NFT Surge, AI Curation, and DeFi's Institutional Appeal: Your Web3 Weekly Roundup
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NFT Surge, AI Curation, and DeFi's Institutional Appeal: Your Web3 Weekly Roundup
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About this listen
Hey there, it’s Crypto Willy with your Web3 Deep Dive. Buckle up because this past week in the world of NFTs, DeFi, and crypto saw big headlines and some game-changing trends that you absolutely don’t want to miss.
Let’s kick things off with NFTs. July wrapped up with a surge in NFT sales, clocking in at a massive $574 million—yeah, you heard that right—which made it the second-highest month for NFT sales this year, according to coverage by Techi. Ethereum was clearly the blockchain kingpin here. The price of ETH shot above $3,900, and that coincided directly with NFT market cap gains. Analysts on Binance Square and aInvest noted that as ETH pumped, investors were way more willing to throw down on high-value NFTs, fueling fewer but much pricier trades. Cardano, for its part, managed to double NFT sales, which is super fascinating, while Polygon and Binance Smart Chain weren’t so lucky—they saw steep sales drops of more than 50%. This points to an NFT space consolidating around a few power players, mainly Ethereum, with a noticeable move toward premium, institution-driven deals.
But it’s not just about blockbuster sales and blue-chip chains. Simplilearn recently highlighted some of the coolest shifts in NFT tech right now. First: AI is now curating NFT collections, using algorithms to serve up hyper-personalized, visually stunning assets based on what collectors actually love. In gaming, NFTs are powering legit virtual economies. We’re seeing in-game assets like rare skins, digital land, and avatars become verifiable property you can buy, sell, or trade. And the scale is wild—the NFT gaming market is hitting around half a trillion bucks in 2025, with forecasts that it could double in five years, as noted in SagiPL.
Utility NFTs are heating up big time; these are tokens that get you access to real-world perks, like special events or exclusive merch drops. Over 42% of all new NFTs minted this year come packaged with physical delivery or experiential bonuses. Think sneaker launches or luxury art with a signed print delivered to your door. Projects like Nike’s Cryptokicks are blending the physical and digital even more tightly.
Let’s spin over to DeFi and crypto. On the DeFi side, Ethereum ETFs finally got SEC approval—huge news. Even though there was an initial net outflow (Grayscale’s ETHE, for example, bled about $1.9B in redemptions), the general vibe now is cautiously bullish as more institutional capital eyes up decentralized finance protocols. DeFi’s total value locked remains sticky, with renewed interest in yield opportunities now that inflation fears have cooled a bit in the latest CPI numbers, according to B2BinPay.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is hovering above $50,000, fighting off volatility from global economic headlines and rising interest rates. Even in bumpy markets, BTC’s role as digital gold is front and center, especially for big funds watching US economic data.
As for price forecasts—a consistent theme this week is steadiness for major NFT tokens like APENFT, which crypto analysts on Changelly expect to sit around $0.00000058 through December. If you’re looking further ahead, 2026 predictions see a bump, but steady is the name of the game right now.
That’s a wrap for this week’s dose of Web3 reality! Thanks for tuning in with me, Crypto Willy. I’ll be back next week to give you the latest in crypto, blockchain, and everything decentralized. This has been a Quiet Please production—check out QuietPlease.ai for even more deep dives. Catch you soon!
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