The digital asset market added significant momentum in July, climbing 13% in value as capital rotated away from Bitcoin into alternative tokens, according to Binance Research’s latest Monthly Market Insights.
Ethereum stood out as the month’s strongest performer, soaring 48%. Part of that rally came from growing institutional adoption: 24 more companies added ETH to their balance sheets, raising corporate holdings to 2.7 million coins. That figure is now nearly half the stash held in exchange-traded funds.
Binance analysts attributed the shift to three key drivers: Ethereum’s staking yields, its deflationary supply structure, and a wider willingness among corporates to hold crypto assets directly instead of relying solely on ETFs.
Bitcoin loses ground as regulatory clarity builds
While Ethereum gained, Bitcoin’s dominance slipped 5.2 percentage points to 60.6%. The report linked this decline to two macro factors: expectations of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and the passage of three major U.S. crypto bills, including the GENIUS Act, which lays out a framework for fully reserved stablecoins.
This mix of monetary and regulatory developments gave investors confidence to diversify beyond Bitcoin and explore other sectors of the market.
Stablecoins and tokenization accelerate
Stablecoin usage remained resilient, with transfer volumes holding steady near $2.1 trillion – once again surpassing Visa’s settlement volumes. Major banks also moved forward with experiments in tokenized money: JPMorgan expanded its deposit-token pilot, while Citi tested tokenized deposits for cross-border payments. Visa, meanwhile, reaffirmed that stablecoins complement its global network rather than compete with it.
Another area seeing rapid growth was the tokenization of real-world assets. The market value of tokenized stocks climbed 220% month-over-month, with widely traded names such as Tesla leading activity. By contrast, shares of Exodus Movement, issued through Securitize, were excluded from the calculations due to outlier impact.
Binance compared the explosion of tokenized equities to the early days of DeFi in 2020–2021, estimating that if just 1% of global equities were tokenized, the market could swell to $1.3 trillion.
NFTs show signs of revival
Non-fungible tokens also found renewed energy in July. Sales jumped nearly 50%, led by a massive 393% increase in CryptoPunks transactions. Bitcoin-based NFTs also gained traction, recording a 28% rise in volumes. Despite the rebound, overall activity remains below the heights seen in prior bull market cycles.
A market broadening beyond Bitcoin
Taken together, the data paints a picture of a crypto market no longer moving solely to Bitcoin’s rhythm. With Ethereum gaining institutional acceptance, stablecoins outpacing legacy payment networks, tokenized stocks accelerating, and NFTs staging a comeback, July may be remembered as a month when crypto’s diversification story came sharply into focus.
