5 Best Crypto To Buy Now As ETH’s $4.1K Breakout Boosts DeFi Activity: HEI, AERO, PENDLE, W, VELO

While Bitcoin continues to absorb most of the cryptocurrency market liquidity, its dominance dipped by 0.65 points to 59.56% in the past 24 hours, as today’s Altcoin Season Index (ASI) reading of 34/100 signals increased capital rotation into altcoins.

The overall crypto market rose 0.52% in the last 24 hours, aligning with a 5.76% weekly gain. This was driven by institutional ETF demand, with Bitcoin and Ethereum-backed funds seeing $280.7 million and $461 million in net inflows on August 7 and 8. The total assets under management (AUM) for spot Ethereum ETFs hit $23.38 billion, and the products managed to reverse the $465 million outflow from August 4. The absorption of sell pressure and institutional conviction has renewed investor confidence in altcoins and especially DeFi-linked assets.

Meanwhile, $105 million in Ether short positions were liquidated as ETH broke above $4,000, its highest level since January. Technical indicators like the Coinbase Premium Index, which has been up since April, show strong US institutional buying through ETFs and corporate treasury adoption. High leverage in derivatives trading has amplified upside volatility for alts. ETH’s ability to hold $4,100 will be crucial for the altcoin market, and a breakout could target the Fibonacci extension at $4,500, strengthening the case for an ‘Altcoin Season’.

Best Crypto To Buy Now

1. Heima (HEI) – Today’s Best Performing DeFi Token

Decentralized identity and privacy solutions provider Heima Network saw the price of its HEI token rise 34.38% in the last 24 hours, outpacing the broader crypto market’s gain. Key drivers behind the rally include infrastructure development, bullish technical momentum, and heightened trading activity.

On August 4, the Heima team announced major upgrades to its chain abstraction layer, including support for ERC-4337 standard smart contracts and integration with the decentralized crypto perpetuals trading app Wildmeta. This update positions HEI as a backend solution for cross-chain DeFi, potentially increasing its adoption.

HEI’s 24-hour trading volume surged 474% to $76.6 million, with its volume-market cap turnover ratio at 1.93 signalling high liquidity but speculative trading. Its price has broken above the 7-day SMA at $0.415 and 30-day SMA at $0.37, with the 7-day RSI at 72.07 indicating that HEI is currently in overbought territory. The price rallied from $0.348 to $0.484 before stabilizing near $0.519. This breakout aligns with Fibonacci extension targets $0.559 and $0.722, attracting momentum traders.

Retail traders likely amplified the rally, but the overheating HEI market suggests short-term pullback risks if buying pressure eases, as increased volatility often precedes sharp corrections. A close above the 61.8% Fibonacci extension of $0.489 could extend Heima’s gains, but a drop below the 38.2% Fib retracement of $0.412 may trigger profit-taking.

At the time of writing, Heima (HEI) is trading at $0.5513, up 44.6% in the last 24 hours. According to our technical-based analysis, in 2025, we expect HEI to change hands in a trading channel between $0.337 (low) and $0.491 (high), leading to an average annualized price of $0.375 for the token, and an ROI of -11.89% compared to Heima’s current rates.

2. Aerodrome Finance (AERO)

AERO, the native token of Aerodrome Finance, a next-generation automated market-maker (AMM) designed to serve as the central liquidity hub for Base Chain, surged 16.07% in the last 24 hours. The rally, which resulted in an extension of its weekly gains by 31.48%, was led by the Coinbase DEX support on Base, technical breakout, and growing momentum for Base Chain-native tokens.

On August 8, US crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of in-app decentralized exchange on Base, with transactions routed through Aerodrome. This integration grants more than 100 million Coinbase users access to millions of Base-native tokens, bypassing traditional listing delays. Coinbase’s DEX feature has increased demand for AERO, with its 24-hour trading volume surging 273.54% to $245.05 million. Aerodrome’s role as the leading DEX on Base, with $556 million in total-value-locked (TVL), positions it to capture fees and liquidity from new users.

Base-native tokens rose 4.5% following the news, with AERO leading the chart. The ecosystem’s market capitalization hit $65 billion. Investors now see Base as a hub for institutional-grade DeFi, boosting demand for Aerodrone Finance, with its trading volume even surpassing top pools on Solana.

AERO broke past its 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of $1.02, hitting its highest price point since December 2024 at $1.06. However, its 14-day RSI of 80.48 signals overbought conditions. The breakout also aligns with a 3-month ascending channel, which is targeting the 50% Fib level at $1.31. However, higher RSI and the MACD histogram rising to +0.012 should be taken as a caution, as it risks a short-term pullback if profit-taking comes into play. Holding above the $1.02 pivot point will be key for AERO.

At the time of writing, Aerodrome Finance (AERO) is trading at $1.07, up 20.9% in the last 24 hours. According to our technical-based analysis, in 2025, we expect AERO to change hands in a trading channel between $0.7118 (low) and $1.032 (high), leading to an average annualized price of $0.7906 for the token, and an ROI of -3.30% compared to Aerodrome’s current rates.

3. Pendle (PENDLE)

On-chain yield tokenization and trading platform Pendle (PENDLE) rose 6.4% over the last 24 hours, extending its 41% weekly gains. The rally aligns with growing market momentum for DeFi products and protocol-specific catalysts.

On August 8, KHYPE – a receipt token received in exchange for staking HYPE on Hyperliquid – became the largest market on Pendle with a TVL of $177 million and daily trading volume of $67 million. Hyperliquid’s rapid growth in the DeFi sector validates Pendle’s role in tokenizing emerging yield markets. Higher TVL results in increased protocol fees, further incentivizing PENDLE accumulation. 

This event coincided with Ethereum reclaiming the coveted $4,000 mark, further amplifying demand for DeFi tokens like PENDLE. Sustained post-launch volume and Hyperliquid’s validator performance will be key for Pendle.

Meanwhile, Pendle announced a strategic partnership with Ethena, allowing users to lock the USDe stablecoin on the platform for fixed yields, borrow against the Principal Token (PT) – which represents ownership of the principal amount of a yield-bearing asset on Pendle – through Aave, and open loop positions for compounded returns. This creates a reflexive demand for the $4.3 billion worth of USDe locked on the platform, generating fees and improving governance utility for PENDLE. The arbitrage of Aave’s lower borrowing costs compared to PT’s yields attracts capital, and this strategy has already contributed to USDe’s $3.7 billion supply growth in the last 20 days.

While PENDLE’s RSI of 70 hints at overbought conditions, the protocol’s fee-driven tokenomics and $5.2 billion worth of TVL could provide it with fundamental support. Traders should keep a close eye on whether the token will be able to break past the $5.50 resistance, a level that triggered price reversals in July, or consolidate near $5.20.

At the time of writing, Pendle (PENDLE) is trading at $5.50, up 4.31% in the last 24 hours. According to our technical-based analysis, in 2025, we expect PENDLE to change hands in a trading channel between $5.51 (low) and $5.56 (high), leading to an average annualized price of $5.54 for the token, and an ROI of 2.59% compared to Pendle’s current rates.

4. Wormhole (W)

Wormhole, the leading cross-chain interoperability protocol for Ethereum, Solana, Optimism, and Arbitrum, saw the price of its native W token surge 15.09% over the last 24 hours, outpacing the broader crypto market’s 1.16% gain. The rally, driven by a combination of strategic partnerships, exchange momentum, and bullish technical signals, adds to its 27% weekly growth.

On July 29, Wormhole announced a partnership with Mento Labs to enable multichain stablecoin transfers for decentralized foreign exchanges (FX), targeting the $7.5 trillion global FX market volume. This integration would allow Mento Labs to move 15+ stablecoins across 40 different blockchains. Since its launch in 2020, Wormhole has processed more than $60 billion in cross-chain transactions, and the growing institutional demand for on-chain FX could increase W’s utility as an interoperability layer, driving fee accrual for stakers. Q3 results of Mento’s FX platform and growth in stablecoin volume will be key for the W price.

The July 2 listing of W on Coinbase unlocked deeper liquidity for Wormhole, with its 24-hour trading volume now sitting at $130 million, a 243% increase from yesterday. Improved centralized exchange (CEX) exposure attracts retail traders, but the “Coinbase effect” often triggers short-term pumps followed by corrections if W’s fundamentals lag. Another concern is that 88% of the token’s supply is held by whales, which raises volatility risks.

W broke above its 30-day SMA of $0.083 and the 23.6% Fibonacci level of $0.095. Its MACD histogram turned positive on August 7, signalling accelerated upside price momentum. Although short-term traders are chasing the breakout, Wormhole’s high RSI at 70.23 (overbought) suggests an overheating market. A close above $0.095 could target the 127.2% Fib extension at $0.113, while failure risks a pullback to the $0.085 support.

At the time of writing, Wormhole (W) is trading at $0.09362, up 15.13% in the last 24 hours. According to our technical-based analysis, in 2025, we expect W to change hands in a trading channel between $0.06239 (low) and $0.09052 (high), leading to an average annualized price of $0.06931 for the token, and an ROI of -3.04% compared to Pendle’s current rates.

5. Velodrome Finance (VELO)

The price VELO, the native token of Optimism-based AMM and liquidity platform Velodrome Finance, surged 30.76% in the last 24 hours. The main catalysts behind its rally are cross-chain ecosystem growth, increased liquidity provider (LP) incentives, and technical breakout.

On August 5, Velodrome Finance surpassed $500 million in on-chain volume on Unichain – an interoperable layer-2 blockchain built on the Optimism Superchain. This feat comes just two weeks after launch and follows last month’s rollout of the Superswaps feature, which enabled frictionless cross-chain swaps on Velodrome via Hyperlane. Expansion to other blockchain protocols is expected to drive up protocol revenue while increasing VELO’s utility as a governance token. Higher volume often correlate with demand for staking and voting via vVELO tokens.

Velodrome’s Slipstream token pools offer up to 1,095% APR for LPs in the WETH/ANITA and USDT/WETH pairs. The platform has a TVL of over $92 million locked across various Optmisim Superchain deployments. Higher yields is particularly bullish for VELO because it attracts capital, and increases protocol fees and buy pressure for the token. However, such APR levels are often unsustainable in the long-term, and a drop in the rate could trigger exits.

VELO broke above the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of $0.06068 and its 200-day EMA of $0.063042. The token’s 7-day RSI at 67.39 is nearing overbought conditions but is not extreme, but the MACD histogram at -0.00017 shows bearish divergence. Velodrome must maintain $250 million in weekly trading volume on newer blockchains and close above $0.0655 to target $0.0712 at the 127.2% Fib extension, extending its gains.

At the time of writing, Velodrome (VELO) is trading at $0.06412, up 32.88% in the last 24 hours. According to our technical-based analysis, in 2025, we expect VELO to change hands in a trading channel between $0.043296 (low) and $0.06403 (high), leading to an average annualized price of $0.048397 for the token, and an ROI of -0.48% compared to Pendle’s current rates.

Also Read: SEC’s Case Against Ripple Finally Over & XRP Witnesses Breakout

Final Thoughts

The tokens mentioned in this article – Heima (HEI), Aerodrome Finance (AERO), Wormhole (W), Pendle (PENDLE), and Velodrome Finance (VELO) – are among the best performing cryptocurrencies today. Their rallies were driven by a combination of factors, from strategic partnerships to hightened trading volume on their respective DeFi platforms. 

The main catalyst behind their surge is ETH’s price, which is closing in on $4,200. This led to improved investor confidence in altcoins, especially Ethereum-based tokens and DeFi platforms. The Altcoin Season Index managed to tick up to 34/100, still in Bitcoin Season territory, but slowly clawing back on BTC’s market dominance, which dropped below 60%.

Readers should note that while cryptocurrencies can be lucrative investments, they are highly speculative and volatile assets. Do careful research and fully understand the purpose and utility behind the aforementioned tokens, and seek expert advice before investing. Furthermore, the contents of this article are for educational purposes only, and should not be construed as financial advice.