The cryptocurrency market grew by 13.3% in July, driven mainly by bitcoin (BTC) hitting several price highs throughout the month. The rally attracted increased institutional interest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major altcoins, supported by more companies integrating digital assets into their corporate treasuries.
According to a monthly report by Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, regulatory progress in the U.S., including the passage of new stablecoin laws, helped build confidence among market participants. As a result, altcoins outperformed BTC during the month, pushing Bitcoin’s market dominance down to 60.6%, while altcoins’ share rose close to 39.2%.
Regulatory Advances Boost Crypto Market
July showed positive signs from expected Federal Reserve rate cuts and new crypto legislation. Binance noted that these developments boosted institutional demand for altcoin futures and increased corporate digital asset holdings.
Specifically, ether (ETH) saw a significant jump in corporate holdings, rising by about 127.7% to over 2.7 million ETH. This surge aligned with a 50% increase in the asset’s price, making it one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies last month.
A key regulatory milestone was the passage of the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for stablecoins fully backed by cash or short-term Treasuries and compliant with anti-money laundering rules. This law encouraged major banks like JPMorgan and Citi to expand pilot programs for tokenized deposits and cross-border payments.
Fintech firm Visa also acknowledged the growing importance of stablecoins in payments and plans to increase its support. On-chain stablecoin transfers remained near record levels, consistently exceeding Visa’s transaction volumes since late 2024, underscoring their expanding role in global payments.
Tokenized Stocks Gain Traction
Tokenized stocks saw growing activity in July, reaching a market value of about $370 million. Popular tokenized assets like Tesla shares and the S&P 500 ETF accounted for $53.6 million, while active on-chain addresses surged from 1,600 to 90,000, highlighting rising user participation.
Despite this growth, centralized exchanges still handle the majority of tokenized stock trading, with volumes more than 70 times higher than those on on-chain platforms. Binance suggests that if even a small portion of the global stock market is tokenized, it could create a $1.3 trillion market, paving the way for broader adoption of on-chain assets and decentralized finance.