The biggest gainers?

The liquid staking protocol Lido and the lending platform $AAVE. Lido rose from $30 billion to $42.5 billion over the past three weeks as it dethroned $AAVE to become the leading DeFi platform. The lending protocol isn’t far behind with a roughly $9 billion gain, reaching $41.1 billion, in the same timeframe.

This influx of liquidity into the leading DeFi protocols means that investors are more confident in risk assets beyond just Bitcoin ($BTC) and Ethereum ($ETH).

Historically, when $ETH and blue chip DeFi protocols attract liquidity first, the next wave often spills into smaller altcoins — especially those connected to DeFi, staking, or new narratives.

The current market-wide bearish momentum suggests a local bottom, as sentiment remains above neutral despite the selloffs. Moreover, the current macro uncertainty has also been acting as a negative catalyst.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the Bitcoin dominance has been constantly declining since early July and just reached 57% for the first time since January. Ethereum and low-cap altcoins, on the other hand, have been seeing a rise in the same timeframe.

As soon as clarity around the US Fed’s rate cuts and the geopolitical tension emerges, risk assets will likely see a notable rise.