Monthly Crypto Roundup by CoinsDo: August 2025

August was another landmark month for crypto. Markets hit new highs, Ethereum dominated inflows, and the policy landscape matured with stablecoin reforms and surging Asian demand. At the same time, major exploits highlighted that security risks remain an existential challenge for mainstream adoption.

Market Performance

Bitcoin: ATH Then Pullback

Bitcoin surged to an all-time high of ~$124,000 on August 13 before sliding back to ~$109,000 by month’s end. Profit-taking by whales and uncertainty around macro policy weighed on sentiment. Even so, BTC remains one of 2025’s strongest performers, up triple digits year-to-date.

Ethereum: Institutional Darling

Ethereum gained nearly 24% in August, hitting ~$4,945 on August 24. ETH ETFs drew nearly $4 billion of inflows, compared to ~$600 million of outflows from Bitcoin ETFs. This capital rotation pushed BTC’s dominance down to ~57% and positioned ETH as the institutional settlement layer of choice.

Policy & Regulation

Stablecoins Gain Global Traction

August was the first full month under the U.S. GENIUS Act, which set reserve, audit, and compliance rules for stablecoins. Far from a technical footnote, this act signals stablecoins are now financial infrastructure. By tying issuance to federal oversight, it lowers counterparty risk and invites banks, corporates, and payment networks to integrate stablecoins into settlement systems. Expect tiering in liquidity: compliant stablecoins for enterprise rails, and offshore tokens for open DeFi.

The effect is already visible. Stablecoin supply expanded sharply, with USDC and regulated tokens capturing institutional flows. On-chain settlement volumes on Ethereum spiked as regulated money-like tokens became available in size. In other words, policy clarity → more float → more usage → more demand for settlement blockspace.

Asia’s Wealthy Step In

Institutional demand in Asia accelerated. In Singapore, NextGen Digital Venture closed a $100 million crypto equity fund. UBS reported Chinese family offices raising allocations toward 5% of portfolios. Hong Kong’s new stablecoin licensing regime, which took effect August 1, created a compliant sandbox for banks and corporates. Within days, Standard Chartered, Animoca, and HKT announced a joint venture to apply for a license. The logic is straightforward: Asia’s wealthy prefer regulated access points. Clearer regimes shift family office allocations from exploratory to structural.

Together, U.S. stablecoin regulation and Asian wealth inflows reinforce a new dynamic: capital is flowing into compliant, ETH-centric structures—staking, yield strategies, and regulated tokens—rather than speculative corners of the market.

Security Concerns

$91 Million Phishing Attack

August’s largest exploit was not a protocol hack but social engineering. A high-net-worth Bitcoin holder was tricked into handing over credentials in a phishing scheme disguised as hardware wallet support, losing $91 million in BTC. The theft shows that attackers now favor targeted, high-payout scams over opportunistic bugs. Defenses are not just technical but procedural: cold storage with delayed withdrawals, multi-sig across devices and people, strict allowlists, and zero tolerance for remote support on seed recovery.

Total monthly exploit losses hit ~$163 million across 16 incidents, including a ~$48M hot-wallet compromise at Turkish exchange BtcTurk. The pattern is clear: fewer incidents, bigger tickets. The attack surface is consolidating around custodial weak points and human error.

Ethereum Wallet Address Poisoning

A peer-reviewed study tested 53 Ethereum wallets against address poisoning attacks, which plant look-alike addresses in transaction histories. Only three wallets warned users before a transfer to a poisoned address. Most UIs simply displayed deceptive zero-value transactions, leaving users exposed.

This is not “user error.” It is a product-design failure. Wallets should filter out spoofed zero-value transfers, highlight unverified addresses, and require explicit confirmations. Enterprise-grade MPC wallets already enforce allowlists and policies, but retail wallets lag far behind. Until defaults change, treasury teams should disable “send-to-recent” options and rely on verified ENS or internal address books.

The takeaway: crypto’s weakest link is shifting from protocol code to user interface and human process. Without upgrades in wallet UX and operational hygiene, institutional capital will continue to view self-custody as too risky.

Institutional & Infrastructure Moves

• Ethereum ETFs dominated August, absorbing ~$2.6B inflows in a week, while Bitcoin ETFs shed ~$600M.
• Gemini filed for a Nasdaq IPO (ticker: GEMI) on August 16 and secured a MiCA license for EU operations on August 21.
• U.S. retirement accounts added ~$572M crypto exposure following new rules allowing alternative assets.

Final Thoughts

August 2025 showed both sides of crypto’s maturation. On one hand, Ethereum’s record inflows, the GENIUS Act, and Asia’s wealthy family offices underscore institutional acceptance and structural integration. On the other hand, the $91M phishing theft and address-poisoning flaws prove that the weakest links are now human and UX, which are much harder to fix than protocol bugs.

As 2025 heads into its final quarter, the industry faces a dual mandate: sustain institutional momentum while closing the operational gaps that still leave billions vulnerable.