead the digital asset revolution. Let's take a look at the speech by U.S. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins:

Full Text of SEC Chairman's Speech on "Crypto Plan"

Today, I want to talk about what Commissioner Hester Peirce and I call the "Project Crypto," which will serve as the North Star for the SEC in assisting President Trump in his historic effort to make America the "global crypto capital." But before discussing our plans regarding the dominance of the crypto market, I would like to revisit some turning points in the history of capital market development, as they are quite similar to the juncture we find ourselves in now, and the future we shape should be worthy of the legacy we inherit.

Cryptocurrency, once viewed as a "revolution to disrupt traditional finance," ultimately did not take the path of violent confrontation. Instead, it became deeply intertwined with regulatory systems and political consensus, transforming into a "tamed revolution." The absurdity and contradictions of this "revolution," from challenging tradition to seeking permission, from the ideal of decentralization to the reality of centralized regulation, is the core that this article aims to analyze. When rebels bow to the system, is it a game of interests, or an inevitability of the times? Recommended articles:

The Power Games Behind Stablecoins

The "GENIUS Act" is the most ingenious diplomatic policy maneuver, yet it is disguised as domestic financial regulation.

This raises some interesting questions: What happens when the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem becomes an adjunct to U.S. monetary policy? Are we building a more decentralized financial system, or are we creating the world's most complex dollar distribution network? If 99% of stablecoins are pegged to the dollar, and any meaningful innovation requires approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, have we inadvertently turned revolutionary technology into the ultimate export business for fiat currency? If the rebellious energy of cryptocurrencies is directed toward enhancing the efficiency of the existing monetary system rather than replacing it, as long as payment settlements are faster and everyone can make money, does anyone really care? These may not necessarily be issues; they are simply far removed from the problems people wanted to solve when this movement first began.

The digital asset market has for the first time approached the $4 trillion mark, marking an important milestone in the development of the industry. This latest surge is driven by a combination of structural and cyclical factors, including the continued inflow of funds into Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, the accelerated accumulation by digital asset fund management companies, and significant regulatory breakthroughs such as the passage of the GENIUS Act. Recommended articles:

"Under a 4 Trillion Market Value: Analyzing the Capital Flow of the Cryptocurrency Market"

Recent market dynamics indicate that we may be in the early stages of an expanding market dominance pattern. Ethereum has begun to show relative strength, with the ETH/BTC exchange rate rebounding 73% since May and ETH prices breaking above $3900. This momentum is fueled by record ETF inflows, an increase in corporate treasury adoption rates, and Ethereum's continued dominance in the stablecoin sector, making it a beneficiary of the GENIUS Act.

03 The Wave of Tokenization in US Stocks

What would happen if purchasing such assets no longer required an account, and was not limited by region and trading hours? With just a smartphone and a balance in a crypto wallet, one could buy "stocks" of major U.S. companies anytime and anywhere. This is no longer a so-called fictional scenario, but a real change brought about by the "tokenization of U.S. stocks." Recommended article:

"How to Make the Stock Market Great Again?"

So why is the wave of tokenization flooding into the US stock market?

The US stock market has unique advantages that other assets do not possess. Firstly, as the largest stock market in the world, the total market capitalization of US stocks is expected to reach between $52 trillion and $59 trillion by 2025, a scale that far exceeds that of stock markets in other countries or regions. The total market capitalization of global stock markets is approximately $124 trillion, with US stocks accounting for more than 40%.

The tokenized stock project representative Robinhood has made a lot of money this time through "speculating on coins." On July 30, the American fintech platform Robinhood released its financial report for the second quarter of 2025, showing a strong growth momentum in overall business, especially notable in the expansion in the cryptocurrency sector. Recommended articles:

"Net profit of 386 million USD in Q2, Robinhood made a killing this time with 'crypto trading'"

At the product level, Robinhood continues to iterate in the crypto sector. In the second quarter of 2025, the company will expand its service coverage to 30 European countries, far exceeding the 4 countries from the same period last year. Robinhood has also launched a "stock token" product, allowing users to trade tokenized versions of over 200 US stocks and ETFs in Europe. In the US market, the company has launched staking services for ETH and SOL, and plans to introduce crypto perpetual contracts.

Robinhood has risen strongly in its crypto business, with its stock price hitting new highs and a market value of nearly $98 billion. Its layout includes stock tokens, crypto staking, and the acquisition of exchanges to expand its market, aiming to be the "only financial gateway" for the younger generation, revealing its ambition. Recommended article:

"Robinhood's Crypto Ambition: Becoming the 'Only Financial Gateway' for the Younger Generation"

Tokenization may be Robinhood's long-term goal, but its core crypto business is already a powerful force. In 2024, Robinhood's crypto-related revenue reached $626 million, a significant increase from $135 million the previous year, accounting for over one-third of total trading revenue. In the first quarter of 2025, crypto-related revenue had already reached $252 million. "They are currently capturing market share from Coinbase in the U.S.," said Rob Hadick, a general partner at crypto venture firm Dragonfly. Cantor Fitzgerald's Knoblauch noted that in May 2025, Robinhood's crypto trading volume surged by 36% month-over-month, while Coinbase experienced a decline. He acknowledged that Coinbase still holds the institutional market, "their services are broader, and they have custody services," but after Robinhood completed the acquisition of Bitstamp in June, it gained 5,000 institutional accounts and licenses in Europe and Asia.

The current size of the tokenized stock market is $500 million. If 1% of global stocks are tokenized, it could reach $13.4 trillion by 2030, an increase of 2,680 times. By 2025, regulatory and infrastructure maturity will become a driving force, and its unique advantage when combined with DeFi is attracting multiple participants to layout in this field. Recommended article:

The market size of tokenized stocks is expected to grow 2,600 times, who will benefit?

The tokenized stock market is still in its early stages. According to data from rwa.xyz, the current market size is approximately $500 million. Compared to the global stock market of $134 trillion, this figure accounts for only 0.0004%. However, if only 1% of global stocks are tokenized in the next decade, the market size could grow to $1.34 trillion, which is 2,680 times its current size.