Aave lending volume hits USD 1 trillion, Forum pivots to RWA, and UK eyes crypto donation ban; BTC reclaims $69,000 to trigger short squeeze amid a slow recovery from Extreme Fear. The cryptocurrency market staged a significant recovery today following a period of heightened volatility. Bitcoin surged back strongly after briefly dipping below $63,000 and reached a session high of $69,869 to lift overall market sentiment. According to recent data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains at 11 in the Extreme Fear zone. This indicates that long-term market confidence requires more time to heal despite the technical price bounce. Bitcoin functioned as a defensive anchor during this rally by attracting substantial safe-haven and dip-buying capital inflows. In contrast, Ethereum reclaimed the $2,000 mark with a 12% gain but faced more resistance than Bitcoin due to high leverage and liquidation risks in the derivatives market. The broader market appears to be in a recovery phase from extreme lows while investors maintain a cautious approach to new positions.

Crypto Markets Overview

The crypto market currently exhibits a consolidation pattern following a massive short squeeze. The market structure has transitioned from panic selling to a phase of volatile but modest growth. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains at a low of 11 to signal Extreme Fear which often accompanies the formation of a market bottom. Bitcoin continues to serve as a stabilizing force for market liquidity amid recovering buy-side sentiment in the US. The Bitcoin premium index on a major CEX narrowed significantly to -0.0033% after a 40-day negative streak to suggest that institutional capital is slowly returning. Ethereum faces a different set of challenges despite seeing USD 157.2 million in net ETF inflows. A sharp 11.45% increase in open interest to USD 26.46 billion has made ETH price action highly sensitive to volatility as leverage flushes out in the derivatives segment.

Source: Alternative

Bitcoin and Ethereum are currently trading within dense liquidation clusters which makes short-term range-bound consolidation likely. Coinglass data shows a massive USD 1.75 billion in long liquidation intensity near $64,810 for Bitcoin. Meanwhile, a critical resistance zone for shorts sits at $71,578 with approximately USD 947 million in liquidation pressure. This dual-sided pressure has resulted in a lack of follow-through buying as the price approaches the $70,000 psychological level. Ethereum faces even more precarious conditions because a drop below $1,953 could trigger USD 992 million in long liquidations. Recent ETH sales by Vitalik Buterin totaling 17,196 ETH worth USD 34.96 million have also added psychological pressure to bulls. The current rally appears driven by short covering rather than a fundamental trend reversal as capital remains hesitant at key technical levels.

Key News Highlights:

Aave Hits USD 1 Trillion In Total Lending Volume To Secure DeFi Dominance

The decentralized finance sector reached a major milestone as Aave officially surpassed USD 1 trillion in cumulative lending volume. Aave Labs CEO stated that the protocol has evolved from a simple concept into the financial backbone of on-chain lending over the past decade. Current data shows that Aave maintains over USD 27.2 billion in total value locked and generated USD 83.3 million in fees over the last 30 days. These fee revenues are nearly four times higher than those of its closest competitor. Aave continues to expand its ecosystem through the Aave Horizon market which targets institutional investors. This platform allows traditional financial firms to use real-world assets as collateral to borrow stablecoins. Major asset managers like VanEck and WisdomTree have already participated in this institutional offering to signal a deeper integration between DeFi and traditional global finance.

ETHZilla Rebrands To Forum To Focus On Real World Asset Tokenization

The crypto treasury firm formerly known as ETHZilla announced a major rebranding to Forum Markets to reflect a shift in its core business strategy. The company will change its ticker symbol to FRMM and move away from its previous strategy of simply holding Ethereum in its corporate treasury. Forum intends to become a full-scale tokenization infrastructure company that connects traditional capital markets with blockchain technology. The CEO emphasized that the next generation of financial markets will be built on regulated and transparent on-chain products backed by real assets. Forum remains the seventh-largest corporate holder of Ethereum with 69,802 ETH worth approximately USD 143.7 million. However, its recent purchase of two commercial jet engines to issue the Eurus Aero Token I marks its official pivot into the RWA sector. This strategic shift led to a 13% spike in its share price during Wednesday trading.

UK Security Committee Chair Calls For Ban On Crypto Political Donations

Matt Western the chair of the UK Joint Committee on National Security Strategy urged the government to implement a temporary ban on crypto donations to political parties. The recommendation aims to include a moratorium in the upcoming Representation of the People Bill to prevent foreign interference in UK elections. This move is driven by concerns that foreign states could exploit the anonymity of crypto assets to influence political positions amid worsening global security environments. Western suggested that the ban should remain until the Electoral Commission issues clear statutory guidance on the matter. The proposed rules would require political parties to only use crypto services registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. Furthermore, parties would be prohibited from accepting funds from mixers or anonymous sources and must convert all crypto receipts into fiat currency within 48 hours to ensure maximum transparency.

Trending Tokens:

• $AB (AB)

The integration of $AB and the USD1 stablecoin into Alchemy Pay fiat gateways marks a major step for ecosystem accessibility. AB functions as a heterogeneous blockchain infrastructure featuring a base technology layer and a super exchange protocol. The project is currently capturing global liquidity by supporting traditional credit cards and local payment methods. This development lowers the entry barrier for new users and removes common friction points between fiat and decentralized environments. Market participants are monitoring this expansion closely because it drives adoption for the AB Chain infrastructure originally founded as Newton in 2018. Recent data shows a sharp rise in social heat and growth indices as investors refocus on the project technical architecture. AB aims to accelerate application layer growth while strengthening its position in the competitive Layer 1 landscape.

• $CRTR (FANDOM CREATOR)

The official launch of the $CRTR token claim process has triggered intense market interest in the FANDOM CREATOR platform and the Fan-Fi narrative. This project enjoys support from major institutions like Jump Crypto and BNB Chain to revolutionize the business relationship between creators and fans. The claim announcement on the Fandora platform served as the primary catalyst for token distribution and community engagement. FANDOM CREATOR bridges the gap between traditional social reach and decentralized monetization through partnerships with entities like BytedanceTalk. Its deployment on both BSC and Aptos demonstrates a multi-chain ambition to capture diverse user segments within the creator economy. Investors are closely watching the project development as the claim window progresses. The $CRTR token will likely function as the core utility element to align incentives between content producers and their global audiences.

• $FT (Flying Tulip)

Flying Tulip has entered a critical phase with the launch of its native ftUSD stablecoin and a transparent buyback mechanism. Founded by Andre Cronje and backed by 275.5 million dollars from investors like Amber Group, the project builds an integrated on-chain financial market. Recent buybacks resulted in the burning of over 1.7 million FT tokens to demonstrate a firm commitment to deflationary value. The establishment of the analytics dashboard and cross-margin system signals that the DeFi suite is structurally ready for high-volume activity. Flying Tulip intends to consolidate spot trading, derivatives, and lending into a single capital-efficient infrastructure on the Sonic network. High heat indices suggest that the market is anticipating the next stage of incentive distribution and full system functionality. This institutional approach to risk management positions the project as a serious contender in the evolving decentralized finance sector.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this section is for informational purposes only and doesn't represent any investment advice or FameEX's official view.