Binance Bytes is your weekly snapshot of the most important crypto market developments, powered by Binance Research data and onchain insights. This week’s edition highlights a clear theme: crypto is moving deeper into sovereign finance, global banking, and institutional portfolios — even as market sentiment remains cautious.Below is everything you need to know, broken down for quick reading.Market Snapshot: Risk-Off Sentiment, Quiet AccumulationGlobal crypto market cap: $3.06T (-4.1% WoW)Bitcoin dominance: 58.5% (-0.3% WoW)Fear & Greed Index: 24 (Fear)Despite a pullback in prices, capital is not leaving the ecosystem. Instead, it is rotating and consolidating, a pattern consistent with mid-cycle market resets rather than capitulation.DeFi Resilience Stands OutTotal Value Locked (TVL): $161.3B (+2.3% WoW)Ethereum TVL dominance: 71.4%, maintaining its lead as the primary settlement layer for onchain financeThis divergence — falling prices alongside rising TVL — suggests structural demand rather than speculative excess.Chart of the Week: Perp DEX Power Shift AcceleratesBinance Research data shows a major shake-up in decentralized derivatives:Hyperliquid’s perp DEX market share collapsed from ~80% in May to ~12% todayAster and Lighter gained ground rapidly, fueled by active airdrop incentive programsPerp DEX volumes tripled in H2 2025, rising from $421B in June to $1.32T in NovemberWhy it matters: Liquidity is becoming more competitive and fragmented, which typically precedes product innovation, tighter spreads, and deeper institutional participation.Top 3 Stories You Missed This Week1. Pakistan Explores $2 Billion in Tokenized Sovereign Assets With BinancePakistan’s Finance Ministry signed an MoU with Binance to explore tokenizing up to $2 billion in sovereign bonds, T-bills, and commodity reserves.Why this is a big dealMarks a shift toward state-level real-world asset (RWA) adoptionAims to improve liquidity, transparency, and foreign investor accessPositions blockchain as regulated financial infrastructure, not experimentationThis move places Pakistan among a growing group of nations exploring onchain sovereign finance, signaling a new phase of government-led adoption.2. Standard Chartered and Coinbase Expand Institutional Crypto ServicesStandard Chartered and Coinbase announced an expanded partnership offering:Institutional-grade tradingCustodyPrime brokerage servicesWhy it mattersBridges traditional banking capital with crypto-native infrastructureAccelerates regulatory-compliant access for global institutionsSignals that crypto is now a core banking product, not a peripheral offeringThis collaboration reinforces a broader trend: banks are no longer watching from the sidelines — they are building rails.3. Brazil’s Largest Private Bank Recommends Bitcoin AllocationItaú Asset Management, Brazil’s largest private bank, now formally advises investors to allocate 1%–3% of portfolios to Bitcoin.Key rationaleLow correlation with traditional assetsLong-term diversification benefitsGrowing institutional legitimacyThis recommendation places Bitcoin alongside equities, bonds, and commodities as a strategic portfolio component, not a speculative trade.What This Week Tells Us About the Crypto MarketDespite fear-driven sentiment and short-term price weakness, the structural signals are bullish:Governments are exploring tokenized sovereign financeGlobal banks are deploying institutional crypto infrastructureMajor asset managers are endorsing Bitcoin as a long-term allocationDeFi liquidity is growing, not shrinkingThis is what early-stage financial integration looks like — quiet, methodical, and foundational.Market Watchlist: Key Dates AheadDec 15: Starknet major token unlockDec 15: Sei major token unlockCrypto markets may be cautious today, but institutions, banks, and governments are positioning for the next decade. Binance Bytes shows that beneath short-term volatility, adoption is accelerating where it matters most.