12 June 2025

Institutional Buying Supports $3,000 ETH Outlook Amid AI Agent Developments

Market Overview

As of Thursday, ETH trades at $2,770, up nearly 11% this month, outperforming BTC which rose 5%. Key points include:

Institutional trading demand is increasing for ETH, with it overtaking BTC in derivatives markets.
ETH accounted for 45.2% of trading volume on perpetual futures markets compared to BTC's 38.1%.
Institutions continue to buy BTC during dips, with long-term holders realizing over $930 million in profits daily.
Despite volatility, the supply of BTC among long-term holders has increased, indicating accumulation trends.
Geopolitical risks and market sentiment shifts remain potential challenges.
Experts see $3,000 ETH as increasingly likely.

The stablecoin market reached an all-time high of $228 billion, a 17% increase year-to-date. Highlights include:

Liquidity driven by investor confidence from recent events like the Circle IPO and rising DeFi yields.
ERC20 stablecoins on centralized exchanges hit $50 billion.
Tron leads in net stablecoin inflows, surpassing $6 billion in May.
Ethereum and Solana experienced significant capital outflows.

As autonomous AI agents evolve, they require crypto infrastructure for collaboration and transactions. Key insights are:

Current interactions are limited to hardcoded APIs within closed ecosystems.
Blockchain technology can provide interoperable frameworks for these agents.
Projects like Halliday aim to establish standards for cross-agent workflows.
Infrastructure developments could position blockchains as vital to future AI economies.

Gaming remains the leading category in the dAPP ecosystem, but its market share is declining. Noteworthy points include:

Market share dropped from 21% in April to 19.4% in May.
Daily active wallets remain stable around 4.9 million.
Venture funding for gaming projects fell sharply to $9 million in May from over $220 million at the end of 2024.
The industry struggles with engaging gameplay, leading to project closures.