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Within a few hours following a tweet by Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the Travala token, AVA, has risen by 300%. For the crypto travel agency, which lately revealed having reached $100 million in annual revenue, this increase marks a turning point. From $0.80 to $30.1, the price of AVA has exploded, courtesy of growing interest in the use of digital currency in the travel industry.
Binance Early Investment Binance had already invested in Travala before the pandemic, as disclosed in Zhao’s tweet on December 12. Both investor confidence and Travala’s position as a frontrunner in the space of crypto bookings were bolstered by this statement. At the time of writing, AVA was trading at approximately $2.51, showcasing its remarkable recovery since hitting an all-time low earlier this year.
AVA sustains a weekly rally. Source: Coingecko Travala Strategic Initiatives Travala has come up with a new way to handle bank reserves, which includes both AVA and Bitcoin (BTC). This change was made purposefully to strengthen its market position and urge more people to use cryptocurrencies to book travel. According to Juan Otero, CEO and co-founder of Travala, the plan shows their commitment to better customer experiences while keeping their finances strong.
We invested in this crypto travel platform pre-COVID, pre-crypto winter, and held on. BUILD! https://t.co/q40IZ4xfM3
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) December 12, 2024
Travala is changing the way people book travel as it accepts more than 100 cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. The platform allows users to reserve hotels, flights, and activities in 230 countries, offering a wide option for visitors looking to use digital currencies.
AVA is currently trading at $3.05. Chart: TradingView AVA And Cryptocurrency In Travel The rise in AVA’s price points to a more general trend towards digital currency integration in the travel sector than just temporary change. Platforms like Travala are likely to get rather popular as traditional travel companies become convinced of blockchain technology’s possibilities. The disclosure of their treasury reserves is expected to attract more investors looking for innovative ideas in the crypto field.
Analysts, meantime, envision a great future for AVA. Forecasts indicate that should present trends continue, the altcoin might see significant increase in 2024 and beyond. Through continuous innovations and cooperative efforts with reputable travel agencies, Travala is starting to take front stage in the evolving sector of cryptocurrency travel.
The significant increase in Travala’s AVA token after CZ’s endorsement exemplifies the influence of social media and prominent individuals on market dynamics. As Travala persists in innovating and broadening its services, it might potentially usher in a new epoch of travel driven by digital currency.
Featured image from Pintu, chart from TradingView
Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is gaining much attention as experts speculate it will surpass industry titans like Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP.
During bull markets, Dogecoin has shown remarkable performance, and because of Elon Musk’s influence on the market, this token may see a drastic change in its course in the coming months, stated WIZZ, a cryptocurrency analyst.
Will Elon Musk Change The Game? Musk’s involvement in the meme coin has caused previous price jumps in Dogecoin. WIZZ maintains that Musk’s upcoming ventures; including those of the upcoming Trump administration may thrust DOGE past other major altcoins. In light of surging interest into Musk’s endeavors, many in the digital currency scene are seeing a similar frenzy as his past sponsorships set off waves.
One interesting fact has been Musk supposedly heading the “Department of Government Efficiency” during the Trump administration. Whether such an association could be purely by coincidence, cryptophiles say it’s just the opportunity in which the life of the coin is to be sparked.
$DOGE will outperform most majors the coming 3/6 months
U heard it here
Elon marketing starts soon.
— WIZZ🥷 ( beware scammers ) (@CryptoWizardd) January 6, 2025
Dogecoin: Historical Performance The explosive nature of Dogecoin can’t be denied, if we are to base its price action on historical trends. Analyst Ali Martinez found that during the 2020–2021 bull market, DOGE increased by more than 15,000. If history repeats itself, its token might reach a height of $23 or $1 to $3.
Dogecoin is selling at about $0.33 right now. It has been going down a little, and it retreated by 2.40% in the last 24 hours. But some strong fundamentals and community support should be enough to give the meme coin some vigor in the months ahead. Based on data from CoinCodex and IntoTheBlock, there is more action on the blockchain, which suggests that investors are once again getting interested in DOGE.
DOGE market cap currently at $49 billion. Chart: TradingView.com Does Dogecoin Have The Wherewithal To Compete With Bitcoin & XRP? Both Bitcoin and XRP have strengthened their positions in the market. Bitcoin is leading the way in institutional adoption, while XRP focuses on cross-border payment options. Dogecoin, on the other hand, gets a lot from both its active community and Musk’s support.
Although outperforming Bitcoin and XRP is a daring forecast, Dogecoin has a track record of exceeding expectations.
WIZZ’s claim matches some predictions that Dogecoin will thrive in the coming market cycle. These estimates emphasize Musk’s impact and the token’s investment appeal.
Will DOGE Fail Or Succeed? Dogecoin may succeed, but the cryptocurrency industry is volatile. Even major past achievements does not guarantee future success. Investors should diversify, educate themselves, and weigh the risks.
Dogecoin may not outperform Bitcoin and XRP. However, its ability to upend the cryptocurrency hierarchy ensures its continued prominence in 2025.
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
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Prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez has shared a bullish prediction on the NEAR market suggesting a potential 15% gain is on the horizon. Amidst a major downtrend, Martinez’s latest forecast reveals the altcoin could soon see a significant market rebound.
Inverse Head-And-Shoulders Pattern Forms As NEAR Prepares For Rally In an X post on April 11, Ali Martinez shows a technical analysis of the NEAR 3-day chart revealing the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern which signals a potential price upswing. In financial markets, the inverse head-and-shoulders pattern is a bullish formation that often acts as a reliable indicator of a trend reversal.
As the name implies, it consists of three troughs in the form of the left shoulder, the deeper “head”, and the right shoulder as evidenced by the price action between April 7 and April 11 on the NEAR chart. Notably, a descending neckline connects the highs between these troughs and serves as a key resistance level.
Source: @ali_charts on X According to Ali Martinez, NEAR is gradually approaching this neckline, a decisive breakout above which would confirm the bullish reversal and initiate a price rally toward 2.40. Interestingly, NEAR’s relative strength index on its daily chart has recently left the oversold zone backing Martinez’s prediction of an impending price reversal. However, market bulls should still expect to face some resistance at the 1.000 and 1.272 Fibonacci extension levels at $2.10 and $2.34.
On the other hand, if the NEAR bulls fail to break above the descending neckline, it could invalidate the current bullish setup and potentially force a price fall to support levels around the $1.96 and $1.82 price zones.
NEAR Price Outlook At the time of writing, NEAR is trading at $2.09 following a price gain of 4.34% in the past day. On larger time frames, the altcoin is down by 16.12% on the weekly chart and 17.58% on the monthly chart showing short-term investors are holding significant losses.
According to data from CoinCodex, the general sentiment in the NEAR market remains highly bearish. Meanwhile, the Fear & Greed Index stands at 25 reflecting an Extreme Fear among investors. Contrary to Martinez’s positive predictions, these analysts predict NEAR to maintain its current downtrend in the short term with predictions of $2.07 in five days and $1.90 in a month.
In the long term, Coincodex still maintains a bearish outlook on the NEAR market projecting a market price of $1.58 in three months i.e. a potential 24% decline from current market prices.
NEAR trading at $2.084 on the daily chart | Source: NEARUSDT chart on Tradingview.com Featured image from Pintu, chart from Tradingview
Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.
Business leader and consultant Jake Claver recently shared insights into the potential price trajectory of XRP during a discussion on YouTube.
Claver suggested XRP could experience dramatic growth, possibly reaching prices in the four-digit range. He provided a breakdown of the key factors that could fuel this XRP value surge.
XRP Role in Global Financial Infrastructure First, Claver pointed to the growing global financial infrastructure around digital assets. He highlighted Project Ion by R3 and the DTCC, which aims to streamline financial markets through real-time settlement using digital assets.
According to Claver, this infrastructure is already in place and could serve as the foundation for XRP’s widespread adoption. With the possibility of settling transactions in real-time using tokens like XRP, Claver asserted that the digital asset is in a promising position within global finance.
Furthermore, Claver discussed XRP’s potential in a hypothetical scenario where it could rival SWIFT in global transaction processing. He noted that if XRP could capture just 10% of SWIFT’s market share, prices could rise to between $50 and $100. He pointed out that this market handles over $5 trillion daily transactions.
“If you had 10% of SWIFT, a $50 to $100 XRP makes a lot of sense,” he said.
Claver emphasized that both supply and demand would play a major role in driving the surge. He explained that the available supply of XRP is limited, with a large portion already allocated in escrow.
Impact from Institutional Adoption and ETFs Another significant factor driving the potential for XRP’s growth is the surge in institutional interest. Claver discussed how the filings of 17 ETFs related to XRP could pave the way for massive institutional liquidity to flow into the market.
He believes these ETFs could create an environment where XRP becomes a central asset in broader financial markets.
Meanwhile, Claver noted that the resolution of Ripple’s lawsuit with the SEC is crucial for this institutional potential.
Host Zach Rector suggested that, just from ETFs and broader institutional adoption, XRP could rise to around $20 or $30 by the end of this year and into the next.
Crisis Scenario Could Push XRP’s Price to Four Digits One of the more extreme scenarios Claver proposed was the potential for a global financial crisis that could send XRP’s price soaring to four-digit levels. He theorized that if there was a market-wide liquidity crunch, such as exchanges becoming illiquid or issues with Tether, XRP could serve as a mechanism to stabilize the markets.
In this crisis scenario, XRP would drain liquidity from exchanges and the broader financial system.
Claver suggested that as institutional demand for XRP rises due to the need for real-time settlement in a turbulent market, its price could rapidly increase as buyers scramble to secure the limited supply. In his words:
“…if they rolled out these ETFs at the same time exchanges were pushing the value up, I think you could see prices driven to four digits in a very short period of time, with the demand placed on the limited supply that’s still out there.”
Essentially, Claver’s insights paint a picture of an XRP that could far exceed its current price range, with the potential for prices ranging from $100 to $9,999 in the future. However, these predictions remain purely hypothetical.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
Crypto markets slowly starting to correct; VeChain and BNB going strong, Stellar, ADA and NEO dropping fastest. Market Wrap Yesterday’s minor movement did not last and crypto markets have fallen back a little as we end the week. The week-long rally looks like it is about to run out of steam as resistance is hit for the big cap cryptos. Total market capitalization has held though and is still above $134 billion for the time being.
Total market cap, 24 hours. Yet again Bitcoin hit resistance at $4,000 and failed to break through. The longer this happens the less likely there will be a break to the upside. BTC is trading down marginally on yesterday’s levels but it still holding around $3,970 at the moment, volume is slowly shrinking however.
Ethereum is holding $147 for now but it too has failed to break resistance at $150 so further losses could be on the cards. XRP is falling back and has lost 2% on the day dropping it to $0.322. This has widened the gap between it and ETH to $2.1 billion.
The top ten is all red during Friday’s Asian trading session aside from Binance Coin which is back up again while others are falling. BNB has made over 3% on the day taking it to $10.90. The biggest drop in the top ten is Stellar losing 3% but remaining above Tron for now.
The top twenty is awash with red at the time of writing. Cardano and NEO are dropping the most with 4% losses each. The rest are dumping between 1 and 3 percent as markets correct from three days of buying pressure.
QASH has surged back into the top one hundred with a fomo pump of 33% but today’s surprise mover is VeChain which has made 12% over the past 24 hours. Daily volume has almost quadrupled from $5.7 million to almost $20 million, over half of it traded on Binance. The recent blockchain integration with Amazon Web Services appears to be driving momentum;
AWS services enable one-click VeChainThor Blockchain deployment for enterprises.
Original: https://t.co/qIWZVS9mbR
English: https://t.co/lBtB6T5vCZ
— VeChain (@vechainofficial) February 18, 2019
Total market capitalization has cooled off and settled at $134 billion, down 1.5% from yesterday’s levels. Daily volume continues to dwindle and is now $10 billion less that it was a couple of days ago at $25 billion. It has been a strong week for crypto markets which are still up 10% on the same time last week.
Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top 20 cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.
In brief A judge didn't buy Ripple's request to dismiss a class-action lawsuit against it. The judge seemed to assume, for now, that XRP is a security, a lawyer told Decrypt. Should the court rule in favor of the plaintiffs, it could have widespread effects on the market. Ripple Lab Inc., the company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, failed to convince a judge on Wednesday to dismiss a class-action lawsuit that could force the San Francisco-based company to return all of XRP’s investors’ money, and take the coin off the market entirely.
Since XRP is the third-most popular cryptocurrency by market cap and trades almost $3 billion per day, such a ruling could crash the cryptocurrency market. A ruling against Ripple would also set a legal precedent that would make it easier for disgruntled investors to go after the creators of other cryptocurrencies, such as Kik Messenger and Telegram, which are battling similar allegations from the SEC.
The plaintiffs, various disgruntled investors who bought into XRP at an early stage, allege that San Francisco-headquartered Ripple sold them XRP under false pretenses, and that the sale constituted an unregistered securities offering under US law.
They argue that under the decades-old yardstick for determining whether or not an asset constitutes a security, the Howey Test, XRP constitutes a security. And if a cryptocurrency token is an unregistered security, then Ripple’s token sale would have been illegal, and Ripple might have to give investors their money back.
Ripple asked a federal judge in Oakland, California to throw the case out because of the amount of time that has passed since the initial sale: XRP was offered over five years ago. But US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton refused to dismiss the case.
And, what’s more, her arguments for doing so appear to rely on the assumption—for the purposes of this early-stage motion, at least—that XRP does, in fact, constitute a security under US Securities Law, Jason Gottlieb, a partner of Morrison Cohen LLP who’s experienced in crypto litigation, told Decrypt.
In her response to the motion to dismiss, Judge Hamilton refers to a statute of limitations issue under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, “which would only apply if XRP were a security,” he said.
Judge Hamilton also evaluated whether Ripple was a “seller” under securities laws, as well as liability issues under federal securities laws. “You wouldn’t be looking at those unless you had determined, for the purposes of this motion, that XRP is a security,” said Gottlieb.
Jake Chervinsky, General Counsel of DeFi product Compound Finance, agreed: “The securities claims survive. XRP stays in the crosshairs,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
Gottlieb pointed out that Judge Hamilton doesn’t exclude an argument against this at a later stage of litigation. But at this stage, “Even Ripple knows that arguing that [XRP] is not a security on a motion to dismiss is a fool's errand,” he said.
The case won’t be settled anytime soon, said Gottlieb. Judge Hamilton invited the plaintiff’s to amend their complaint that Ripple lied to them, but should Judge Hamilton deny another motion to dismiss after that; then to discovery; and then, if things still aren’t resolved, a trial. “It's hard to imagine a trial happening in calendar 2020,” he said. (Of course, the parties could settle at any point).
But should a judge rule that XRP is a security, that could have widespread effects on the cryptocurrency industry—and not just because Ripple might have to give investors their money back. Such a legal precedent could make it easier for investors to claim back billions raised in other token sales, which could also be ruled to constitute unregistered securities offerings.
“XRP is widely traded in the secondary market; it could really create some havoc,” said Gottlieb.
And should financial institutions wish to keep trading securities, financial service firms, like crypto exchanges, investment funds, and trading firms, might be subject to registration and licensing, according to the website of the Crypto Ratings Council, an industry body set up to help crypto startups determine which blockchain-based tokens qualify as securities.
Other major ongoing cases are those levied by the SEC against the blockchain networks of Telegram, the operator of the 300-million-strong messaging app, and Kin, a blockchain network formerly owned by Kik, which coincidentally also runs a messaging app of a similar size. The SEC claims that the $1.7 billion Telegram raised, and the $100 million Kin raised, in ICOs constituted an unregistered securities sale.
Just like the XRP case, if the judge rules in the SEC’s favor, Telegram might have to give investors their money back. It would also create a legal precedent, said Gottlieb, but would come with the SEC’s additional bite of “injunctive relief,” which would prevent Telegram from running token sales in the future.
What it all boils down to is this: should any of these major cases result in a judgment that one of these token sales constitutes an unregistered securities sale, then not only will that affect the other major cases, but the legal precedent developed could make it easier for similar cases to be settled in the future.
Yankun Guo, a lawyer who set up her own practice in Chicago to help early-stage startups, told Decrypt that crypto startups, hedge funds, and companies considering token offerings ought to "pay attention to who their investors are (accredited or not), as well as the disclosures they are putting out around their companies and tokens."
Her advice might have come too late for the crypto companies battling court cases with investors. Though investors would surely benefit from court rulings in their favor, the crypto economy as a whole might suffer, particularly if future lawsuits drain money from the market.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
It can be argued that the innovation spurred by Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market gave rise to Initial Coin Offerings [ICO]. Looked upon as a means to revolutionize the way capital was raised in the ecosystem, ICOs also pushed general people to participate in a particular project. In fact, ICOs’ popularity peaked in 2017, with the year coming to be known as the year of the ICOs.
With time, however, this popularity faded, as multiple fake ICOs emerged. Even though not all projects were fake, it emerged later that nearly 45% of the top 20 ICOs had failed.
However, the lessons of these ICOs remain instrumental, especially with respect to major companies of the cryptocurrency ecosystem that are hinting at conducting an Initial Public Offering [IPO].
Understanding IPO and ICO
ICOs and IPOs differ from each other significantly, like two different generational concepts. On one hand, while IPOs are conducted for well-established companies that are considered “safer” to invest in, on the other hand, ICOs are looked upon as an avenue for young companies, avenues that might come with a *risk warning.*
In fact, according to a report that analyzed 20 ICO projects, 9 out of 20 projects failed, which is 45%. However, 11 were successful, including EOS, a project that, at press time, was ranked eighth in the market with a market capitalization of $1.76 billion.
Since ICOs usually don’t involve parties with years of experience, investment by users will often be based on sentiment [or good faith], while on the other hand, IPOs provide a record of experience in the field, healthy bank accounts, and a business resume.
Alina Kiselevich of Enigma Securities explained this difference between ICOs and IPOs in an interview with AMBCrypto. She said,
“If put simply, Initial Public Offering is a process of distribution of shareholdings to the public though investment, usually only open to established private entities, Initial Coin Offering is, on the other hand, open to everyone who is willing to invest on blockchain, and is a process of crowdfunding for the startup companies, though the intent is the same in both cases.”
The earliest form of IPO can be traced back to publicani during the Roman Republic. IPOs have since evolved to become a more organized, legal, and compliant process. For a company to conduct an IPO, it has to fulfill several requirements like having a minimum earning threshold, a good record, the legal declaration of its intentions to issue public shares, and information about the company to assist potential investors.
Contrarily, ICOs do not fall under any regulatory framework and legal protocols, with many newly formed companies having just a whitepaper to support its project. Similarly, investing in ICOs also has its perks as the only requirement is to have an Internet connection, with investors open to investing in companies in any part of the world. This isn’t the case for IPOs as in its case, there are legal footsteps to be followed to invest in a country abroad.
The stocks acquired by investors during an IPO process resemble their ownership stake in the future revenues of the company. While investing in ICOs does not grant ownership to the investors, but it offers different ways to earn benefits. These benefits could stem from the project’s success and growth of the value of the token it offers.
Even though IPOs appeared to be safer compared to its ICO counterpart, the fate of the company cannot be pre-determined. For example, WeWork, a real estate company providing shared working spaces, had to roll back its idea of conducting an IPO after it ran into financial trouble. The company had filed its IPO paperwork in August but within a month’s time, its valuation was down from $47 billion to $10 billion. Thus, the fate of any company, big or small, new or old, cannot be pre-determined.
When a comparison between ICOs and IPOs was drawn, Alina was of the view that IPOs could be the chosen one.
She elaborated,
“When it comes to returns of the investments, IPOs offer a more secure dividends from the company’s profits, whilst ICOs offer tokens at a price that will get higher due to the trust and interest in the project.”
SEC’s views on ICOs and Ripple’s ICO
As the ICO wave crashed, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] clamped down on various projects for selling unregistered securities. For example, Kik and Kin, both successful ICO projects, were among several companies to face the wrath of the SEC.
There has been a long-standing discourse surrounding the treatment of digital assets and Ripple Labs Inc. has been at the center of it – with the digital asset XRP. The company had an ongoing class-action lawsuit filed against it by Taylor-Copeland law firm in May 2018 for the sale of unregistered securities. According to a report,
“The lawsuit targets Ripple, its subsidiary XRP II, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, alleging that Ripple’s sale of XRP tokens is a violation of U.S. securities laws.”
The plaintiff in the case stuck to Howey Test and its criteria that can categorize XRP as a security. However, the validity of the Howey Test has been argued as it did not fall true for digital assets as they remain a novel concept.
There has been a lot of back and forth in the court about the legitimacy of Howey’s test, but Ripple has not managed to quash the case. In a recent turn of events, a United States federal district court even decided to allow a lawsuit alleging that Ripple’s XRP is an unregistered security.
According to Adam Blumberg, the co-founder of Interaxis, Ripple’s tiff with the SEC could play out in multiple ways. Declaring XRP a cryptocurrency would be one easy way out, but what about if it is not? Blumberg posed some important questions,
“…the SEC is having a wrangle with that [Ripple’s ICO] and figure out, “okay, you raised a bunch of money in the public markets using this cryptocurrency that is not at all tied to ownership of ripple,” So does ripple off to give the money back? Do they have to convert every XRP to a share? They’re not, they’re not quite sure how to get over this because it’s been out there for years already.”
Ripple’s IPO
Davos becomes a prime spot once every year when the big shots of the world of finance and politics gather for the World Economic Forum. The summit has its own set of critics, but as January begins, all heads turn to the summit to hear from the horse’s mouth the measures for development taken in the field and the trends to follow.
One name among the guest list was Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. In a talk with WEF, Garlinghouse had opined that the upcoming trend in the industry could be of IPOs. He had also claimed that Ripple might not be the first to do it, but won’t be last either. He stated,
“In the next 12 months, you’ll see IPOs in the crypto/blockchain space. We’re not going to be the first and we’re not going to be the last, but I expect us to be on the leading side… it’s a natural evolution for our company.”
Thus began the speculation of Ripple’s IPO in the crypto-market. However, according to the co-founder of Interaxis, Adam Blumberg, Ripple has already, in a manner, conducted an IPO of its own.
In an exclusive interview with AMBCrypto, Blumberg noted,
“…XRP and Ripple are not the same things and they [Ripple] basically used XRP as an IPO, essentially. So they raised billions of dollars right, there were billions of dollars now without having to have an IPO.”
However, before Ripple jumps on the IPO train, it will have to settle this case with the SEC and prove that XRP is a crypto and not a security. If Ripple is able to play that out, the IPO of this crypto-giant will be interesting and according to Enigma Securities’ Alina Kiselevich, might impact XRP.
Kiselevich told AMBCrypto,
“Some crypto analysts say that IPO could have a great impact for Ripple. They are planning to be on the leading side and predict more IPOs in the crypto space. But Ripple going public has potential implications for the fate of altcoin XRP.”
Ripple’s IPO has been raising the same question in most people’s minds and even Blumberg’s mind, “What about XRP?” However, Blumberg believes that the only way a crypto-company could conduct an IPO is if they are profitable first, otherwise it could be conceived similarly to an ICO – where you raise money on the future prospects of a company.
Talking about successful companies in crypto, Blumberg gave the example of Coinbase, a multi-billion dollar company that can conduct an IPO in theory as they suffice the requirements laid down by SEC. Blumberg claimed,
“Coinbase is a multibillion-dollar company, right? They can go public, but they are not. They’re making money because they charge transaction fees in dollars, not because they mint anything, right? They’re not a crypto company. There is a bank. They’re a financial services company, so they can go public and they probably will go public because why wouldn’t it?”
A profitable crypto-company may benefit out of an IPO as a means to raise capital quickly and may open it to a large set of investors. However, according to Alina, the crypto-space is not the one to follow a trend that is getting older with time.
She noted,
“So if ICO is said to go sour, IPO is even more so.”
Crypto or Stock?
Any crypto-company conducting an IPO will be able to pave the basic understanding of crypto into the mainstream. However, at the end of the day, the investors holding a company’s coins or stocks perceive that the project reaching them must be vetted by the SEC. The moment technology and risks set in, investors become wary.
An IPO does provide the security offered by the company’s history, and legal barriers do make it easier for investors to be part of the project, but the same cannot be said for ICOs due to its decentralized nature.
However, the variety of products and services offered by the crypto-space could be a cumulative functioning of five to six different industries; thus, an IPO could drive adoption and attention from the mainstream, but at the same time, unpopular projects might have to either drop the plan or prove their worth.
The Diamond Tokenization SetupBilliton Diamond and Ctrl Alt moved over AED 1 billion ($280 million) worth of certified polished diamonds on-chain in the UAE.
Ripple’s enterprise custody tools secure the physical diamonds, while the XRP Ledger creates digital tokens representing ownership.
Adding to its infrastructure push, Ripple secured full Electronic Money Institution approval from Luxembourg’s financial regulator last week, pushing its global regulatory approvals beyond 75.
This follows recent UK approvals, reinforcing Ripple’s position as one of the most heavily licensed crypto firms.
The Regulatory RoadblockThe broader platform launch requires approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
Until then, the $280 million represents a controlled pilot rather than an open marketplace.
Critical details remain unclear.
The companies did not explain how someone holding a diamond token would redeem it for the physical stone, what the minimum purchase size would be, or how individual stones get priced—all essential for real trading.
Dubai’s DMCC coordinated the project as the emirate positions itself as a hub for tokenizing real-world assets like commodities and luxury goods.
The Trading ChallengeCreating blockchain tokens for diamonds is the easy part.
The harder challenge is building a marketplace where these tokens actually trade with reliable prices and smooth redemptions.
Each diamond is unique, with individual characteristics affecting value—cut, clarity, color, and carat weight.
This makes pricing more complex than tokenizing gold or oil, where units are identical and fungible.
The companies acknowledged this hurdle, mentioning a longer development timeline for features like custody transfers and secondary-market trading.
However, without concrete plans for redemption mechanics and pricing, questions remain about moving beyond the pilot phase.
Image: Shutterstock
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
In major XRP news today, Ripple-backed Ctrl Alt completes the diamond tokenization deal with Billiton Diamond. Ripple executive Reece Merrick confirmed that the tokenized assets are now live on XRP Ledger (XRPL).
XRP News: $280 Million in Diamonds Are Now Tokenized on XRPL Reece Merrick, Ripple managing director for the Middle East & Africa, has highlighted the successful completion diamond tokenization deal between Dubai-based Billiton Diamond and tokenization firm Ctrl Alt.
More than $280 million (over AED 1 billion) worth of certified polished diamonds are now tokenized on the XRPL. This RWA tokenization project bridges commodities with blockchain by leveraging Ripple’s enterprise-grade custody infrastructure.
“The tokenization of 1 Billion+ AED in diamonds by Ctrl Alt and Billiton Diamond isn’t just a win for the UAE, it’s a masterclass in how the XRP Ledger handles high-value RWA at scale,” said Reece Merrick.
He also pointed out how Ripple is solving the “trust gap” in digital commodities. Notably, Ripple Custody is providing bank-grade vaulting and tokenization on the XRPL to turn illiquid luxury goods into tradable assets.
Merrick also spotlighted Ripple and its partners’ work with the UAE’s forward-thinking ecosystem DMCC and VARA to set a global standard.
Ripple-Backed Ctrl Alt and Billiton Diamond Deal Billiton Diamond and Ctrl Alt announced the deal to tokenize diamonds worth $280 million. It uses Ripple’s custody technology to secure the assets and the XRP Ledger to mint tokens tied to physical inventory. In recent XRP news, Ctrl Alt launched tokenized real estate trading after a partnership with the Dubai Land Department.
XRPL offers the advantages of scalability, speed, minimal fees, and regulatory alignment. This move demonstrates XRPL’s growing demand in RWA tokenization. Until now, the value of assets tokenized on XRPL has reached $1.96 billion.
Experts see this as part of a larger trend where luxury and physical goods move on-chain, potentially boosting XRPL usage and utility for XRP. Reece Merrick noted it sets “a new standard for transparency and efficiency in global finance.”
Ahead of crypto options expiry, XRP price is trading more than 3% lower at $1.39. The 24-hour low and high are $1.39 and $1.45, respectively. Furthermore, trading volume has tumbled more than 30% over the past 24 hours.
The analyst put $1.50 as the trigger: a monthly close above it opens the path to $2.20 and validates the entire setup; failure invalidates it.
XRP is back in the spotlight after a new technical analysis posted on May 4 by EGRAG Crypto claimed a rare “macro diamond” pattern could send the token as high as $183 to $300 over time.
The analysis has gained traction in the XRP community at a moment when the token is struggling to hold above $1.40, and its ETF products are only just beginning to recover from a period of net outflows.
The Diamond Structure and What EGRAG Is Actually Claiming In a post shared on X, EGRAG Crypto argued that XRP is not forming a random structure but a large-scale diamond pattern on the monthly chart, with timing playing a central role. According to the analyst, “price meets time” at specific intersection points, which could dictate when major moves unfold rather than just where price goes.
Per their assessment, $1.50 is the near-term trigger, with a monthly close above that level opening the path to $2.20 and validating the bullish setup, while failure to hold the structure would invalidate it. They outlined two “critical” time windows in April 2027 and April 2028, which they believe could match up with the larger cycle expansions.
The first sequence would see XRP go from $7, $16, $36, $80, and finally $183, while the second, slightly different path aims for $5, $11.50, $24.50, $60, $135, and $300. Recall that the Ripple token managed to snap a 6-month run of losses in April, with even spot XRP ETFs recording their highest inflows in four months.
However, a look at the price charts shows that the asset has barely moved. At the time of writing, it was trading at around $1.40, up less than 1% in the last day and down about 1.4% on the week. Therefore, hitting EGRAG’s upper target of $300 would require XRP to go up at least 200X, with even the more conservative $7 target needing a 5X jump from here, so it’s worth keeping those numbers in perspective.
Market Structure Tells a More Cautious Story The broader technical picture painted by other market watchers is more grounded, with analyst ChartNerd, in a video posted around the same time, pointing to Fibonacci extension levels at $8, $13, and $27 as realistic cycle targets.
You may also like: XRP’s Price Could Explode to $8, But This One Zone Is Holding It Back 5 Reasons Why Bitcoin Just Crashed Below $63K as Liquidations Top $500M XRP’s Biggest Warning Sign Is Still Flashing Despite Easing Whale Activity However, he thinks XRP may first drop to a base somewhere between 70 and 90 cents. “History tells us these deep pullbacks happen first,” ChartNerd said, noting that every major XRP rally since inception has only come after a retest of ascending support levels.
A potential base in 2026 followed by a recovery would still represent a meaningful move from current prices, even if it lands well short of EGRAG’s upper projections.
Whatever the longer-term trajectory, short-term market structure data offer some support for a gradual recovery. An analysis posted Monday by trader CW8900 noted that despite a brief dip triggered by unconfirmed reports of Iranian missile activity near a US warship (later denied by a senior US official), bearish pressure in XRP remained minimal.
“There is almost no increase in bearish bets,” CW wrote, adding that the upward momentum was continuing to build.
Crypto markets have hit a new 2019 high; Bitcoin dominating, ETH, BNB and XMR moving, LEO enters top twenty. Market Wrap It has been another fruitful Friday in crypto land. Markets have hit a new high for the year and as usual it is Bitcoin driving them. A total market cap top of $300 billion was touched a few hours ago as BTC broke through resistance once again surging to a new 13 month high.
The move came a few hours ago during early Asian trading. This time it wasn’t a ‘Bart type spike’ but a gradual grind up through the resistance at $9,600 and on towards an intraday high of $9,800. Since then gains have mostly held as Bitcoin remained around $9,700 with plenty of talk about a further move to $10k today or over the weekend.
Ethereum also got a boost this time as a 4 percent climb lifted it to $280. In comparison however ETH is still way down, over 80 percent of ATH compared to BTC which is now close to 50 percent. There is no doubt that Ethereum will crack $300 and make bigger gains when altseason kicks in but at the moment the going is slow.
Altcoin Outlook The crypto top ten has not reacted with the usual fervor and aside from Binance Coin adding 6 percent nothing else has really moved much. There is a little green with Bitcoin Cash and EOS adding 2 percent each but others such as BSV are falling back. There has been no movement on XRP, LTC and XLM.
The top twenty is equally lethargic aside from Monero which is still climbing with a further 6 percent today to reach $108. The Bitfinex transparency initiative UNUS SED LEO has arrived on the scene as CMC has just registered a market cap of $1.8 billion jumping it straight into 14th place above Dash. LEO tokens were trading at $1.84 at the time of writing. The rest of the altcoins are up a percent or flat at the moment.
FOMO: Egretia Climbing Higher Today’s top performing crypto top one hundred altcoin is Egretia again as entertainments based token surges 24 percent. A listing in Singapore’s BiUP exchange may have driven some of the momentum for EGT as the team rejoices.
Breaking News: Egretia is currently ranked 77 as per CoinMarketCap!!! EGT has seen the highest gain, growing almost 30% over the past 24H! More info, welcome to join us on telegram : https://t.co/G8oBPqZT64
Nash Exchange is getting a 12 percent boost today and Vestchain has made ten, these are the only three cryptos in double digits. Waltonchain and Grin are at the other end of the list dumping 10 percent each.
Total market cap 24 hours. Coinmarketcap.com Total crypto market capitalization surged almost $15 billion to top out at a new 2019 high of $300 billion a few hours ago. A slight correction has dropped markets back to $297 billion at the moment but things are still bullish. Bitcoin is the only thing driving market gains at the moment as dominance increases to 58 percent in its push to five figures.
Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.
The world of cryptocurrency is buzzing with news these days, and many people are closely watching the latest trends. Ripple (XRP) has been a hot topic, especially with talks about a possible ETF approval.
However, some experts warn that just because an ETF might happen, it does not mean it will protect people from losing money. Because of this uncertainty, traders are looking away from Ripple and checking out other promising coins like SEI which is becoming popular as a new opportunity in the market.
As more people get interested in SEI, IntelMarket (INTL) is also making a name for itself by giving traders cool features and tools to help them navigate this exciting landscape. With so many interesting possibilities coming up, investors are eager to see what is next for Ripple (XRP), SEI, and the unique offerings from IntelMarket while searching for the next big chance.
Ripple (XRP) is Facing New Challenges and Uncertain Times Ahead Ripple (XRP) is priced at around $0.5354, and its market value is about $30.33 billion. Recently, its price went up by 1.55%, but many investors are feeling nervous. The excitement around the XRP ETF is real, but some people believe it might not be enough to keep prices steady.
Lately, XRP has been having a tough time. There are 99.99 billion XRP coins in total, and about 56.65 billion are available for trade right now. As the 7th largest cryptocurrency, it has a strong place in the market, but its recent price movements show that things are shaky.
Interestingly, some big holders of XRP are still active, which means there could be some big trades happening. However, the price has not been stable, which worries many people. Investors are keeping a close eye on any news about rules that could affect Ripple (XRP). While some are hoping for a comeback, the future seems uncertain for this well-known cryptocurrency.
SEI is a New Player Stepping Up to Challenge the Big Names SEI is rising quickly after the Ripple (XRP) runs into some bumps in the road. Right now, it costs $0.424, and its market cap is about $1.49 billion. It has increased by 4.73% in a single day and more investors are beginning to have faith in it.
What makes SEI special is its focus on being fast and efficient, which attracts both new and experienced traders. It has a total supply of 10 billion SEI, with 3.52 billion available to trade. This solid foundation makes it a fun option for those looking to invest.
SEI is also making its platform better and easier to use, helping users trade and earn more money. As the market changes, SEI looks ready to challenge older coins like Ripple (XRP). It is an exciting time to see how SEI grows and what it can offer to investors.
IntelMarkets: Your Key to Smart Trading and Maximizing Profits While XRP and SEI are in the spotlight, IntelMarkets (INTL) is changing how people trade in cryptocurrency. This platform works on both Ethereum and Solana, giving traders fantastic options. With a price of about $0.027364, IntelMarket has already raised over $1,070,828, showing that lots of people are interested.
At IntelMarket, traders can use leverage of up to 1000x which means they could earn big returns on their trades. The platform also offers smart tools to help users manage their risks whether they are experts or just starting plus it is easier to spot the best opportunities with many asset pairs available in the rapid crypto market.
The future looks bright for IntelMarket as it continues to grow, and with so much interest right now, now is an excellent time to see what this platform can do for you. Do not miss the chance to be part of the next wave in crypto trading, so just take a look at IntelMarkets today and find out how it can help you trade better.
Discover More About IntelMarket:
Presale: https://intelmarketspresale.com/ Buy Presale: https://buy.intelmarketspresale.com/ Telegram: https://t.me/IntelMarketsOfficial Twitter: https://x.com/intel_markets Disclaimer: TheNewsCrypto does not endorse any content on this page. The content depicted in this press release does not represent any investment advice. TheNewsCrypto recommend our readers to make decisions based on their own research. TheNewsCrypto is not accountable for any damage or loss related to content, products, or services stated in this press release.
Market maker giant Jane Street is again drawing intense attention in crypto markets, with experts claiming the firm’s “next target” may now be Ethereum (ETH).
The speculation comes after reports that Jane Street made several major adjustments to its positions during the week, following months of scrutiny tied to alleged trading manipulation connected to Bitcoin (BTC).
From Bitcoin Retreat To Ethereum Expansion Jane Street, one of Wall Street’s most active proprietary trading firms, reportedly reduced multiple Bitcoin-linked holdings in the first quarter (Q1) of the year, while meaningfully increasing its exposure to assets tied to Ethereum.
Jane Street’s position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) fell by 71% quarter-over-quarter to about 5.9 million shares, with a reported value near $225 million.
The firm also cut its stake in Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), where holdings fell approximately 60% to around 2 million shares, valued at nearly $115 million at quarter-end.
The reduction also extended to Strategy (previously MicroStrategy). Jane Street’s Strategy holdings fell from about 968,000 shares in Q4 2025 to roughly 210,000 shares by the end of Q1. The reported value declined from close to $146 million to around $27 million.
But while the firm was dialing back Bitcoin exposure, it was simultaneously building its Ethereum footprint. Jane Street expanded its holdings in Ethereum ETFs, with positions in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust nearly doubling during the quarter.
The firm also added substantially to Fidelity’s Ethereum fund. Combined additions across the two ETH products were estimated at approximately $82 million.
Smaller Derivatives, Bigger Impact? The move is now being framed by analysts as a potential continuation of the same pattern some observers associate with Jane Street’s earlier Bitcoin-linked controversies.
Analysts at Bull Theory suggested that the firm behind a “daily 10 AM Bitcoin dump,” the same firm that was reportedly sued for insider trading in the $40 billion LUNA collapse, and the same firm with $567 million frozen by Indian regulators could now be targeting Ethereum.
Their central argument is that ETH may be easier to move than BTC, primarily because of market structure and scale. Bull Theory pointed out that Bitcoin futures open interest stands at roughly $60 billion, while Ethereum’s is slightly more than half at about $34 billion.
The thesis is that a smaller derivatives market can make it possible to influence price with a smaller amount of capital. They also emphasized relative market size, noting that ETH’s market cap is $273 billion compared to BTC’s $1.6 trillion. Under their logic, the same amount of capital would create 6 times greater price impact in ETH.
The analysts also argued that the Ethereum ETF market is still relatively early. They claimed that Bitcoin ETFs hold roughly 6.67% of all circulating BTC supply, while Ethereum ETF penetration is lower, meaning there may not yet be the same institutional “demand floor” to absorb coordinated selling.
Their conclusion was pointed: they believe the rotation into Ethereum is not happening primarily because Jane Street is forecasting bullish fundamentals for ETH, but because Ethereum is “easier to move.”
The daily chart shows ETH’s attempt to reclaim the key $2,300 level as support. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView.com At the time of writing, ETH was trading at around $2,292, with almost no change from Wednesday’s price. Meanwhile, other assets such as Bitcoin and XRP saw gains of around 2% and 4% respectively during the same period.
Featured image created with OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
Fresh Ripple USD stablecoins (RLUSD) amounting to 150,000,000 RLUSD, which were recently minted at the Treasury, have been traced to Gemini Exchange. According to XRPL validator Vet, the minting came just after the exchange redeemed 128 million RLUSD on XRP Ledger.
Liquidity testing or demand surge behind RLUSD activity?Notably, the fresh minting by the Ripple Treasury was done in two batches of 92.3 million RLUSD and 58.2 million RLUSD. The successful minting and transfer to Gemini confirms that the exchange maintains 1:1 USD reserves in a Ripple-controlled account for minting.
Vet could not explain the reason Gemini exchange initially redeemed the 12 million RLUSD before the recent 150 million RLUSD. It is possible that the exchange was engaging in liquidity testing to assess the mint and burn infrastructure and how quickly Ripple could respond to its requests.
Now Gemini minted 150,000,000 $RLUSD on the XRP Ledger with Ripple.
This means Gemini has 1:1 the USD liquidity in a Ripple controlled bank account, to mint this amount.
I can't tell exactly the motivation or goal behind this sequence of events.
But Ripples mint/redeem engine… https://t.co/q2gF9LpHDK pic.twitter.com/WYVYNHBs84
— Vet (@Vet_X0) April 1, 2026 Additionally, Gemini might have experienced a demand surge shortly after burning the initial 128 million RLUSD previously.
In any case, Vet noted that the transaction confirms that "the Ripple mint/redeem engine for RLUSD works great." The XRPL validator acknowledged that funds are swiftly sent to distribution accounts to fund customers.
The development suggests that institutions are actively interacting with RLUSD infrastructure because of its efficiency. For their part, liquidity providers like Gemini are testing the blockchain infrastructure, while XRPL is being used for stablecoin settlement.
Overall, it signals bullish infrastructure growth for the Ripple, which has sparked mixed reactions among community members. While some consider this a confirmation of "Ripple's stablecoin infrastructure firing on all cylinders," others are not impressed.
A user, Evelyn Anderson, observed that minting 150 million RLUSD does not prove strength; rather, it is evidence of capacity. She argues that without real demand, the minted RLUSD is just numbers on the blockchain.
RLUSD growth Strategy targets $2 billion market cap You Might Also Like
Although the reason for Gemini’s initial burn of 128 million RLUSD remains unknown, it is consistent with Ripple’s overall strategy.
Over the last 16 months since the launch of RLUSD, Ripple’s USD stablecoin desk has been maintaining a strict supply control and balance. It has regularly conducted burn and mint exercises, only to repeat the entire process again.
This strategy supported its break into the top 100 crypto assets less than 10 months after it hit the market. It also ensured that RLUSD maintained an average of about $150 million in daily volume at the time.
The growth trajectory of RLUSD continues to impress market observers as it has set its sights set on hitting $2 billion in market cap soon.
Overview: In the fast-paced realm of cryptocurrency, insightful Storj price predictions and XRP price predictions are invaluable for investors aiming to capitalize on digital assets. This guide not only covers the Bitcoin price prediction but also delves into the emerging tokens with Tamadoge price prediction and HBAR price prediction, rounding off with an analysis on the Ethereum price prediction.
Storj Price Prediction: A Glimpse Into the Future Storj price prediction reveals the potential for significant growth as decentralized storage gains traction. By understanding the factors that could drive Storj’s value, investors can make strategic decisions, highlighting the importance of accurate Storj price predictions in crafting a profitable investment portfolio.
XRP Price Prediction: Beyond the Challenges Given its legal battles, *XRP* price prediction becomes a complex, yet intriguing topic. This section not only provides an XRP price prediction but also offers insights into the currency’s resilience and potential for recovery, aiding investors in navigating the volatility of the crypto market.
Bitcoin Price Prediction: The Benchmark of Cryptocurrencies As the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin price prediction serves as a market indicator. This analysis explores how global economic factors and adoption rates affect the *BTC* price prediction, offering a roadmap for investors looking to maximize returns on Bitcoin investments.
Tamadoge Price Prediction: The Rising Star The Tamadoge price prediction underscores its potential in a market hungry for innovation. As we unravel the Tamadoge price prediction, it’s clear that this crypto brings more than just speculative value, suggesting a bright future for those investing early.
HBAR Price Prediction: A New Era of Efficiency HBAR price prediction highlights its unique technological foundation and market position. This segment not only focuses on HBAR price prediction but also on Hedera Hashgraph’s potential to redefine transactional processes, presenting a compelling case for HBAR investments.
Ethereum Price Prediction: Steering the Smart Contract Revolution Ethereum price prediction is crucial as it transitions to proof-of-stake. With Ethereum’s influence on decentralized applications, the *ETH* price prediction offers insights into how this major shift could impact its value and the broader blockchain ecosystem.
Pi Network Price Prediction: Streamlining Crypto Mining Pi Network price prediction is essential as the Pi coin is influenced by large supply and limited demand, with over 47 million users mostly unable to sell. Despite potential uses, expected mainnet launch sell-offs and regulatory issues could impact its overall growth.
Embracing the Cryptocurrency Movement By closely examining Storj price predictions, XRP price predictions, Bitcoin price predictions, Tamadoge price predictions, HBAR price predictions, Ethereum price predictions and Pi Network price prediction, investors are better equipped to navigate the complexities of the crypto market. These predictions serve as a compass, guiding through the volatile yet rewarding landscape of cryptocurrency investment.
AUTHOR
Mushumir Butt is a seasoned crypto journalist with over three years of experience reporting on the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. At Blockchain Reporter, he delivers insightful news, in‐depth project reviews, and precise price analysis and predictions. With a strong background in SEO and digital marketing, Mushumir excels at breaking down complex trends into clear, accessible content, ensuring readers stay ahead in the fast‐paced crypto space.
The advent of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies has introduced unprecedented ways to distribute new assets, creating complex tax situations. Here’s how to account for forks and airdrops, and a few strategies to minimize taxes.
There is little precedent when it comes to taxes around forks and airdrops.
“In the traditional world, nobody airdrops anything. The dollar doesn’t fork every Tuesday,” said Alon Muroch, CEO of crypto accounting platform Blox, in an interview with Crypto Briefing.
Ruling from other regulatory agencies adds to the complexity. By the letter of the law, many cryptocurrencies are not considered money, or commodities, but instead securities—investments that represent a contract between a buyer and an enterprise.
“You should start with the assumption that you’re starting with a securities offering,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Failing this assumption, or misinterpreting the rule of tax law, has led to “a majority of companies filing incorrectly,” LukkaTax’s co-CEO, Robert Materazzi, told Crypto Briefing, who claims that most portfolio apps that link to a tax service are doing so incorrectly.
FinCEN has issued its own guidelines around money transmitter rules for cryptocurrency, treating crypto like cash for anti-money laundering purposes. Meanwhile, the Commodities Future Trading Commission treats Bitcoin as a commodity. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service treats it as property. Ethereum falls somewhere in the middle.
Between the regulators, it’s one confusing mess of three and four-letter acronyms giving mixed messages.
What Is a Blockchain Fork? A fork is a software change that creates two separate versions of the same blockchain. Most often, forks are used to introduce upgrades, where the old version of a blockchain is replaced by the new one as soon as the fork is executed.
Occasionally, however, forks are used to settle disagreements over technical features, like the block size debate that lead to Bitcoin Cash. Other times, it’s about governing philosophy, like in Ethereum Classic. Yet other times it’s about taking advantage of a brand name, like Bitcoin Diamond. They’re an integral part of what makes a decentralized blockchain, well, a blockchain.
Forks happen all the time. Since inception, Bitcoin alone has had over 50 forks.
To make matters worse, holders often aren’t aware that a fork has even taken place and many coins go unclaimed. Nevertheless, the IRS views forks as taxable events.
Understanding Token Airdrops Airdrops are another situation where money falls out of thin air. In an airdrop, coins are “carpet bombed” to thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency addresses as part of marketing campaigns, said Muroch.
One example of a massive airdrop was the one executed by Stellar, a cryptocurrency created by XRP co-founder Jed McCaleb. In September of last year, the Stellar Foundation announced it would airdrop 2 billion XLM, worth over $120 million at the time. An unprecedented sum.
Again, like forks, the owner of a cryptocurrency address that benefits from an airdrop is often unaware of the windfall. Many times they do not even consent to receiving an airdrop.
“You’re not always aware that you receive assets from a fork. You can couple that with airdrops, not just forks,” said Muroch. “All those holders had taxable events because someone in the marketing department decided to use that as a marketing tool.”
Tax Implications of Forks and Airdrops Consent aside, the IRS has voiced its position on forks and airdrops. “The receipt or transfer of virtual currency for free, including from an airdrop or following a hard fork,” needs to be reported for tax purposes, says the IRS.
The power to collect taxes from these events, even crypto, come from broad powers given to the government over a century ago. “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived,” reads the 16th amendment.
The IRS has offered some clarity concerning the confusion. In October 2019, the agency issued a ruling on the issue.
Crypto holders recognize income when they “exercise dominion and control over the cryptocurrency” received through a fork or an airdrop, according to the rules. That is, when a holder gains the ability to transfer or sell the cryptocurrency.
Wendy Walker, a tax withholding and reporting expert at Sovos, a tax reporting software company, reaffirmed this position in a conversation with Crypto Briefing. Forks are treated as “ordinary income,” and the specific amount of tax liability would depend on the valuation scheme the taxpayer is using, she said.
By default, coins are valued using the FIFO, or “first in first out,” method of accounting, where the oldest units of cryptocurrency are used to determine the cost basis, said Jim Calvin, a tax partner at Deloitte.
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Though there are other valuation methods that may produce less tax liability, like LIFO or average cost, and these are viable so long as they are consistently applied. If this all seems confusing, an example might help illustrate the tax implications.
Using the Bitcoin Cash Fork as an Example Bitcoin Cash split from the Bitcoin network on Aug. 1, 2017, to settle a disagreement over the block size, which essentially determines the upper limit to how many transactions can be processed by the Bitcoin network in a roughly a 10 minute interval.
Those who held their private keys prior to the chain-split received a number of BCH equal to the number of BTC they held.
Bitcoin was trading at $2,800 the day of the fork. Immediately after the split, Bitcoin Cash opened on exchanges at $290. A taxpayer who had received BCH would recognize $290 in income, which would also determine the cost-basis of the BCH.
Later the next day, if the taxpayer sold their Bitcoin Cash when it was trading at $380, they would recognize capital gains of $90:
$380 - $290 = $90 Hypothetically, if the price of Bitcoin dropped as a result of the fork, it might be possible to offset some of the income from the fork, but the rules around this are unclear.
Tron’s Ethereum Airdrop as an Example Another example to demonstrate the recognition of income is when Tron airdropped 30 million TRX to Ethereum holders. Announced April 2018, Ethereum addresses with a balance of one or more ETH received between 10 and 100 TRX.
TRX was trading at $0.5 on the day of the airdrop, April 20, 2018. Assuming an address received 50 TRX, the Ethereum holder would recognize income of $25 on that day ($0.5 x 50).
To illustrate the impact of FIFO, if those coins were received over a series of days (from the 20th to the 22nd, for example), then the following accounting would take place:
April 20: 50 TRX at $0.5 each ($25) April 21: 50 TRX at $0.6 each ($30) April 22: 50 TRX at $0.7 each ($35) In all, the account holder received $90 worth of TRX, and would recognize this sum as revenue. Hypothetically, if they sold 60 TRX at $0.7, they would recognize gains from the oldest batches of coins first under FIFO.
The April 20 batch as the “first in” would get sold first, for reporting purposes. The 50 TRX with a cost basis of $0.5 each and sold for $0.7 each would register a gain of $10:
(50 x $0.7) - (50 x $0.5) = $10 Then, it would take 10 TRX from the batch from April 21, which were obtained at $0.6 each:
(10 x $0.7) - (10 * $0.6) = $1 In total, the taxpayer would recognize capital gains of $11, in addition to the $90 of income from the three batches of airdrops.
In some circumstances, especially for those who trade often, it can be advantageous to use the LIFO method which takes the newest coins first, allowing some of the coins held for more of the year to get preferential long-term capital gains treatment.
Issues Raised by Airdrops Airdrops are an issue for holders of Ethereum and other smart contract blockchains. Even if the owner of the address did not consent to receiving the tokens they would still incur tax liability. Oftentimes, Ethereum holders receive hundreds of unsolicited tokens at no fault of their own.
Looking at Vitalik Buterin’s wallet address as an example, he has received over a hundred unsolicited airdrop coins worth thousands of dollars.
Vitalik Buterin’s main wallet address on Etherscan If the rules are to be followed by the book, each and every one of these airdrops would be recognized as revenue on the date of receipt. Further complicating the issue is that many of these coins are not traded on reputable exchanges, meaning their prices are unreliable.
In the end, this results in an accounting headache and an unwanted tax liability for holders of Ethereum, Tron, EOS, and other smart contract coins.
IRS Ramps Up Crypto Enforcement These tax agencies mean business. Regulators are well aware of cryptocurrency’s role in aiding tax evasion and money laundering. Those who think they can get away without paying taxes are at risk of an audit, along with steep penalties.
Transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain are public, for the most part. It’s only a matter of time before the IRS is able to trace these transactions back to taxpayers, Walker told Crypto Briefing.
More alarming is that more than 50% of CPAs expect that at least half of their clients will be audited for back taxes on their crypto holdings, according to a joint report by Blox and Sovos. Reputable exchanges report activity from crypto traders to the IRS. Coinbase, Kraken, Binance.US, and Gemini all disclose this information to tax agencies, making evasion difficult.
In June of last year, the IRS mass mailed targeted letters to taxpayers suspected of “misreporting” cryptocurrency transactions. British tax authority HM Revenue & Customs has issued similar warnings.
“Cryptoassets like Bitcoin have attracted a lot of interest from people who are new to investing and have probably never filed a tax return in their life. It’s really important for investors to start doing the maths now so they know how much profit they’ve made and the tax due,” said Iqbal Gandham, UK managing director of eToro.
These authorities are serious, and it’s likely they’ll continue to crackdown on those intentionally and unintentionally underpaying on their taxes.
Caveats and Strategies Around Cryptocurrency Income Recognition There are, however, some caveats. Exchanges don’t always immediately recognize forks as tradable assets, and many do not register airdrops at all. This can be used to the taxpayer’s advantage.
Coinbase, for example, did not offer support for BCH for a full four months after the fork. As a result, holders wouldn’t recognize income until they could “exercise control” over the asset. That is, until they could transfer and trade it.
So, for those trading on Coinbase, income wouldn’t be recognized until that date, when Bitcoin Cash was worth over $2,500 per coin (instead of $290 per coin).
This fact can be used as a tool to reduce tax liability. By storing coins on an exchange, a holder can avoid getting bombarded by airdrops, which would normally trigger taxable events.
To take advantage of this, an investor could store coins on an exchange and wait until their income drops to claim those coins (supposing they waited until they could offset their gains by selling some coins at a loss, or expected less income in a coming tax year).
How to Report Forks and Airdrops on Your Taxes In sum, here’s how to report forks, airdrops, and capital gains on a tax return. The following exercise uses the Bitcoin Cash fork and Tron airdrop from the earlier examples. The entire process requires four different IRS forms.
These include the following: the 8949: Sales and Other Disposition of Capital Assets, the Schedule 1: Additional Income and Adjustments to Income, the 1040, Schedule D: Capital Gains and Losses, and the 1040: Individual Income Tax Return.
Assuming the taxpayer received 1.0 Bitcoin Cash from the fork and 50 Tron from the airdrop in the earlier example, first fill out the Schedule 1 as follows:
($290 x 1 BCH) + (50 TRX x $0.5) = $315 Then, for the capital gains associated with the sale of the Bitcoin Cash, itemize each sale and report it on form 8949. For those who trade regularly attaching a spreadsheet can greatly speed-up the process.
(Sale price: $380) - (Price at fork: $290) = $90 gain The sum of these cryptocurrency sales are then reported on Form 1040, Schedule D. Finally, input these figures on the 1040 form with all other sources of income:
(Capital Gains: $90) + (Fork and Airdrop Income: $315) = $405 total income Between the fork, the capital gain, and the airdrop, this taxpayer would have $405 in additional total income.
At first glance, it may seem that reporting tens and sometimes hundreds of cryptocurrency transactions would be daunting. It is, without the aid of spreadsheets or software.
But, with enough diligence, it’s possible to report these transactions yourself. Beyond that, those who plan in advance can even reduce how much they owe, allowing them to keep more of their hard-fought gains.
For more information on proper filing, refer to official guidance from the IRS and their frequently asked questions guide.
The information presented here does not represent tax advice. Please consult with a professional before making decisions about your taxes.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Mitchell Moos. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Spot Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have shown strength amid the crypto market’s correction and the flagship crypto’s latest performance. Some experts have praised investors’ resilience, suggesting that the “real story” is not in the recent outflows.
ETFs Investors Hold Strong Despite Market Downturn On Thursday, Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, affirmed that Bitcoin ETF investors have “largely displayed diamond hands” during the recent crypto market downturn.
The flagship crypto has seen a 48.2% correction from its October 6, 2025, all-time high (ATH), recording five consecutive months of strong bleeding after the October 10 market crash.
Since then, spot BTC ETFs have seen about $6.5 billion in outflows, the expert observed, which he considers a “drop in the bucket” compared to the $55 billion in cumulative total net inflows that the category has seen since launching in January 2024.
It’s worth noting that crypto-based investment products have seen five weeks of outflows this year, with Bitcoin having the weakest sentiment among major assets amid the negative market sentiment of the past month.
According to SoSoValue data, BTC funds have recorded $3.81 billion in net outflows since January 23, starting the week with $203.82 million in outflows on Monday.
However, Geraci highlighted potential renewed demand for the investment products as the category sees a three-day streak of consistent inflows. Notably, Bitcoin ETFs have seen over $1 billion in inflows over the past three days, setting the stage for their potential biggest week since mid-January.
The ETF expert emphasized that 50% drawdowns “are a walk in the park for long-time BTC investors,” but observed that newer ETF investors also appear unfazed by the current market conditions.
“Not first time btc has experienced 50% decline & likely won’t be the last. ETF investors clearly aren’t panicking, though. Apparently buying the dip,” he wrote on X.
Bitcoin ETFs Strength Is The ‘Real Story’ Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas backed Geraci’s comment, praising the remarkable performance of spot Bitcoin ETFs over the past two years.
“As an ETF watcher, you know just how absurd this strength amid a 50% drawdown,” Balchunas stated. “This is the real story, vs focusing on the $6b that came out, which most stories do.”
“Further, the narrative that crypto is ‘paying the price’ for getting financialized is absurd. $55b in net new cash in two years is the opposite of paying the price,” he added on X.
In a recent interview, the senior analyst observed that the amount of Bitcoin held by ETFs is only down around 6% despite the market pullback. He noted that these types of corrections happen to every asset, including bonds and stocks, before recovering.
Stocks have the same thing. Every time stocks go down, I remind myself and then other people that stocks have a 100% perfect record of coming back to hit all-time highs from a downturn. So, why would I worry that much, right?
Balchunas affirmed that these assets can have “really horrible streaks, but then when they come back around, the flows come back.” He concluded that the price volatility and the negative market sentiment are “the cost of the holy grail returns that most people have gotten.”
Bitcoin trades at $65,366 in the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
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Pro-XRP and crypto attorney John E. Deaton, who won the Republican nomination for Senate in Massachusetts, has emerged as one of the largest crypto holders in the political space ahead of the election, with significant holdings in the largest digital assets on the market.
XRP Defender John E. Deaton’s Crypto Holdings Exposed Deaton, known not only for his legal expertise but also as a Marine veteran, has drawn attention for his ongoing defense of cryptocurrencies, particularly Ripple, amid the blockchain payments company’s fierce legal battle with US regulators over the past few years.
Ripple, embroiled in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit since 2020 for alleged “securities violations,” has supported Deaton’s campaign with substantial donations, as the Massachusetts state senate candidate has played a key role in the company’s defense.
Nonetheless, Fox Journalist Eleanor Terret brought to light the revelation on Wednesday that a substantial 80% of Deaton’s net worth is tied up in Bitcoin (BTC) or BTC-related investments, alongside undisclosed holdings in Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP.
Terret’s post on Deaton’s crypto holdings was made on Wednesday. Source: Eleanor Terret on X Ripple’s Political Push The involvement of Ripple, with significant contributions to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a super political action committee (PAC) established by legal expert and crypto advocate James Murphy, showcases the growing influence over the past year of the crypto industry in the US political race.
Ripple’s support, which includes $1 million in donations from key figures such as the company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and founder Chris Larsen, signals a concerted effort to support Deaton and foster a more crypto-friendly political climate, which has been marked by lawsuits and increasing enforcement actions against key industry players, especially in the past year.
Murphy, known for his insights on crypto enforcement matters under the pseudonym “MetaLawMan,” has articulated a vision of unity and collaboration in Congress, positioning Deaton as a candidate capable of bridging divides in the Senate regarding crypto regulation.
However, with Warren’s stronghold in Massachusetts, not losing her seat since 2013, and her vocal stance against digital assets, Deaton’s campaign faces financial and ideological challenges.
In addition, the fundraising numbers also position Warren to outpace the Pro-XRP lawyer in contributions, reflecting the uphill battle for the crypto-friendly candidate. Murphy said in a recent interview with Fox:
Now, more than ever, we need unifiers in the Senate. I believe the people are ready to reject the divisive policies and actions of Elizabeth Warren.
The daily chart shows XRP’s uptrend recorded over the past month. Source: XRPUSDT on TradingView.com At the time of writing, XRP, the sixth largest cryptocurrency on the market, is trading at $0.615, down 1.5% in the last 24 hours, as the crypto market has seen a slight correction led by Bitcoin on Thursday.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
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Toncoin (TON) and Ripple (XRP) both digital currencies have experienced downtime and in today’s market declined. Toncoin (TON) witnessed a 0.56% downward spiral and Ripple (XRP) had a 1.40% increase. On the other hand Pushd (PUSHD) has become an alternative for investors who are seeking to buy into new coins with potential. Pushd (PUSHD) basic utilities stand the token out from others. With a debit card that allows users to spend on their funds revenue fees for presale investors proportional to their holdings, swap services, a reward program, decentralized governance and a VIP program Pushd (PUSHD) has become investors favorite.
Toncoin (TON) price has declined leaving the coin trading at $2.09 with a trading volume of $27,904,315 and Ripple is at $0.5025 with a 24 hour trading volume of $845,853,957. While Toncoin (TON) and Ripple (XRP) pose a market danger there could be some positivity in their price action in the future. The crypto market is highly volatile and external or internal forces could boost Toncoin (TON) and Ripple (XRP) in the future. As a future market blue chip crypto Pushd (PUSHD) shows a positive market future in the coming bullish market.
Will Toncoin (TON) Ever Stay Stable in the Crypto Market?In November 2021 Toncoin spiked past $4 but in January 2024 it’s trading at half of its 2021 market price. Toncoin (TON) market run has always shown inconsistencies and could ruin investors who are not good market experts. The coin went below $1 in the mid year of 2022 before rising to $2.40. Throughout 2023 the token navigated around $2 to $3 going through bearish and bullish trends.
Five days ago Toncoin (TON) witnessed a 5% loss leaving the coin at a 6% loss in 7 days. Toncoin (TON) against its peers has been underperforming. The Q4 of 2023 saw the coin in the top ten of cryptocurrency market capitalization which is lower than it’s currently at 14.
Despite a Successful SEC Win Ripple (XRP) is Still on a Downward SpiralAnalysts believe that there is a turnaround for Ripple (XRP) but holders and investors are looking for quick profits. Ripple (XRP) began 2024 bearish, plummeting in its market chart. The token is ranked 6th by market cap but it doesn’t seem like the market cap is enough to get the coin out of its bearish zone despite its dedicated community.
After its partial SEC victory Ripple (XRP) has yet to recover posting a 16% loss in the past month and underperforming in terms of returns on investment. Rippe’s (XRP) downward trend has cost the coin its place in the top five cryptos in terms of size leaving its 5th position for Solana (SOL) and now ranked 6th.
Pushd (PUSHD) Buying Rave is Not Letting DownPushd (PUSHD) market expectations are looking better than Toncoin (TON) and Ripple (XRP). Investors are taking advantage of Pushd (PUSHD) market price in its presales stage which is situated at $0.075. Pushd (PUSHD) offers rewards that are user centric like governance rights and platform shares.
In the $6 trillion crypto world Pushd (PUSHD) brings an innovative idea that offers not just a short term goal but also a long term one. Pushd (PUSHD) is built in a way that allows investors market activities to be fast and easy.
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For the past few months, stablecoins have yielded the spotlight to their more speculative counterparts, including tokens inspired by politicians. However, recent on-chain data suggests that stablecoins are back and have surpassed the $200 billion market cap.
According to the data shared by Alphractal, the segment’s capitalization has surged to $211 billion, a record high, thanks to months of stable growth, which started in mid-2023.
Stablecoins‘ market capitalization grew by 73% from its August 2023 value of $121 billion, updated data released on January 31st show. The primary driver of this segment’s growth is still Tether’s USDT, however, USDC has been gaining ground recently, which is fascinating.
🚨 Stablecoin Market Cap Surpasses $211B – USDC Gains Momentum!
Since 2023, the stablecoin market has grown significantly, mainly driven by USDT (Tether). However, recently, USDC has been gaining an edge over other stablecoins.
This trend is occurring due to the recent drop in… pic.twitter.com/IRKrQErmCE
— Alphractal (@Alphractal) January 31, 2025
Tether’s USDT Remains Primary Driver Of Growth Since 2023, the stablecoin market has grown steady, mostly due to Tether’s USDT. As of now, stablecoins are worth $223 billion, which is a 0.2% increase from yesterday.
Interestingly, USDT and USDC are the present growth drivers of stablecoins. Apart from the numbers from both coins, the stablecoins group hasn’t changed much since 2023 and has shown steady and average values. Right now, Tether’s USDT is valued at almost $140 billion, and USDC is at $53 billion.
USDC Slowly Gains Ground On Other Coins Alphractal’s post on Twitter/X shows that USDC has been gaining ground over other stablecoins in the market. According to the post, this is happening due to a drop in altcoin prices and since a substantial part of the sell-offs have been swapped into USDC.
As of today, the market cap of cryptocurrencies reached $3.41 trillion. Chart: TradingView The post also showed that USDC’s dominance in this segment has hit a key resistance level, the same amount observed in 2021. This was the start of the bear market in 2022 when Bitcoin’s price dropped to as low as $15,500. If this metric persists, it can serve as the market’s bearish signal, impacting investors’ buying decisions. However, if this metric declines, it can be USDC’s jumping board to claim new highs.
What To Expect From The Stablecoins Segment In The Short-Term In the last bull run, USDC’s supply increased in May, then reached its high in March 2022. The stablecoin’s market cap increased by 170% from April 2021 to March 2022. If the current coin supply continues to grow but price starts to dip, then the stablecoin market may hit its peak in a few months.
Traditionally, a rising market cap for stablecoins reflects growing investors’ confidence, which signals an increase in capital inflows.
On the contrary, a rising stablecoin market cap is usually associated with growing investor conviction, signaling the potential for boosted capital inflows. This suggests that the bullish momentum could continue for a few more months.
Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView
Blockchair has announced the support of 24 new blockchains into its platform, significantly enhancing its multi-blockchain explorer and professional tools offering.
This expansion includes prominent names such as Solana, Base, TRON, Arbitrum One, Polygon, Polygon zkEVM, Linea, Optimism, TON, Beacon Chain, Aptos, Avalanche, DigiByte, Fantom, Handshake, Moonbeam, Peercoin, Polkadot, Sei EVM, and XRP Ledger, but also upcoming Layer 2s on Bitcoin such as BOB, Botanix, Rootstock, and Liquid Network.
‘Blockchair has historically been a Bitcoin and UTXO-chain explorer. Our expansion into the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem feels nothing but natural and we’ll keep adding more and more upcoming Bitcoin Layer 2s.’
Nikita Zhavoronkov – CEO & Lead Developer at Blockchair
The addition of these 24 blockchains brings unique capabilities and features to Blockchair’s already robust platform. This integration sets Blockchair apart from other block explorers by providing a unified interface to explore data across 42 popular chains. Users can now seamlessly access and analyze data from multiple blockchains, benefiting from enhanced user experience and functionality.
Alongside this expansion, Blockchair has also unveiled a comprehensive platform redesign aimed at improving user experience and accessibility.
New design with AI Assistant The redesigned platform boasts lightning-fast performance and a modern, clean interface that simplifies navigation and improves accessibility. Key enhancements include intuitive navigation and distinct sections dedicated to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other ecosystems. Additionally, the Blockchair AI Assistant is introduced to help users interpret and understand on-chain data effectively and get professional support.
‘Since 2016 we have received lots of similar questions from crypto users related to their on-chain transactions, and there is fundamentally no real-time tech support for decentralized cryptocurrencies. Providing crypto users with comprehensive and, what is even more important, a safe support system – is no easy task. We have solved it. We believe AI-powered human-like interactions are the future of UI.‘
Yedige Davletgaliyev – Head of Research at Blockchair
Blockchair’s AI Assistant guides users in multiple languages through understanding on-chain data with questions such as:
How long will it take for my transaction to be processed? What can be done to speed up or revert/cancel a transaction? How to distinguish between fraudulent and legitimate advice? The AI assistant has already guided thousands of users not to send money or seed phrases to scammers, and will soon be made available for developers in the API.
Blockchair also improves its UX by expanding its offering of fiat currencies in which the data can be denominated and adding KYA/KYT scores to check transaction risk evaluation. According to the Blockchair team, the platform will continue to add support for new blockchains and work on its professional developer tools.
About Blockchair: Blockchair offers the most private search and analytics engine and a wide range of professional tools for scientists and developers of multi-currency wallets and exchanges, for 42 different blockchains. This includes APIs, PDF receipts and Wallet statements generator, Awesome Catalog of Blockchain and Crypto services, News Aggregator, Data Dumps, an anonymous portfolio tracker, and charts with blockchain and monetary data. The website is offered in 20 languages and no user data is gathered nor shared with third parties.
For more information or questions: [email protected][email protected] Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.
Oliver Dale
Editor-in-Chief of Blockonomi and founder of Kooc Media, A UK-Based Online Media Company. Believer in Open-Source Software, Blockchain Technology & a Free and Fair Internet for all. His writing has been quoted by Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Investopedia, The New Yorker, Forbes, Techcrunch & More. Contact [email protected]
Blockchair has announced the support of 24 new blockchains into its platform, significantly enhancing its multi-blockchain explorer and professional tools offering. This expansion includes prominent names such as Solana, Base, TRON, Arbitrum One, Polygon, Polygon zkEVM, Linea, Optimism, TON, Beacon Chain, Aptos, Avalanche, DigiByte, Fantom, Handshake, Moonbeam, Peercoin, Polkadot, Sei EVM, and XRP Ledger, but also upcoming Layer 2s on Bitcoin such as BOB, Botanix, Rootstock, and Liquid Network.
Nikita Zhavoronkov – CEO & Lead Developer at Blockchair: ‘Blockchair has historically been a Bitcoin and UTXO-chain explorer. Our expansion into the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem feels nothing but natural and we’ll keep adding more and more upcoming Bitcoin Layer 2s.’
The addition of these 24 blockchains brings unique capabilities and features to Blockchair’s already robust platform. This integration sets Blockchair apart from other block explorers by providing a unified interface to explore data across 42 popular chains. Users can now seamlessly access and analyze data from multiple blockchains, benefiting from enhanced user experience and functionality.
Alongside this expansion, Blockchair has also unveiled a comprehensive platform redesign aimed at improving user experience and accessibility.
New design with AI Assistant The redesigned platform boasts lightning-fast performance and a modern, clean interface that simplifies navigation and improves accessibility. Key enhancements include intuitive navigation and distinct sections dedicated to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other ecosystems. Additionally, the Blockchair AI Assistant is introduced to help users interpret and understand on-chain data effectively and get professional support.
Yedige Davletgaliyev – Head of Research at Blockchair: ‘Since 2016 we have received lots of similar questions from crypto users related to their on-chain transactions, and there is fundamentally no real-time tech support for decentralized cryptocurrencies. Providing crypto users with comprehensive and, what is even more important, a safe support system – is no easy task. We have solved it. We believe AI-powered human-like interactions are the future of UI.‘
Blockchair’s AI Assistant guides users in multiple languages through understanding on-chain data with questions such as:
How long will it take for my transaction to be processed?What can be done to speed up or revert/cancel a transaction?How to distinguish between fraudulent and legitimate advice?The AI assistant has already guided thousands of users not to send money or seed phrases to scammers, and will soon be made available for developers in the API.
Blockchair also improves its UX by expanding its offering of fiat currencies in which the data can be denominated and adding KYA/KYT scores to check transaction risk evaluation. According to the Blockchair team, the platform will continue to add support for new blockchains and work on its professional developer tools.
About Blockchair
Blockchair offers the most private search and analytics engine and a wide range of professional tools for scientists and developers of multi-currency wallets and exchanges, for 42 different blockchains. This includes APIs, PDF receipts and Wallet statements generator, Awesome Catalog of Blockchain and Crypto services, News Aggregator, Data Dumps, an anonymous portfolio tracker, and charts with blockchain and monetary data. The website is offered in 20 languages and no user data is gathered nor shared with third parties.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) projects refer to financial projects that are built on blockchain technology for providing peer-to-peer services like lending, borrowing, trading, and asset management. LunarCrush, a platform that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, has unveiled the list of Top 10 Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Projects based on social activity.
Fundamentally, Social activity encompasses Engaged Posts and Interactions. These projects are named as Solana ($SOL), XRP ($XRP), Chainlink ($LINK), Zcash ($ZEC), Hedera ($HBAR), Aster ($ASTER), VVS Finance ($VVS), Monad ($MON), Tezos ($XTZ), and Internet Computer ($ICP). In the given list, Solana ($SOL) is dominating with 83.2K Engaged Posts and 21.2M Interactions. Phoenix Group has released this news through its official X account.
$XRP Outpaces $LINK with Massive 28.7M Interaction Gap XRP ($XRP) and Chainlink ($LINK) are at the third and fourth positions, with 42.2K, 11.0K in Engaged Posts, and 31.8M, 3.1M, respectively. Both these DeFi projects got a difference of 31.2K in Engaged Posts and also a difference of 28.7M in Interactions. Next one is Zcash ($ZEC) with 1.2M Interactions and successfully able to get 9.9K in Engaged Posts.
Furthermore, Hedera ($HBAR) positioned itself at the 5th position and gained 9.5K in Engaged Posts with an Interactions of 418.6K. Simultaneously, two DeFi projects are very close in terms of Engaged Posts, with only a difference of 0.1K. These two DeFi projects are Aster ($ASTER) and VVS Finance ($VVS), with Engaged Posts of 7.7K, 7.6K along with the Interactions of 1.5M and 104.3K.
Monad Shows Strength While Tezos and ICP Compete at the Bottom Monad ($MON) is also among the top 10 DeFi projects of February 12, 2026. Monad ($MON) got 6.6K Engaged Posts and secured 8th position with 1.1M Interactions. Tezos ($XTZ) is the DeFi project that attained the second last position with 221.8K in Interactions and has 3.9K Engaged Posts in the market. These two DeFi projects have a difference of 2.7K in Engaged Posts, but this difference got hype in Interactions, approximately 878.2K.
Last but not least, Internet Computer ($ICP) is the DeFi project that got the last position in the ranking list of daily topped 10 projects. Internet Computer ($ICP) has efficiently managed to get 3.6K in Engaged Posts and 296.3K in Interactions. This project got a difference of 0.3K with its earlier project ($XTZ).
AUTHOR
Crypto journalist with years of experience providing in-depth analysis and news on blockchain and decentralized finance. With a keen eye for detail, Shahzaib delivers insightful articles that explore the latest trends, market movements, and innovations within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. His work focuses on educating readers while offering expert commentary on the evolving landscape of digital assets, DeFi protocols, and the broader impact of blockchain technology.
In the evolving landscape of blockchain technology, Solana has rapidly emerged as a platform not merely defined by its technical capabilities but by its broader implications for economic infrastructure. By enabling the class of decentralized applications, SOL is positioning itself as a high-performance blockchain and a foundational layer for the next-generation economic activity.
Why Infrastructure That Enables Continuous Markets In an X post, crypto analyst Vibhu mentioned that Solana is no longer just a piece of financial technology, but a fully functioning economy. What exists on SOL today has gone beyond transactions and smart contracts.
According to the expert, there are dollars and native currencies, real-world assets, metals and rare minerals, energy market, information markets, manufacturing primitives, and global trade rails all operating in real-time on-chain. SOL also has politics, governance processes, divided factions, and ongoing debates about the leading network’s future.
At this point, we are witnessing the birth of a country that lives entirely on the internet. Measured through economic output, SOL would rank around the 157th largest country in the world by GDP (Gross Domestic Product), comparable in size to nations such as Eswatini or Fiji. However, SOL is globally integrated by default, and from a forex and asset-flow perspective, it punches above its weight, integrating with the largest banks and financial institutions across the globe.
Furthermore, SOL has withstood sustained network attacks from nation-state actors, defending itself with systems engineers instead of armies. Economically, SOL is already engaged in trade with countries like Bhutan, ranked 164, the Isle of Man, ranked 154, and even Kazakhstan, which ranks 49 in global economic standings. “Solana is a digital country, and I am proud to be a citizen,” Vibhu noted.
Why Real-Time On-Chain UX Finally Works On Solana Solana continues to see key updates and integration that tend to bolster the network capabilities. Co-founder of TeamElevenX1 and Ambassador at Solflare, Kristofer_Sol, has highlighted that MagicBlock is quietly doing some of the most important work in the Solana ecosystem, pushing real-time SOL closer to true production scale.
At the center of this shift is the deep integration of compressed accounts into the Light Protocol inside Ephemeral Rollups, reducing rent costs by up to 200 times, while still functioning like a normal account for developers. The compression demo is already live, and real applications are actively using it today. Others like Rush Trade deliver faster trades, and Pixels achieve smooth, real-time pixel updates.
Kristofer_Sol stated that this is what a scalable on-chain user experience actually looks like. With low-cost reduction and speed improvements happening without forcing developers to rewrite everything, MagicBlock is quietly removing the friction that has held back games, social apps, and consumer products on SOL.
SOL trading at $123 on the 1D chart | Source: SOLUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
Coin PricesCrypto rebounds after Trump TACO’s on Tariffs! BitGo $2.1B IPO! Solana’s SKR token soars 250% FDV!
Crypto majors are green and rebounding after Trump pivoted on EU tariffs; BTC +2% at $89,900; ETH +2% at $2,995, SOL +2% at $130; XRP +3% to $1.94. CC (+15%), SKY (+11%) and SAND (+10%) led top movers. Crypto markets saw more than $1B in liquidations as Bitcoin rebounded sharply after President Trump signaled a retreat from proposed tariff measures. Vitalik Buterin proposed native DVT staking to strengthen Ethereum security and decentralization, signaling continued protocol-level experimentation. Bitgo announced its IPO at $18 per share, valuing it at ~$2B. The Senate Ag Committee confirmed that its version of the Clarity Act will move forward to markup next week despite lack of bipartisan support. Mortgage lender Newrez explored counting Bitcoin and Ethereum toward mortgage qualification, applying discounted valuations to account for crypto volatility. Hong Kong regulators moved to issue stablecoin licenses under a new framework that imposes strict compliance, reserve, and operational requirements. Russian courts ruled that cryptocurrencies qualify as property under law, setting a legal precedent for future criminal and civil cases. President Trump said he hopes to sign the crypto market structure bill soon, despite ongoing legislative roadblocks and disagreements over regulatory scope. Saga’s EVM blockchain halted operations following a $7M hack, with stolen funds bridged to Ethereum. Steak ’n Shake rolled out a Bitcoin bonus program for hourly employees, allowing workers to earn a portion of compensation in BTC.
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Market commentators view Ripple’s acquisition spree, surpassing $250 million, as a strategic move to position the company and XRP at the forefront of the financial world.
Austin King, co-founder of Omni Network, who sold his company to Ripple, is among those championing this perspective. In a tweet today, he argued that Ripple’s acquisitions are part of a broader strategy to expand XRP’s role in global banking.
Ripple’s Key Acquisitions One of the standout acquisitions is Metaco, a provider of custody services for cryptocurrencies. Notably, news of this acquisition first broke in May 2023. Meanwhile, a subsequent report by The Crypto Basic confirmed Ripple completed the takeover in early 2024.
With this acquisition, Ripple is enabling banks to offer their customers a range of crypto products, including secure storage and management of digital assets. According to King, major financial institutions like Citi, HSBC, and BNP Paribas are already leveraging Metaco’s platform.
In February 2024, Ripple also acquired Standard Custody, a company that allows banks to tokenize assets on the XRP Ledger. While Ripple publicly disclosed its $250 million acquisition of Metaco, it did not reveal the financial details for Standard Custody.
King believes this acquisition lays the groundwork for Ripple to offer tokenization services to banks. He backed this view by citing the company’s recent introduction of RLUSD, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.
“RLUSD is just Ripple’s first tokenized asset,” King said. He believes Ripple’s next move will be to provide banks with the tools to tokenize a wide array of assets and integrate them into the blockchain ecosystem.
Additionally, King revealed that Ripple also acquired his own firm, which focuses on interoperability.
The Strategy for XRP With this growing list of acquisitions, King argues that Ripple’s long-term goal is to turn the XRP Ledger into the global hub for tokenized assets.
Specifically, he noted that while tokenized assets may be moved across various blockchains, the XRP Ledger will remain central to this ecosystem, facilitating cross-chain interoperability.
Furthermore, King suggested that in addition to traditional transaction fees, Ripple plans to monetize tokenization by introducing new fee mechanisms with the tokenization process.
He believes these tokenization fees could be far more lucrative than transaction fees. According to the expert, the move would position XRP as a major infrastructure component for global financial markets, potentially driving its price upward.
A 100x Opportunity Furthermore, King highlighted that Ripple’s strategic positioning will accelerate with the anticipated regulatory changes under the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Ultimately, as Ripple continues to focus on tokenization, interoperability, and bank adoption of blockchain, King believes the current moment represents a 100X opportunity for investors and participants in the XRP ecosystem. In his view, market participants adopting XRP are still early, with a promising future ahead.
Bullish commentary by Austin King DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
