DATs Raise $15B, Venture Deals Halved

Bernstein Sees Bull Run Through 2027 | 1inch Enables Solana–EVM Swaps

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
August 20, 2025

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Good Morning.

The real story is how digital asset treasuries have overtaken venture funding, pulling $15B into public-market balance sheets while startup deals sink. It marks a shift in how institutions want crypto exposure: liquid, tradable, and tied to corporate treasuries rather than long-horizon equity bets.

In Today's Email:

What Matters: DATs Raise $15B as Venture Deals Fall 56% 📉
Case Study: Bernstein Sees Bull Run Through 2027 🐂
Governance & Features: 1inch Enables Solana–EVM Swaps 🦄

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Narratives: Treasury over venture

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TOGETHER WITH

Oasys Featured in Forbes: Bringing Real-World Assets On-Chain

Forbes has highlighted Oasys for its work in bringing real-world assets (RWAs) on-chain. Unlike speculative projects, Oasys is focused on building blockchain infrastructure for assets with clear, practical value.

Current initiatives include intellectual property registries that improve provenance and reduce fraud, domain-backed lending that unlocks liquidity from digital infrastructure, and tokenized carbon credits that provide transparency in ESG markets.

These projects demonstrate how Oasys is applying blockchain to established industries with measurable demand, creating systems that enhance existing business models rather than replacing them.

The recognition by Forbes underscores Oasys’ role in shaping the next phase of tokenization, where utility and adoption take priority over speculation.

WHAT MATTERS

DATs Raise $15B as Venture Deals Fall 56%

Source: The Block

State of play: Digital asset treasuries (DAT) have emerged as the dominant force in crypto funding, raising over $15B through August 2025.

July alone accounted for $6.2B, the highest monthly total ever recorded.
Companies announcing DAT strategies are seeing immediate market reactions.
Lion Group’s $600M Hyperliquid treasury facility driving a 20% jump in its share price.
Bitcoin is still the main reserve asset.
However, Hyperliquid’s HYPE token has drawn $1.5B, showing growing appetite for altcoins.

In contrast, traditional venture deals have collapsed, dropping 56% year-over-year from 1,933 in 2024 to just 856 in 2025.

Institutional players like DCG, Paradigm, and Galaxy are increasingly channeling funds into DATs, viewing them as a faster, more liquid path to crypto exposure than startup investments.

Why it matters: The rise of DAT marks a structural shift in how capital flows into crypto. Instead of backing startups, investors are betting on publicly traded firms holding tokens directly, which reshapes both venture funding and market dynamics.

Our take: DATs give institutions a cleaner, more liquid way to gain crypto exposure, but they also siphon capital away from early-stage innovation. The hype-driven stock pops may not be sustainable if token reserves underperform.

For builders and investors: Expect tighter venture funding conditions, especially for seed-stage projects, while public-market DATs gain traction.

CASE STUDY

Bernstein Sees Bull Run Through 2027

Bernstein analysts believe the current crypto bull market could last into 2027, extending beyond the typical four-year cycle. They see US policy and accelerating institutional adoption as key drivers, even as prices recently cooled after a strong rally.

The firm forecasts Bitcoin climbing to $150K–$200K within the next year.
While the next stage of the cycle will broaden to ETH, SOL, and DeFi tokens fueling inflows into exchanges and stablecoin issuers.
Bernstein raised its price targets to $160 for Robinhood, citing $16.8B July trading volumes and its Bitstamp acquisition.
$510 for Coinbase, pointing to $100B in July activity, derivatives growth.
USDC adoption, and reaffirmed $230 for Circle, with USDC projected to reach $173B by 2027.

Analysts say this breadth of growth across assets and platforms positions the market for a “long, exhausting” bull run peaking closer to 2027.

Take a peek at our referral reward at the bottom of this issue. Share this newsletter and receive our list of 500 crypto VC individuals 👇

INSIGHTS

SkyBridge to Tokenize $300M on Avalanche

Anthony Scaramucci / Source: Fintech Leaders

Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital plans to tokenize $300M of assets on the Avalanche blockchain, representing about 10% of its AUM, according to Fortune.

The assets span two funds: one directly investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and another allocating to venture and crypto funds.
The move underscores the broader push by financial firms to tokenize real-world assets such as Treasuries, equities, and real estate.
Scaramucci positions SkyBridge’s shift as part of the growing institutional embrace of blockchain-based tokenization.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

1inch Enables Solana–EVM Swaps

1inch has launched native cross-chain swaps between Solana and over a dozen EVM networks, available via its dApp, Wallet, and Fusion+ API.

Unlike traditional bridges, the feature enables direct Solana–EVM swaps without wrapped tokens, reducing security risks tied to bridge exploits.
The move follows 1inch’s earlier SOL integration and aims to ease liquidity fragmentation, linking SOL with ETH, POL, ARB, OP, and others.
For developers, the Fusion+ API allows trustless swaps to be integrated into new projects, while retail users can access them directly.

Other notable feature updates:

Jito launched BAM on testnet.
Sonic Labs released Testnet 2.1.
Aerodrome has integrated with Coinbase.
Puffer Finance launched the UniFi V2 testnet.
Ethena Labs increased the caps for Aavethena markets.
Sky introduced bundled transactions in the Sky Money App.

QUICK BITES

Strategy’s MSTR hits lowest since April.
Bullish settles $1.15B IPO using stablecoins.
Pump.fun surpasses $800M in lifetime revenue.
SkyBridge eyes tokenizing $300M on Avalanche.
Tether appoints Bo Hines as US strategy advisor.
SharpLink spends another $667< adding to its ETH stockpile.
DAT eclipse venture funding as companies raise $15B in 2025.
South Korea orders exchanges to halt crypto lending services.
Bernstein analysts see crypto bull market running through 2027.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins says ‘very few’ crypto tokens are securities.
KindlyMD secures $679M in BTC to begin Nakamoto treasury buildout.
Wyoming launches first state-backed stablecoin on seven blockchains.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs post $523M in daily outflows, Ethereum ETFs shed $422M.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

Arndxt’s read on The Liquidity Pyramid.
Chesire Capital’s read on Wargaming Digital Asset Treasury Reflexivity.
2Lambroz’s read on Why Crypto Is Your Last Generational Entry to Wealth.

“What if $124,000 was the cycle top and there won’t be an altseason”
— Quinten | 048.eth (@QuintenFrancois)
7:52 PM • Aug 19, 2025

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