Recently, the price of ETH has continued to rise, approaching historical highs, with institutional funds accelerating their layout in this ecosystem. After entering a short-term correction, multiple projects within the Ethereum ecosystem have received positive news. This article selects some potentially promising Ethereum Alpha projects for analysis.
01, Ethena
Ethena has attracted market attention with the establishment of the StablecoinX department, planning to repurchase $260 million ENA within six weeks, accounting for 8% of the circulating supply, continuously pushing the price daily. The fee switch mechanism has been approved, with some revenue allocated to sENA holders, conservatively estimating an annual yield of about 4%, and potentially exceeding 10% under optimistic conditions. At the beginning of June, Coinbase supported ENA and opened USD trading pairs, enhancing ecological cooperation like the USDe strategy with Pendle. In the long run, the launch of Converge Chain and the compliant stablecoin USDtb will strengthen its cyclical resistance.
02, Pendle
Pendle has recently performed outstandingly, with TVL surpassing $9 billion on August 13, reaching a historical high, and the token price nearing $6, with a monthly increase of over 30%. Boros has converted the BTC/ETH perpetual contract fee into tradable assets, attracting $1.85 million equivalent funds in two days, becoming a core driver of V3 growth. Deep integration with protocols like Ethena and Aave contributes 60% of TVL through the PT-USDe strategy. In 2025, $41 billion in institutional funds will enter, and Citadels' compliance plan will rapidly boost TVL.
03, Uniswap
DEX leader Uniswap will see dual growth points in 2025: the launch of version V4, with the Hooks feature generating over 2500 custom pools, and projects like Bunni exceeding $100 million in trading volume; the Unichain second-layer network will launch, with daily active trading accounting for over 70%, reducing single-chain dependency risks. Innovation drives user growth, significantly enhancing risk resistance.
04, Fluid
Fluid reached a single-day trading volume of $1.5 billion in early August, slightly surpassing Uniswap's $1.3 billion. Its unique liquidity layer converts the collateral from lending pools into trading liquidity, significantly improving capital efficiency. Assets achieve 'two meals from one fish,' allowing users to earn interest and fees, with a dynamic adjustment mechanism to prevent liquidity crisis risks. A cumulative trading volume of $10 billion over 100 days, a 'lightweight' exchange is set to launch, potentially adding another $400-600 million in daily trading volume. The price of FLUID rose 14% in early August, with a circulating market value of $290 million having high growth potential.
05, Lido
Lido, as Ethereum's leading liquid staking protocol, will see new growth in 2025, with TVL nearing $41 billion, accounting for 26% of DeFi's TVL. stETH is accepted as collateral or payment by protocols like Aave and Curve, with demand and liquidity continuing to rise. Ecological integration deepens, and competitive barriers are further consolidated.
06, Aave
Aave's TVL has risen to $38.9 billion, doubling since the beginning of the year, accounting for nearly 25% of DeFi's TVL, maintaining its leading position in the lending market. The supply of the GHO stablecoin has increased from $146 million to $314 million, expanding to networks like Arbitrum and Base. The Horizon project explores RWA, while the Plasma collaboration promotes institutional funds, reinforcing its institutional-level DeFi status.
07, Curve
Curve's decentralized stablecoin crvUSD has performed excellently in its two-year anniversary, widely integrated into DeFi protocols and supporting daily payments. The LLAMMA mechanism effectively resists market volatility, with scrvUSD's annual yield reaching 8%. After a DNS attack, the team migrated the domain and launched the Yield Basis new protocol, exploring the RWA field, with ecological potential yet to be realized.
08, SKY
MakerDAO's stablecoin USDS ranks fourth in market capitalization, adopting an over-collateralized model to avoid restrictions from the GENIUS Act, with sUSDS offering an annual return of 5% advantageous in a 2.7% inflation environment. Coinbase launched SKY/USDS trading in July, marking an important step towards traditional finance.
09, Spark
Spark TVL has increased by over 200% since April, reaching $8.2 billion, ranking eighth in DeFi. Backed by MakerDAO reserves, products like SparkLend and SparkSavings cover all yield scenarios, with high safety margins and increased institutional trust. A diversified layout in the future looks promising.
10, Chainlink
As the leader in oracle solutions, Chainlink has introduced a reserve mechanism, accumulating $1 million LINK, with future income supporting the network and reducing selling pressure. The oracle secures $93 billion in DeFi value, covering 83% of Ethereum's assets, and collaborates with NYSE parent company ICE to introduce on-chain data, showing strong growth momentum.
11, Pengu
PENGU returns to the spotlight with NFT + Meme narratives, as Canary Capital submits a PENGU ETF application, with 80-95% of the investment portfolio in PENGU. After the SEC acceptance, market expectations have warmed, and the penguin narrative may become a new highlight.
12, BMNR
The US company BitMine Immersion (NYSE: BMNR), led by Tom Lee, has accumulated 1.2 million ETH worth $5.03 billion, becoming the largest ETH holder globally. They plan to increase holdings to 5% of global supply and stake for earnings. ARK Invest invested $182 million to purchase 4.77 million shares, with Bill Miller comparing it to 'ETH's version of MicroStrategy,' and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund holding 9.1%. The rise in ETH has boosted BMNR's stock price, nearly doubling in August.
Layout suggestions
Among these projects, some have launched on Binance for spot and even contract trading, while others can be traded in Binance's wallet.
If you feel hesitant to enter AAVE, which is still at a high point, it is recommended to find some projects that did not perform as prominently during the last ETH rally but have potential and influence, such as #ETC #ENS #ETHFI etc. Finding a low point to enter now can prepare for the next round of price increases. These Ethereum projects, if ETH rises, are unlikely to fall, even if the selection is not optimal.
Of course, some Ethereum projects may not rise as much as ETH itself, so one needs to assess potential and risk independently.