Из жизни альткоинов

If there has been any doubt about the arrival of the bear market, the latest drop in the Bitcoin price to around $81,000 somewhat made it more believable. While different triggers, including geopolitical tensions, Microsoft’s earnings miss, and liquidation cascades, have been credited for this drop, the premier cryptocurrency seems to be struggling catch any break at the moment.

Interestingly, the latest decline not only shattered the remains of the Bitcoin price bullish structure but also tilted the on-chain framework towards an even more bearish outlook. With both technical and on-chain data looking less optimistic, the bears appear to be winning the battle for dominance in the BTC market.  

This Metric Changes First, BTC Price Reacts Later: Crypto Founder

In a January 30 post on the X platform, Alphractal’s founder and CEO, Joao Wedson, revealed that the Bitcoin Sharpe Ratio is declining at a rate faster than the BTC price. The relevant indicator here is the Sharpe Ratio, which assesses the risk-adjusted returns of a particular cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, in this case).

This on-chain metric basically tracks the amount of profit an investment offers per unit of risk (considering risk is measured by volatility), with a high value signaling a higher risk-adjusted performance. Meanwhile, a negative Sharpe Ratio indicates that the returns being realized on an investment are not commensurate with the risk being taken.

Wedson wrote in his post on X:

Simply put: the market is taking more risk for less return.

Indeed, the Bitcoin Sharpe Ratio slipped into the negative territory a few days into the new year. However, BTC’s price action still enjoyed an incredible run of form — running to as high as $97,000 — after this shift, placing less significance on the on-chain observation.

What’s more interesting is that the Sharpe Ratio is falling and weakening at a pace faster than the Bitcoin price. Historically, this rate of decline has often coincided with extended periods of momentum loss and sideways price movement. In fact, Wedson concluded that the risk-adjusted metrics need to change before price can react positively.

Bitcoin Price Could Fall To $65,500 If This Happens

In a case where the premier cryptocurrency continues its downward spiral, Wedson has projected a target for the BTC price. In an older post on X, the Alphractal founder had revealed that the Bitcoin price cannot lose the $81,000 level under any circumstances.

The on-chain expert stated that a capitulation phase similar to the one seen in 2022 could unfold if the market leader breaks below the $81,000 level. Based on the Fibonacci-Adjusted Market Mean Price, Wedson identified $65,500 as the next major support level.

The $81,000 came under focus as the Bitcoin price approached this level during its decline on Thursday, January 29. As of this writing, though, BTC has recovered above the $83,000 mark, with the price still down by nearly 8% on the weekly timeframe.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the co‑founder and former CEO of Binance, has pushed back against ongoing claims that the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was responsible for the sharp market crash that rocked the digital asset sector last October. 

Speaking during a live ask‑me‑anything session hosted on Binance’s own social platform, Zhao described those accusations as “far‑fetched,” arguing that they oversimplify what was one of the most turbulent days in crypto market history.

CZ Rejects Blame For $19 Billion Crypto Liquidations

During the session, Zhao rejected the idea that Binance was the primary force behind the record wave of liquidations seen on October 10, when traders across the industry were hit by sudden price swings, technical disruptions, and liquidity issues. 

That day, an estimated $19 billion worth of leveraged crypto positions were wiped out, marking the largest single‑day liquidation event in the roughly 16‑year history of the crypto market. 

While Binance did experience system glitches and pricing discrepancies during the turmoil, Zhao emphasized that the cryptocurrency exchange was not the cause of the broader market collapse. CZ said: 

There are a larger group who claim the October 10th crash was caused by Binance and wants Binance to compensate everything. If you are living in those world in your head, you are unlikely to be successful in the future.

He added that Binance had already compensated users and businesses affected by platform‑specific issues, ultimately paying out around $600 million following the crash. According to Zhao, customers who lost funds due to Binance’s technical problems were fully reimbursed.

Binance Under Global Regulatory Watch

Zhao also addressed regulatory oversight, noting that Binance operates as a regulated entity in Abu Dhabi, where local authorities have full access to the company’s operational data. 

The former executive further pointed out that the cryptocurrency exchange remains under the supervision of a US government monitorship, reinforcing his argument that the platform’s activities are subject to significant scrutiny.

Although Zhao no longer runs the company, he clarified that his comments were made in his capacity as a Binance shareholder and user. He stepped down as CEO in November 2023 as part of a resolution with US authorities.

Yet, Zhao’s legal situation took another turn in October 2025, when he received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. The move reignited public debate and political criticism, particularly from Democratic lawmakers, who questioned both the decision itself and Binance’s alleged political and business connections. 

Addressing those concerns in a separate interview with CNBC, Zhao denied having any business relationship with the Trump family. “There’s no business relationship whatsoever,” he said, adding that the broader narrative surrounding the pardon and the exchange’s supposed ties to Trump had been “misconstrued.”

As of this writing, Binance Coin (BNB), the exchange’s native token, is trading at $847. It has declined by 5% over the past week alone, mirroring the broader digital asset market drop. This puts the token 38% below its record high of $1,369, which was reached last year. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have announced they are relaunching the Project Crypto initiative as a joint policy effort to prepare US markets for the digital era.

SEC-CFTC Joint Efforts For Project Crypto

On Thursday, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig revealed that the regulatory agency is partnering with the SEC on its Project Crypto initiative to bring “coordination, coherence, and a unified approach to the federal oversight of crypto asset markets.”

At a joint event on regulatory harmonization, Selig and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins outlined their plan to advance a clear crypto asset taxonomy, clarify jurisdictional lines, remove duplicative compliance requirements, and reduce regulatory fragmentation through their partnership.

The SEC-CFTC harmonization agenda will focus on the fundamentals, as the chairmen detailed, including aligned definitions, coordinated oversight, and seamless, secure data sharing between agencies. “Harmonization strengthens standards through coherence, predictability, and economic rationality.”

The agencies aim to ensure that “innovation takes root on American soil, under American law, and in service of American investors, customers, and businesses,” Selig affirmed during his opening remarks.

He added that he had directed the CFTC staff to work with the SEC to study “joint codification” of the common-sense crypto asset taxonomy recently laid by Atkins, “as an interim measure while Congress finalizes legislation.”

In a joint statement shared by the CFTC, the pro-industry chairmen explained that Project Crypto was designed to ensure that the US is ready to reinforce its global financial leadership when Congress acts:

At its core, Project Crypto and our broader harmonization efforts reflect a shared philosophy: financial regulation must be precise, not punitive. Rules must be narrowly tailored to address material risks, nimble enough to adapt to technological change and remain anchored in our agencies’ statutory authorities.

Innovation Exemption Timeline Pushed Back

During the panel, Chair Atkins discussed the timeline for the Commission’s long-awaited innovation exemption for the crypto industry, which was initially expected to come before the end of January.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the SEC chair said in December that the regulatory agency could issue innovation exemption rules for crypto firms in early 2026. Notably, the Commission has been studying a rule exemption since July 2025.

The measure would allow crypto firms to quickly launch products by complying with “certain principles-based conditions designed to achieve the core policy aims of the federal securities laws” instead of “burdensome prescriptive regulatory requirements that hinder productive economic activity.”

Atkins affirmed that the agency is still working on the innovation exemption, arguing that they “need to measure twice and cut once.” As he outlined, the agency wants to deliver a rule change that is “fit for purpose that will allow enough people to be able to develop their products, you know, within a predictable ambit of maneuver and then with an end date, an off-ramp, that sort of thing.”

In addition, he noted that last year’s government shutdown delayed progress on crypto regulation, adding that the potential new shutdown could further delay the highly anticipated measure.

Atkins denied that the SEC is waiting on the market structure bill to put out the innovation exemption, arguing that it is within the agency’s authority. However, he emphasized that they are taking the upcoming regulation into account because “there are a lot of moving parts to the situation.”

“I just want to make sure that we keep the train going forward at full speed and for all parties’ sake,” he asserted, but did not offer a new potential timeline for the innovation exemption rollout.

Meanwhile, Chair Selig also shared his plan to explore “ways in which the agency can encourage innovation in software development and support builders as they work toward product market fit.” This includes assessing whether an innovation exemption “may be appropriate in certain circumstances.”

Гендиректор платформы аналитики CryptoQuant Ки Янг Джу (Ki Young Ju) рассказал об эксперименте с искусственным интеллектом, с помощью которого аналитик попытался воскресить цифровую версию анонимного создателя Биткоина Сатоси Накамото (Satoshi Nakamoto).

Ripple’s RLUSD stands out from most stablecoins by the way it is designed to operate inside financial markets. Rather than focusing on broad retail usage, its structure and early integrations point toward a role anchored in trading infrastructure, collateral frameworks, and regulated settlement flows. That distinction becomes clearer through recent updates shared on X by Ripple executive Jack McDonald and further expanded on by market commentator Richard, who examined how RLUSD functions as a cash instrument within real market systems.

Why RLUSD Stands Apart From Typical Stablecoins

Many stablecoins focus on expanding circulation and boosting market capitalization, often with retail users as the primary audience. RLUSD follows a different structure. As McDonald highlighted, its priority is institutional readiness. A key part of this is monthly independent attestation, which involves third-party verification that RLUSD’s reserves fully back the supply in circulation.

For institutions, this is essential. Banks, brokers, and trading firms operate under strict compliance and risk rules. Without frequent, independent verification, a stablecoin cannot be treated as usable cash on a balance sheet. Attestations allow RLUSD to be held, transferred, and settled without triggering regulatory or accounting concerns.

This foundation explains why RLUSD has been accepted as core collateral on LMAX’s global trading marketplace. Collateral is what traders post to open and maintain positions. To qualify, an asset must reliably hold value throughout the trading day, move quickly between margin and settlement accounts, and remain dependable during volatile conditions. It must also support rehypothecation, meaning it can be reused across multiple transactions. RLUSD meets these standards.

The same logic applies to decentralized finance. McDonald noted that real-world asset deposits on Aave increased by roughly $400 million over a recent quarter, with RLUSD driving most of that growth. In this context, RLUSD acts as the stable cash component that allows tokenized assets to function smoothly. Institutions need a unit of account that regulators accept and internal systems can recognize, and RLUSD is designed to serve that role.

What RLUSD’s Velocity And Market Access Reveal

RLUSD’s availability on Binance, Ethereum trading pairs, and OSL reflects a focus on broad access rather than volume chasing. The objective is to ensure RLUSD can appear wherever liquidity already exists. Upcoming XRPL support on Binance further expands that flexibility.

Richard also pointed to RLUSD’s high transaction velocity, meaning the same units are moving frequently rather than sitting idle. Velocity is an early signal of real use, especially for settlement and collateral movement. Market capitalization often follows once these functions scale.

This framing clarifies RLUSD’s true target. It is aimed at replacing inefficient structures such as prefunded accounts, trapped collateral, and cross-border balances. Within this model, XRP serves as the bridge asset, compliance leads strategy, and collateral acceptance comes before visibility.

In essence, RLUSD’s purpose is to quietly improve how capital moves and settles across markets. That functional focus is what makes it fundamentally different.

As Bitcoin (BTC) struggles through a prolonged downturn, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has unveiled a new move aimed at reinforcing confidence in the digital asset sector. Amid this, BTC has fallen 34% over the past four months, a slide that has fueled growing debate over whether the market has entered a new bear phase. 

Against that backdrop of heightened uncertainty, Binance said it intends to take concrete steps to support the broader crypto ecosystem rather than retreat during market stress.

Binance Overhauls SAFU Fund

In an open letter released to the community on Friday, Binance reiterated its view that Bitcoin remains the foundational asset of the crypto market and a store of long‑term value, regardless of short‑term price swings. 

Based on that conviction, the company announced plans to overhaul the composition of its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU). Binance said it will convert the SAFU fund’s existing $1 billion reserves, currently held in stablecoins, into Bitcoin. 

The conversion is expected to be completed within 30 days of the announcement. Going forward, the exchange plans to actively rebalance the fund by monitoring its market value. 

If fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price cause the SAFU fund to fall below $800 million, Binance said it will step in to replenish the balance and restore the fund’s value to $1 billion.

According to the exchange, the decision forms part of a broader, long‑term strategy to continue investing resources into the crypto industry through both favorable and challenging market conditions. 

2025 Protection Metrics

In the same letter, Binance highlighted a series of initiatives it carried out in 2025 to support users, strengthen compliance, and contribute to ecosystem development. 

The company said it assisted users in recovering funds from nearly 38,648 cases of incorrect deposits during the year, returning a total of $48 million. Cumulatively, Binance noted that it has helped users recover more than $1.09 billion to date.

On the risk management front, the exchange reported that it helped 5.4 million users identify potential threats in 2025, preventing an estimated $6.69 billion in losses tied to scams. 

Binance also pointed to its cooperation with global law enforcement agencies, which it said resulted in the seizure of approximately $131 million in illegally obtained funds.

On transparency, Binance said that by the end of 2025, its proof‑of‑reserves showed user assets totaling about $162.8 billion, fully backed across 45 different crypto assets.

In closing, the exchange said it plans to continue addressing market concerns through tangible actions, maintaining a focus on openness, transparency, and long‑term participation in industry development. 

As of this writing, BTC is trading at $83,336, marking an 8% decline over the past week. Similarly, Binance Coin (BNB), the exchange’s native token, has dropped 5% during the same period and is currently hovering at around $848 per token. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Владелец контрольного пакета криптобиржи Binance Чанпэн Чжао (Changpeng Zhao) поспорил с конкурентами и недовольными клиентами, обвинившими принадлежащую бизнесмену компанию в ошибках, усугубивших крах крипторынка.

Bitcoin’s derivatives market is showing clear signs of deceleration. A CryptoQuant analyst highlights that monthly Bitcoin futures trading volume across all exchanges fell to approximately $1.09 trillion in January, marking the lowest level since 2024. This represents a notable slowdown compared to earlier phases of the cycle, when monthly volumes frequently exceeded $2 trillion, reflecting a period of reduced speculative intensity and more cautious positioning among traders.

Despite the broad contraction in activity, liquidity has not dispersed evenly across the market. Instead, futures trading remains highly concentrated on a small number of dominant venues. Binance continued to lead the sector, recording roughly $378 billion in futures volume for the month. It was followed by OKX, with approximately $169 billion, and Bybit, which registered close to $156 billion. Together, these platforms accounted for a significant share of total derivatives activity, underscoring their role as primary liquidity hubs even as overall participation declined.

This concentration suggests that while fewer market participants are actively trading futures, those that remain are operating within established, deep-liquidity venues. Rather than signaling stress or forced deleveraging, the slowdown appears consistent with a phase of consolidation, where traders reassess risk exposure and reduce turnover without abandoning the derivatives market entirely.

Bitcoin Futures Volume Signals Speculative Cooldown

The drop to the lowest monthly futures volume since 2024 reflects a clear reduction in trading intensity compared with earlier stages of the cycle, when aggregate monthly volumes regularly exceeded $2 trillion. This shift points to a moderation in short-term speculative behavior and a pullback in aggressive positioning, particularly among traders who rely heavily on leverage to amplify returns.

As volatility compresses and directional conviction weakens, these participants tend to reduce activity, contributing to lower overall turnover in the derivatives market.

Such phases are not unusual within Bitcoin’s market structure. Historically, periods of declining futures volume often follow extended stretches of heightened volatility, serving as a reset mechanism where traders reassess risk exposure, tighten position sizing, and wait for clearer signals before re-engaging. Rather than reflecting a loss of interest in Bitcoin itself, the slowdown suggests a temporary pause in speculative appetite.

Importantly, the contraction in volume appears orderly rather than abrupt. There are no clear signs of widespread stress, panic-driven exits, or forced deleveraging. Instead, the gradual decline indicates a controlled reduction in participation, with large and professional players selectively scaling back exposure. This behavior leads to lower trading activity without destabilizing price action or triggering disorderly liquidations.

The current environment is more consistent with consolidation than capitulation. Reduced futures volume highlights a market transitioning into a quieter phase, where leverage is unwound methodically and positioning becomes more conservative, setting the stage for a future expansion once volatility and conviction return.

Bitcoin Tests 100-Week Moving Average as Correction Stabilizes

Bitcoin’s weekly chart highlights a market that has transitioned from strong trend expansion into a corrective and consolidative phase. After peaking above the $120K region, BTC entered a broad pullback that erased a significant portion of the prior advance, bringing price back toward the low $80K area. This decline unfolded alongside a clear loss of momentum, visible in the series of lower highs and the rejection from the 50-week moving average (blue), which has now turned into dynamic resistance.

Currently, Bitcoin is trading near $82,800, sitting just above the 100-week moving average (green). This level is technically important, as it often acts as a medium-term trend filter during late-cycle corrections. So far, price has managed to stabilize around this zone, suggesting that selling pressure is no longer accelerating, but buyers have not yet regained control either. The 200-week moving average (red), still rising near the mid-$50K area, remains far below spot price, indicating that the broader macro trend has not broken down despite the correction.

Volume has contracted meaningfully compared to the distribution phase near the highs, reinforcing the idea that this move is corrective rather than panic-driven. Overall, the chart points to a phase of price compression and structural digestion. Bitcoin appears to be searching for acceptance around current levels, with the next decisive move likely dependent on whether the 100-week average holds or fails.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

The US Senate is edging closer to a full vote on the crypto market structure legislation, which could be a turning point for the likes of XRP. The bill, which aims to establish clear federal rules for how cryptocurrencies are regulated and traded, is viewed as a turning point for crypto assets like XRP that have long operated in regulatory gray zones. A yes vote would not just represent a political milestone; it could materially alter how XRP is valued, traded, and adopted across the US market.

What’s Happening With The Crypto Market Structure Bill?

The Crypto Market Structure bill is designed to create a clear federal regulatory framework for digital assets, giving oversight of spot markets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and defining rules for trading platforms, brokers, and dealers. Notably, the legislation has been advancing through committees, most recently the Senate Agriculture Committee. 

At the moment, the bill has cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee along strict party lines, but it has not yet been voted on by the full Senate. The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 12-11 along party lines to move its version of the bill forward after weeks of debate and amendment negotiations. All Democrats on the committee opposed it, meaning it passed only with Republican support.

On timing, senators and policy advisers have suggested that a floor vote by the Senate Banking Committee could happen later in the winter or early spring, possibly in February or March 2026. After this, the two committee versions can be reconciled into a single text that both parties can back. However, the full Senate vote on the legislation might not come until sometime around early July.

What Will Happen To The XRP Price?

XRP’s price history has been heavily influenced by regulatory questions and debates over whether it should be treated like a security. The cryptocurrency secured a regulatory victory in 2023 when a judge ruled that XRP was not a security in and of itself.

If the Senate passes the market structure bill, the clearer assignment of oversight to a single regulator would reduce that uncertainty. XRP would be valued more on usage and adoption, and that would remove the regulatory risk that has weighed on its price.

Unsurprisingly, this is the dominant sentiment among XRP investors and other crypto market investors. One XRP commentator, known as Cobb (@Cobb_XRPL) on the social media platform X, noted that XRP is going to pump so hard if the Crypto Market Structure bill passes. Still, the longer-term impact on XRP will depend on how the regulatory framework is implemented and how quickly exchanges, institutions, and developers adapt.

The bill would require the backing of at least seven Democrats in the Senate before it can eventually go to US President Donald Trump for approval.  Republican lawmakers like John Boozman, backing the bill, say it is necessary to create clear rules for digital asset markets. Opposing Democrats say the bill lacks important rules to prevent conflicts of interest involving political figures and crypto holdings. Crypto exchange Coinbase, for one, has pulled its support for the bill. 

The crypto market has come under heavy selling pressure amid a sharp deterioration in global risk sentiment. According to a CryptoQuant report, the latest downturn unfolded alongside a broader cross-asset sell-off, where traditional safe havens and risk assets were both hit.

Gold posted a sudden correction of roughly 8%, while silver dropped close to 12%. Bitcoin proved relatively more resilient, declining by around 9%, but it was not insulated from the wider liquidation wave. US equities also weakened, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq participating in the move lower, reinforcing the idea of a synchronized risk-off event rather than an isolated crypto-specific shock.

The initial trigger came from announcements linked to Microsoft, particularly around its artificial intelligence investments. The news drove Microsoft shares down by more than 12%, setting off a domino effect across global markets as investors rapidly reduced exposure to crowded growth and technology trades. That repricing quickly spilled over into crypto derivatives.

Despite Bitcoin’s comparatively modest price decline, the leverage embedded in the market amplified the impact. Nearly $300 million in long positions were liquidated within a few hours. Hyperliquid absorbed the largest share, with $87.1 million in longs wiped out, while Binance recorded roughly $30 million. The episode highlights how fragile positioning and elevated leverage can transform moderate price moves into significant liquidation events across the crypto market.

Leverage Rebuild Signals Persistent Risk Appetite

Despite the recent drawdowns, leverage remains a defining feature of the current crypto market structure. According to top analyst Darkfost, many investors continue to pursue market exposure through high leverage, creating conditions where relatively small price moves can trigger sharp bursts of volatility.

These moves are frequently amplified by liquidation cascades, as forced position closures accelerate downside momentum. Crucially, this behavior persists even after the October 10 event, which previously led to a significant destruction of liquidity and capital across the market.

The persistence of this risk appetite is clearly visible in derivatives data. A useful way to isolate true positioning trends is to examine open interest expressed in BTC terms rather than notional value. By doing so, the distortion caused by price fluctuations is removed, offering a clearer picture of how much exposure traders are actually carrying. This approach highlights whether leverage is genuinely being rebuilt or merely appears higher due to price effects.

Viewed through this lens, open interest on Binance stands at approximately 123,500 BTC. This already exceeds the level recorded just before the October 10 sell-off, when open interest had fallen to around 93,600 BTC. The increase of roughly 31% since that low indicates that risk appetite has gradually returned. Rather than a crypto market operating defensively, current positioning suggests that leverage is once again accumulating, leaving prices vulnerable to further volatility if sentiment shifts abruptly.

Bitcoin Tests Key Support as Downtrend Pressure Persists

Bitcoin’s price action continues to reflect a fragile and corrective market structure. After failing to reclaim the $95,000–$100,000 region, BTC has extended its pullback and is now trading near the $82,800 area, marking a clear breakdown from the recent consolidation range. The move lower is occurring below the short- and medium-term moving averages, with price firmly capped by the declining 50-day and 100-day averages, reinforcing the loss of upside momentum.

The 200-day moving average remains well above current levels, highlighting the broader deterioration in trend strength since the October peak. Structurally, Bitcoin has transitioned from higher highs to a pattern of lower highs and lower lows, signaling that sellers continue to control rallies rather than buyers defending breakouts. Volume spikes during sell-offs, particularly in November and December, suggest distribution rather than healthy rotation.

The $82,000–$85,000 zone now stands out as a critical support area. A sustained hold could allow for short-term stabilization or range formation, but a decisive breakdown would expose deeper downside toward the $78,000–$80,000 region, where previous demand emerged. On the upside, any recovery attempt is likely to face immediate resistance near $88,000–$90,000, followed by stronger supply closer to $95,000.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

An interactive question-and-answer session between members of the community and David Schwartz has peeled back another layer of early XRP and Ripple history. 

The discussion unfolded publicly on the social media platform X, where users posed a series of questions touching on the token’s smallest unit, the creative forces behind the XRP Ledger, and even some forgotten cultural details from Ripple’s early internet presence. The responses from Schwartz offered rare insights into the personalities and ideas that shaped Ripple and the Ledger in its formative years.

Ripple Name, Drop, And The Role Of Arthur Britto

The exchange began when an XRP community member known as Bird asked Schwartz who came up with the term “drop” as the name for the smallest unit of the altcoin. The question was for clarifying historical details for documentation purposes. Schwartz replied that he could not say with absolute certainty, but he believed the idea came from Arthur Britto, one of the primary architects of the XRP Ledger.

Schwartz then expanded beyond the naming question and offered a personal comparison between himself and Britto. He described himself as having the same kind of intelligence as most people, just more of it, but said Britto possessed something entirely different, a rare quality that others simply do not have. 

Another community member, Toby, switched the conversation from technical history to cultural curiosity. He asked whether Ripple’s name, which also happens to be a Grateful Dead song, and the appearance of a Dancing Bear on an old Ripple 404 error page were part of some deeper internal joke or inspiration.

According to Schwartz, the only connection he was aware of was purely incidental. The ripple.com domain had been registered by a Grateful Dead fan who secured it because of the song, and Ripple later acquired the domain from that individual.

Reality Check On XRP Price Expectations

As the conversation continued, XRPL validator Vet asked Schwartz to provide a concrete example from the past that demonstrated the special quality he had attributed to Britto. Schwartz responded by pointing to two major ideas that originated with Britto: the concept of a decentralized exchange built directly into the XRP Ledger and the use of pathfinding to allow payments to draw incrementally from multiple liquidity sources.

The tone of the discussion changed again when another user urged Schwartz to publicly tell XRP supporters that the price could never reach figures like $50 or $100. However, Schwartz declined to make such a statement. 

He explained that although he personally does not think such price levels are likely, history has taught him caution when declaring what crypto prices cannot do. He recalled thinking XRP was unlikely to reach $0.25 and selling his holdings at $0.10 because it felt irrationally high at the time. This was at a time when Bitcoin reaching $100 seemed impossible.

Charles Hoskinson says a Circle-issued stablecoin product is headed to Cardano after what he described as “deep negotiations” between Circle and a Cardano-aligned negotiating group known as the Pentad (Input Output (IOHK), EMURGO, Cardano Foundation, Midnight Foundation, and Intersect). Speaking from Fukuoka on his Japan tour livestream titled “Circle and Pentad,” Hoskinson framed the deal as a long-awaited step toward bringing “tier one” stablecoin liquidity into Cardano’s DeFi stack.

USDCX To Launch On Cardano After Deal Signed

Hoskinson said the agreement is signed and positioned the integration as near-term rather than aspirational. “This is not something that’s six months out, ink is on paper, deal is signed,” he said, adding that integration work should happen “in short order.” The pitch is that Cardano gains access to Circle’s distribution rails and liquidity network, while developers can build around a familiar dollar asset without needing bespoke plumbing for every application.

What’s coming, per Hoskinson, is “USDCX,” which he described as effectively the same asset as USDC but deployed through a model Circle uses for non-EVM chains. “USDCX is basically same asset and how it works is there’s a one-to-one reserve,” he said. “So for the non-EV chains like Stacks and others there’s a mirroring effect that occurs […] and then it’s easy through their network to access the same liquidity as USDC. So effectively it’s what we need.”

In Hoskinson’s telling, the practical implication is straightforward: Cardano users and applications get stablecoin functionality tied into Circle’s broader liquidity environment, without waiting for a native issuance path that has been a recurring community demand. “People were asking for a long, long time to get a tier one stable coin to Cardano,” he said. “This is how you do it and now we’re here. So we have access to Circle’s network, Circle’s protocol, Circle’s technology and the great liquidity of the Circle network as a whole.”

Hoskinson also emphasized what he called privacy benefits in the “USDCX” design, though he did not specify implementation details on the stream beyond noting “the added privacy benefits of USDCX and all the technologies therein.” He praised Circle as a counterparty, calling them “consummate professionals” and “tough negotiator[s],” and credited the Pentad for representing Cardano’s interests across the talks.

A key operational question for Cardano’s DeFi market is how quickly the asset becomes usable across the app layer and centralized exchange rails. Hoskinson acknowledged that distribution is not automatic just because a deal is signed.

“We have to make sure that we get USDCX integrated into all of the Cardano applications and so there’s a seamless user experience and a seamless user experience with exchanges so you can go from USDC and back without any additional steps or work,” he said, characterizing the remaining work as “a little bit more integration on our side,” but “not too much.”

He argued that Circle’s prior work on other non-EVM deployments should compress timelines. “That’s one of the advantages of this new USDCX is fast integration time,” Hoskinson said. “It doesn’t require a ton of custom work to get working with Cardano because they’ve already done these types of things with Stacks.”

The announcement lands against a backdrop Hoskinson described as poor market conditions and sour sentiment, which he suggested has fueled skepticism around Cardano partnerships more broadly. In a longer aside, he pushed back on the idea that integrations like these are perpetually “maybe” milestones.

“I do know that there are certain people that are skeptical […] ‘Well, maybe [it] will come, maybe not. Who knows? We’ll wait and see,’” Hoskinson said. “I don’t know how else to convey than signing the deal, doing the integration work […] but I understand that the skepticism comes from the market sentiment at the end of the day.”

Circle and Pentad https://t.co/qSfF1D7bcM

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) January 30, 2026

Hoskinson used the same segment to reiterate that Cardano’s roadmap and partner strategy remains the controllable variable, even if macro headlines and political noise aren’t. “All we have agency over is what we build, who we partner with, and our strategy as a whole,” he said, before citing ongoing efforts including Leios, Hydra, Pentad’s integration push, and Midnight.

At press time, ADA traded at $0.3258.

Even years after its inception, the XRP Ledger, one of the leading networks in the crypto space, continues to attract robust adoption and real-world usage. With thousands of transactions being conducted on the leading network’s DEX on a daily basis, it has now reached a historical level that marks its growing role in decentralized trading.

Decentralized Trading On XRP Ledger Accelerates

XRP is experiencing heightened interest not just in buying activity from traders; the XRP Ledger has been seeing significant usage over the past few weeks. While adoption has increased toward the network, the Ledger’s Decentralized Exchange (DEX) activity is breaking past prior highs.

Xaif Crypto, a market expert and investor on the X platform, reported that the Ledger DEX activity has surged to new levels. Specifically, data shows that the activity recently reached a 13-month high, signaling a sharp uptick in on-chain trading across the network.

As more liquidity and transactions move over XRPL’s native DEX infrastructure, the increase is indicative of increasing user involvement. Sustained growth in DEX activity frequently indicates deeper adoption and expanding use cases, in contrast to brief spikes caused solely by speculation.

According to the chart shared by the expert, the number of transactions on the 14-day MA rose to approximately 1.014 million, breaking the ceiling that held throughout all of 2025. With this level of DEX transactions, the XRP Ledger is becoming a more active center for decentralized trade within the larger cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Xaif Crypto stated that this massive transaction count is not just a mere spike; it signals sustained momentum for the Ledger. Currently, the network is witnessing a fresh wave of liquidity and real user engagement. As a result, the expert declares that the Ledger is heating up in 2026.

This milestone comes as the XRP Ledger rolls out a new Lending Protocol (XLS-66), which is attracting institutional-grade credit to the network. With the new Lending Protocol, the Ledger is now evolving into a full financial layer with Rippled 3.1.0.

The protocol includes the ability to create loans on the Ledger, with loan brokers being able to generate fixed-term and fixed-rate, uncollateralized loans. These loans are predictable for professional use.

In addition, these loans are held in a Single Asset Vault, allowing risk-isolated liquidity. Another feature is the off-chain underwriting for uncollateralized options. It boasts native efficiency, which offers low-cost lending without a middleman or intermediaries. In the meantime, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) on the Ledger has just undergone a boost.

The Lending Protocol Gains Institutional Support

Following its historical launch a few days ago, the new XRP Lending Protocol is now experiencing significant support from institutional-level investors. One of the earliest companies to interact with the new protocol is Evernorth, a leading public treasury company.

According to BankXRP, the company is backing the native lending protocol to help transition a $100 billion market cap into a productive, yield-bearing ecosystem. These kinds of moves are an indication that the future of institutional DeFi is becoming native-driven.

Судебные документы раскрыли подробности исчезновения арестованного в столице Сербии Белграде 22‑летнего канадца Андеана Меджедовича (Andean Medjedovic). Он обвиняется в хищении $65 млн у клиентов KyberSwap и Indexed Finance.

В январе средние затраты майнинговых компаний на добычу одного биткоина достигли $74 300, заявили аналитики управляющего криптоактивами хедж-фонда Capriole Investments.

The Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices have crashed this week, recording massive declines, led by BTC, which dropped to new 2026 lows. This decline has been mainly due to macro fundamentals, including the Trump tariffs, which are causing market uncertainty. 

Why The Bitcoin, Dogecoin, And XRP Prices Are Crashing

The Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices are down this week and are now suffering year-to-date (YTD) losses, according to CoinMarketCap. BTC dropped below $82,000 yesterday, marking a new yearly low for the leading crypto. One reason for this decline remains the Trump tariffs, which have heightened market uncertainty. 

Earlier this week, the U.S. president announced in a Truth Social post that he was increasing tariffs on South Korea from 15% to 25%. This came just days after he threatened to increase tariffs on Canada to 100% if they made a trade deal with China. It is worth noting that JPMorgan analysts, in a recent note, explained that the Trump tariffs, especially on China, are affecting dollar liquidity, which they indicated is already contributing to the decline in the prices of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP. 

These analysts explained that China has had to adapt to the Trump tariff pressure and, in doing so, is adversely affecting the dollar liquidity cycle. Notably, China has been selling off U.S. treasuries and buying more gold. Amid this development, the U.S. dollar has weakened, which will typically be bullish for BTC. 

However, these analysts stated that investors currently treat Bitcoin as a liquidity-sensitive risk asset rather than as a hedge against the USD weakness. Gold has instead taken the spotlight in this regard, reaching new highs as investors move to it as a safe haven. Notably, the Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices also dropped yesterday as gold crashed over 6% amid a sudden sell-off. 

Meanwhile, rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran are also contributing to the decline in the Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices. Earlier this week, Trump threatened strikes on Iran that would be far worse than the strikes last year. According to a Reuters report, the U.S. president is already weighing options against Iran, which could include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders. Iran has also vowed to respond like never before if pushed by the U.S.

A Hawkish Fed Is Also Sparking Bearish Sentiment 

The Fed also appears to be hawkish at the moment, which has sparked a bearish sentiment and contributed to the decline in Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and XRP prices. The Fed held interest rates at the FOMC meeting earlier this week, while signaling that they are in no hurry to make more rate cuts. This could mark the beginning of a rate-pause cycle, which could further constrain liquidity. 

Concerns about the Fed’s hawkish pivot have also worsened following reports that former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is likely to become the next Fed Chair. Warsh is regarded as one of the more hawkish candidates for Fed chair, as he has advocated for a smaller Federal Reserve balance sheet. It also remains unclear where he stands on rate cuts, unlike the other candidates, who have declared support for lower interest rates.

Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed firm that has been shifting into a Bitcoin treasury role, moved this week to shore up its balance sheet and add more BTC to its vault.

The company cleared a plan to raise up to about $137 million through a mix of new shares and stock acquisition rights aimed at buying Bitcoin, supporting its income business tied to BTC, and cutting some debt.

Reports say the fundraising will be done mainly with select overseas investors rather than a public share sale.

Metaplanet’s Capital Mix

According to filings, Metaplanet plans to issue 24.53 million new common shares at 499 yen apiece, which would bring in roughly 12.24 billion yen immediately.

In addition, the company will grant stock acquisition rights that could raise more money if exercised, taking the total potential haul to about 21 billion yen (roughly $137 million).

Reports note the share price for the offering sits a little above recent trading levels, but investors still reacted nervously.

A Push To Buy More Bitcoin

Metaplanet has been piling up BTC for a while. As of late December 2025, the company held about 35,102 Bitcoin, based on public updates.

The new funds are meant to let it keep buying while also giving breathing room for its Bitcoin income operations — those are businesses that try to earn fees or returns from BTC activity rather than from hotels or other old lines of business. Some of the cash will also go toward paying down borrowings tied to its recent credit facility.

Market Response And Risks

Stock traders pushed Metaplanet shares lower after the news, with the price slipping several percent during the session on concerns over dilution and the short-term impact of the issuance.

The company has faced sharp swings before: it booked a large non-cash impairment late in 2025 after Bitcoin’s fall, a hit that trimmed reported equity by a big sum and highlighted how tied the firm is to BTC prices. That accounting loss does not mean the coins were sold, but it did spook some investors.

Why This Matters

Reports say Metaplanet is trying to balance growth of its Bitcoin stash with steps to make its finances less fragile. The move shows a bet that holding more BTC and building services around it can pay off, but the plan also exposes shareholders to more swings in crypto markets.

For some investors, the chance to back a focused Bitcoin treasury is attractive. For others, the same bet looks risky, especially when big paper losses can show up on financial statements even while the firm holds the same coins.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

In a sudden move, the Bitcoin price has dropped sharply as volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp increase, causing the flagship asset to retest the $83,000 level. Amid this waning market performance, a key trend is currently in the spotlight and making waves, which is the steady reduction in BTC Lost Coin supply.

Price Declines, And Lost Bitcoins Are Dropping

While the price of Bitcoin struggles with heightened volatility, the market dynamics are starting to see a critical shift in trend and investors’ activity. Several key metrics are now displaying a cautious signal about the market again, and one of those is the Bitcoin Lost Coins metric.

In the research, Joao Wedson, the founder of on-chain data platform Alphractal, disclosed that the BTC lost coin supply is declining, hinting at a subtle but meaningful shift in the network’s long-term dynamics. According to the market expert, this decline is not a coincidence.

This development suggests that many coins that were previously thought to be permanently unreachable are being reclassified as active, lowering the expected proportion of Bitcoin that cannot be recovered. It also essentially increases the usable quantity of BTC, which has an impact on the scarcity assumptions that underlie long-term pricing models.

Wedson highlighted that several analysts attributed the decline solely to the Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), but the story is beyond the narrative. While the ETF was the structural catalyst, the real trigger was breaking the long-awaited $100,000 price mark. When Bitcoin hits the price range, all economic incentives are altered. 

BTC that had been sitting idle for years in exchange cold wallets have started to move due to custody restructuring, address migrations, and UTXO consolidation. At the same time, OG whales and long-term holders have also moved into distribution mode, as they are actively selling into the market. This is considered a classic behavior during redistribution phases, not market collapse.

The developments coincide with individuals and companies making serious efforts to recover coins once believed to be lost in old backups, forgotten hard drives, abandoned multisigs, legal custodianships, estates, and inheritances. In simple terms, BTC that were economically dead before came back to life.

After his analysis, Wedson believes that the core point is simple. BTC ETFs did not create any new coins, and the $100,000 level did not either. Instead, all they did was reawaken an old supply that had been dormant. However, the Lost Coins are declining due to BTC becoming too valuable to ignore.

What Are BTC Investors Doing In The Market

Despite the ongoing volatile landscape, CW, a market expert, revealed that Bitcoin’s large holders are steadily purchasing low-leveraged long positions. These investors are building long positions rather than chasing aggressive bets, suggesting increasing confidence in the absence of excessive risk.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Big Money Bet: Whales Are Ramping Up Long Positions As Market Sets Up

On the other hand, the high-leveraged long positions of all retail investors have been liquidated. It is worth noting that the majority of high-leverage investors lost their money before the rally even started.

XRP’s wealth distribution is under the spotlight as new data reveals how much power is concentrated among its largest holders. A crypto analyst has unveiled fresh insights from the XRP rich list, showing the percentage of supply controlled by top wallets and what this could mean for price action. 

XRP Rich List Data Unveiled

XRP’s rich list data has been exposed by market expert KKapon, who shared a breakdown of wallet balances that challenge common assumptions about token concentration. The figures show that the top 10% of wallets hold at least 2,307 XRP, the top 5% start at 8,000 XRP, and the top 1% begin around 48,087 XRP. This shifts the focus away from price talk and toward who controls liquidity in the network.

KKapon argued that most people misunderstand XRP’s distribution because they have not reviewed the data and done the math. He emphasized that his analysis is not centered on market value, since price is only an output of deeper structural factors. Instead, he focuses on who has liquidity, who does not, and who will need it when demand increases. 

He shared a table showing the number of accounts and XRP balances for wallet holders in the top 0.01% to the top 10%. The data shows that the top 0.01% of accounts hold at least 3,852,994 XRP, representing just 756 wallets with multi-million-token balances. This concentration illustrates just how liquidity is clustered at the very top of the holder base. 

Moving slightly down the distribution curve, the top 0.1% of wallets control balances of 295,194 XRP or more across 7,554 accounts. The top 0.5% threshold sits at 85,861 XRP, covering 37,768 wallets. These figures show that tens of thousands of accounts currently control a significant portion of XRP’s supply and can influence market liquidity during periods of high demand.

According to the table, the 1% tier begins at 48,087 XRP, corresponding to 75,535 wallets. At the 2% level, balances drop to 23,348 XRP across more than 151,000 accounts, while the 3% tier holds at least 15,000 XRP in over 260,000 wallet addresses. Lower distribution levels still reveal significant control among a relatively small segment of holders. The top 5% of wallets each hold at least 8,000 XRP, totaling about 377,671 accounts, while the top 10% begins at 2,307 XRP across more than 755,000 wallets. 

Who Controls XRP Rich List Wallets

KKapon noted that the rich list in his analysis mostly shows retail wallets and does not capture how institutions hold XRP. He explained that, unlike individual users, institutional investors keep their XRP in personal on-chain wallets. They also gain exposure through custodians, funds, or derivative products. This means the rich list data only shows how XRP is distributed across wallets, not who owns the balances or has economic control over them.

В 2026 году ситуация складывается так, что криптоинвестор не знает, откуда еще ждать удар. Иран, Гренландия, Венесуэла, Куба, Канада — кто еще придет в голову Дональду Трампу? Неуверенность в завтрашнем дне нависает на криптоинвесторами и усиливает нервозность. Результат — падение криптовалют.