gm Web3 explorers,

The first week of August has passed and — sigh — we're still here, spamming your inbox with industry alpha instead of packing for Bali.

But you know what?

There are just too many signs that the bullrun might be sneaking up on us:
📈 DeFi hit a fresh all-time high,
🧠 AI infra is scaling fast,
🖼️ NFTs are suddenly expensive again,
…and hackers? Yeah, they're back too.

So whether you're in chill mode or already plotting your next move, this newsletter has all the signals you shouldn't miss.

Let's dive in. 🏊‍♀️

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$132M Lost to Hacks in July

Not the update we were hoping to give, but here we are: $132 million was lost to exploits in July, a 16% increase compared to June.

Here are the top 3 incidents this month, according to REKT Database:

💥 CoinDCX lost $44M after a server breach targeting an internal liquidity account.

🧨 GMX v1 on Arbitrum was exploited for $42M via a vulnerability in internal accounting.

🔥 BigONE exchange lost $28M after attackers accessed their hot wallet across multiple chains.

As activity picks up, so do the risks.
Check approvals, use hardware wallets, stay paranoid.

🛡️ Need help staying safe in Web3?

Read the Safety Guide

🏆 DeFi hits new ATH

We started with the bad news… but let's move on to the good stuff. In fact, DeFi was on fire in July. Total Value Locked (TVL) hit an all-time high of $270B, closing the month at $259B, up 30% MoM. That's not just bullish — that's historic.

📈 And that's not all:

Ethereum TVL hit $166B, staking APY reached 29.4%.
Hyperliquid on Solana generated 35% of blockchain revenue, with $15.3B open interest.
The U.S. passed the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts, plus launched Project Crypto to outline a roadmap for DeFi integration with TradFi.

The bullish sentiment is building, Web3 explorers.
With real liquidity, real users, and real regulation coming into play, it's time to keep your eyes on the right protocols and Airdrops.

Check the DeFi Trending Page — there's alpha everywhere.

NFTs Are Getting Expensive Again 👀

What's one of the loudest signals that a bull market might be creeping in?

Overvalued JPEGs.
Yeah, we all know it. We've seen this movie before. And right now, NFTs are quietly heating up again, and this could just be the beginning.

📈 In July:

NFT trading volume jumped 96%, hitting $530M
Average NFT price doubled, from $52 to $105
Blue-chip collections like Pudgy Penguins and CryptoPunks saw a major uptick
Blur dominated daily ETH volume (80%+), while OpenSea still led on users (~27K traders/day)
Meme collections surged, Art Blocks sold out, and tokenized real-world assets started making real moves

So yeah, maybe NFTs still aren't your thing. But if history taught us anything, it's that when NFTs pump, something bigger usually follows.

Now's the time to keep an eye on the NFT space — even if it's just once a day.
Scroll through the NFT Rankings, spot the movers, and track which collections are gaining momentum.

👉See which NFTs are thriving today

🏝️ On Holiday? Here's Something Better Than Scrolling

You made it to the end of this newsletter — and it's already the first week of August.

Hopefully, you're somewhere nice, relaxing, and maybe even a little bit bored (it's okay, we all get bored when there's too much free time).

So… guess what?

We've put together a list of 10 Play-to-Earn games that are perfect for those sunny days when you want to unwind and stay active in Web3.

🎮 Titles include:

Forgotten Runiverse – an onchain MMORPG with real quests and rewards
HYTOPIA – the Minecraft-style game where Web3 meets creativity
Freya: The Starfall – lore, strategy, and blockchain-powered progression
…and more.

If relaxing for you means gaming — and being an active participant in Web3 — this is your list.

Explore the Top 10 Web3 Games to Play Right Now