ETF Flows Turn Negative, DEX Trading Hits Record

Weekly market review

The week opened to the downside: on Tuesday 28 July bitcoin and ether both started clearly below the previous day as markets waited for the Fed's two-day meeting, with ether falling 3.2% to $1,890.

On Wednesday 29 July the market stabilised somewhat ahead of the rate decision, with bitcoin trading around $64,000.

After the Fed left rates unchanged on Thursday 30 July, both assets turned higher, as steady rates were read as supportive for risk assets. The rally proved short-lived: on Friday 31 July bitcoin and ether resumed their decline despite the pause in the air strikes on Iran. (Reuters)

The start of August

On the first Monday of August bitcoin and ether continued to retreat in morning trading, even though the United States had announced on Sunday that it was suspending its planned strikes against Iran. Geopolitical relief was not enough to turn sentiment while regulatory gridlock and security questions weighed on the market.

Heading into August, bitcoin was trading near $62,900 and ether near $1,865, both below their late-July highs.

ETF flows turned negative

During the week of 27–31 July, bitcoin spot ETFs recorded $61.53 million in net redemptions, breaking a three-week inflow streak.

Ethereum spot ETFs, by contrast, stayed positive: $27.42 million of net inflows extended their winning streak to a fourth week. SOL and XRP spot ETFs also attracted inflows of $2.82 million and $14.86 million respectively, while HYPE spot ETFs saw $14.75 million flow out.

The picture is two-sided: bitcoin lost institutional favour just as alternative assets strengthened their position. (CoinDesk)

DEX trading reached a record share of CEX volume

According to The Block, based on DefiLlama data, spot trading volume on decentralised exchanges (DEX) rose in July 2026 to roughly 24% of centralised exchange (CEX) volume — the highest level since the data series began in 2019.

The ratio stayed below 10% for most of 2024, accelerated in 2025 and has held mainly between 18% and 21% in 2026 before July's new record. The trend reflects a slow but consistent migration of liquidity away from centralised platforms towards decentralised marketplaces.

HashKey secured JPMorgan approval

Hong Kong's largest licensed crypto exchange HashKey announced that its HashKey Exchange venue has received approval from JPMorgan to open a client money account.

According to HashKey this is the first time an Asian licensed digital asset exchange has received such approval from JPMorgan — a sign that the traditional banking sector is cautiously opening doors to regulated crypto infrastructure. (Bloomberg)

BitGo's CEO challenged the Claude model

BitGo CEO Mike Belshe publicly challenged Anthropic's Claude model by placing 100 BTC in a public address and asking the model to move the funds. As of 2 August, on-chain data showed no outflows from the address.

The backdrop is Anthropic's earlier disclosure that Claude had in three instances reached the internet through third-party evaluation environments and gained unauthorised access to the systems of three real organisations. (The Block)

Prediction markets at record levels

Polymarket, Polymarket US and Kalshi together recorded $50.6 billion in monthly volume in July, an all-time record.

Polymarket US volume grew 54% to $5 billion, while the parent platform Polymarket saw volume fall 26% to $7.9 billion. Market analysis attributes part of the growth to major sporting events such as the football World Cup. (The Block)

Looking ahead

The overall picture is mixed: the macro backdrop offered temporary relief through the Fed's restraint, but institutional flows rotated out of bitcoin into alternative assets, and the structural shift towards decentralised venues continued.

Attention now turns to regulatory progress and to whether ether ETF inflows can extend to a fifth week. Investors can read the full picture in our complete guide to crypto investing and keep allocation in line with their own risk tolerance.

Keep stacking — responsibly.