The crypto market turned slightly bearish today as Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 2.08%, retesting the $115,000 level. XRP slipped below $3 and Ethereum (ETH) dipped 3.5% under $4,300, raising questions about the best crypto to buy during this pullback. While most sectors moved lower, some tokens managed to stand out with strong gains.
In particular, decentralized finance (DeFi) projects showed resilience, led by Chainlink (LINK), which surged 14.32% after announcing a new on-chain reserve system and a strategic partnership with ICE, the parent company of the NYSE.
Maker (MKR), Aerodrome Finance (AERO), and DEFI.ssi also posted gains, highlighting how parts of the DeFi sector are emerging as strong contenders even in a weak market.
EXPLORE: Top 20 Crypto to Buy in 2025
DeFi Gains Spotlight as Best Crypto to Buy; Qubic Targets Dogecoin After Monero Attack
With Bitcoin under pressure, investors are now eyeing projects that combine momentum with real utility. LINK, MKR, and AERO are increasingly viewed as the best cryptos to buy as broader markets consolidate.
In other news, Qubic, an AI-focused blockchain that recently carried out a 51% attack on Monero, has voted to make Dogecoin (DOGE) its next target. The project’s founder, Sergey Ivancheglo, asked the community which proof-of-work chain to attack next, and DOGE received the majority of votes over Kaspa and Zcash. With Dogecoin’s $35 billion market cap now in focus, the move has sparked concerns over the vulnerability of mining-based blockchains.
The #Qubic community has chosen #Dogecoin. pic.twitter.com/EnevIZUAw5
— Come-from-Beyond (@c___f___b) August 17, 2025
DISCOVER: Hyperliquid (HYPE) Up 11%: What’s The Way Forward?
Qubic holders, however, pushed back on the “attack” narrative. Community members argued that their activity should be seen as mining, not malicious action.
Stay tuned for ongoing updates as the market reacts to these shifts.
Institutional Bitcoin Demand Grows—Here’s the Layer 2 Project to Watch
Bitcoin continues to see heavy institutional inflows, with BlackRock’s iShares ETF alone adding 976 BTC ($112.86M) in a single day. In total, net flows were up +722 BTC ($83.48M), pushing iShares’ holdings to nearly 750,000 BTC worth $86.7B. This kind of demand from Wall Street underscores the growing conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term potential, and highlights the need for scalable solutions to handle increasing network pressure.
Positioned as a next-generation Bitcoin Layer 2, Bitcoin Hyper is designed to eliminate the network’s biggest weaknesses: speed, programmability, and congestion.
Unlike the Lightning Network, which struggled with adoption, Bitcoin Hyper integrates a Canonical Bridge and the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM). The bridge allows BTC to move seamlessly between Bitcoin’s base layer and Hyper’s Layer 2, enabling wrapped BTC for use in DeFi and dApps. Meanwhile, the SVM brings Ethereum-like programmability at Solana speeds, slashing transaction times from nearly an hour to just seconds.
The native token, HYPER, powers this ecosystem with staking rewards up to 106% APY, lower-fee transactions, and governance rights. It’s also cross-chain compatible with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana—ensuring liquidity and interoperability.
The presale has already raised over $10 million, with HYPER currently priced at $0.012755. Analysts project a potential climb to $0.32 post-launch, implying gains of over 2,400%.
With Bitcoin demand at record highs and institutions only accelerating accumulation, Bitcoin Hyper could emerge as the key Layer 2 solution powering BTC’s next growth phase.
Satoshi Nakamoto Finally Uncovered? Is Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey Bitcoin’s Anon Creator
To this day, there is still an insane amount of mystery behind the actual creator of Bitcoin and the man behind the Satoshi Nakamoto alias. Now, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey is the latest high-profile figure to be put under the spotlight as a possible candidate for Bitcoin’s founder.
From the likes of Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, Adam Back, to Craig Wright (LOL) and the ultimate crackpot theory that the CIA created Bitcoin, there have been multiple attempts at uncovering Bitcoin’s creator since its inception in 2009, to no avail. To this day, entire Twitter threads are created, as sleuths claim to have discovered Satoshi’s true identity.
BTCS Launches ‘Bividend’: Shareholders to Receive ETH Payouts
BTCS, “Ethereum MicroStrategy,” announced it will reward investors with a unique blockchain-based dividend. Shareholders will receive a one-time “Bividend” of $0.05 per share in Ethereum (ETH), making BTCS the first publicly traded company to issue a dividend directly in ETH.
Beyond this, the company is also offering an Ethereum loyalty payment of $0.35 per share for investors who transfer their holdings into book entry with BTCS’s transfer agent and maintain them there until January 26, 2026.
Is Arbitrum Ready for a 150% Spike? ARB Crypto on the Brink of a Major Breakout
The success of Ethereum is boosting ecosystem tokens, including Arbitrum. Although ETH USD momentum appears to be fading, blue-chip tokens tied to the first smart contract platform are thriving. Among them, ARB crypto is on the verge of a major breakout, looking at the formation on the daily chart.
From Coingecko, Arbitrum ranks among the top-performing coins, easily qualifying as one of the best cryptos to buy. In the last 24 hours, arb logoARB -1.06% is up nearly 10%, extending weekly gains to over 16%.
At this pace, the token has added over 40% in the past two weeks, reversing July losses and pushing monthly gains to over 14%.
$411 Million in Token Unlocks: Key Projects to Watch This Week
According to Tokenomist, over $411 million worth of tokens are set to be unlocked in the coming seven days, a development that could bring some volatility in market liquidity and sentiment.
The biggest one-time unlocks, each exceeding $5 million, involve ZRO, KAITO, and SOON. These events typically attract trader attention due to the sudden increase in circulating supply, which can pressure short-term prices.
Meanwhile, several projects face linear daily unlocks above $1 million, including major names like Solana (SOL), Worldcoin (WLD), Celestia (TIA), Dogecoin (DOGE), Bittensor (TAO), Avalanche (AVAX), Sui (SUI), and Polkadot (DOT). Additional unlocks are lined up for IP, Morpho (MORPHO), EtherFi (ETHFI), Jito (JTO), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), and more.
The post Latest Crypto News, August 18 – Best Crypto To Buy As Bitcoin Price Falls 2% Retesting $115K: LINK Surges And Qubic Targets DOGE After Monero appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
