Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

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XRP is at $1.04. Down 4.2% today. Down nearly 8% on the week. It is the weakest major coin on the board, again.

And it is getting close to the one number that matters: $1.00.

Let me lay out exactly where things stand, because this is a tense moment for XRP holders and there is no point dressing it up.

The setup is ugly XRP has fallen harder than Bitcoin, harder than Ethereum, harder than Solana this week. That is not a coincidence. XRP is a high-beta coin. When the market drops, it drops more. Right now the whole market is dropping, with Bitcoin at a 20-month low, so XRP is taking the worst of it.

The chart is bearish. Price is below every major moving average. Sellers keep breaking support levels on heavy volume. Every bounce has failed. This is a downtrend, plain and simple.

And the price is now sitting just four cents above $1.00.

Why $1 is the line $1.00 is not just a round number. It is the floor XRP has defended this entire correction. Hold it, and the structure survives. Lose it, and you risk a fast move lower as the last line of defense fails and stops get triggered.

At $1.04, that floor is within striking distance of a single bad day. That is the tension.

Washington just made it harder Here is the part that stings. XRP’s biggest catalyst was supposed to be the CLARITY Act, the bill that would finally classify XRP as a commodity and end years of regulatory limbo. It just hit a wall.

Two problems. First, nearly 100 Catholic bishops sent a letter to the Senate opposing the bill, arguing one of its provisions weakens safeguards against human trafficking. Second, a separate political fight over a housing bill has jammed up Congress, and the CLARITY Act is now stuck behind it. Next real checkpoint: a July 17 hearing.

So the catalyst that was supposed to lift XRP just got pushed further out. Bad timing, with the price already on the ropes.

It is not all bad, to be fair Step back from the price and the long-term picture is steadier than the chart suggests. XRP ETFs have been pulling in money for weeks. Ripple keeps signing institutional deals and expanding through the DTCC tokenization group. The cross-border payments use case is real and it is not going anywhere.

The CLARITY delay is a setback, not a death sentence. The bill is still alive. July 17 is a real date on the calendar.

So you have got a weak price and a delayed catalyst fighting against a long-term story that keeps getting stronger. Those two things are pulling in opposite directions. The next few weeks decide which one wins.

The levels Down: $1.00 is the line. Below it, $0.95 then $0.90.

Up: reclaim $1.12 first, then $1.20 to say the downtrend is easing.

Until XRP gets back above those levels, every bounce is a selling opportunity for the bears.

Bottom line XRP at $1.04 is the weakest major coin this week, four cents from a $1 floor it has to hold, with its big catalyst stalled in Washington until at least July 17. Near-term, this is tough, no way around it.

But the institutional foundation underneath, ETF inflows, Ripple deals, the DTCC role, keeps building while the price bleeds. Watch $1.00. Everything hinges on it. Hold it and XRP lives to fight another day. Lose it and the next leg down opens up. That is the whole story right now, and it comes down to four cents.

FAQ What is the XRP price today?

XRP is trading at $1.04 on June 26, 2026, down 4.2% on the day and nearly 8% on the week, the weakest performer among major coins and closing in on the critical $1.00 level.

Will XRP fall below $1?

It is a real risk. At $1.04, XRP is within a single bad day of $1.00, the floor it has defended all correction. Sellers keep breaking support on heavy volume. Holding $1 keeps the structure intact; losing it opens $0.95 then $0.90.

Why is XRP falling more than other coins?

XRP is a high-beta coin that falls harder than Bitcoin in selloffs. With the market at a 20-month low and a liquidation-driven decline, XRP is taking the worst of it, compounded by a stalled CLARITY Act.

What happened with the CLARITY Act?

Nearly 100 Catholic bishops sent a letter opposing it over trafficking-safeguard concerns, and a separate housing-bill fight has jammed Congress. The bill is stalled, with a July 17 hearing as the next checkpoint.

What are the key XRP levels to watch?

Down: $1.00 is the critical line, then $0.95 and $0.90. Up: XRP needs to reclaim $1.12, then $1.20 to signal the downtrend is easing.

This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency is highly volatile. Always do your own research.

AUTHOR

Simeon is a detail-driven editor who sharpens every piece with clarity and precision, ensuring clean, consistent, and professional content throughout.

Ripple CTO emeritus David Schwartz has pushed back on a fresh social media debate over whether XRP existed before Bitcoin. 

Summary

Schwartz said Fugger’s 2004 idea was a payment network, not XRP or decentralized assets. XRPL history places XRP’s creation in 2012, years after Bitcoin launched in 2009 officially. The debate shows how older RipplePay ideas still drive confusion around XRP’s real origin. The exchange began after Crypto Dyl News claimed on X that “Bitcoin was NOT the 1st” and that XRP was created in 1988.

That claim drew a question from XRP community user MitchRob, who asked Schwartz whether Ryan Fugger had conceptualized XRP and the XRP Ledger before or after Bitcoin. Schwartz replied that Fugger had conceptualized a decentralized payment and settlement network around 2004, well before Bitcoin.

Schwartz added one key limit to that answer. He said Fugger’s idea did not include decentralized assets. That distinction separates RipplePay, Fugger’s early payment concept, from XRP and the XRP Ledger, which arrived later.

Ryan Fugger built RipplePay, not XRP Fugger’s RipplePay concept dates back to 2004. It focused on payments, IOUs and trust lines between users. It did not operate as a blockchain in the modern crypto sense, and it did not include XRP as a native asset.

Ryan Fugger conceptualized a decentralized payment/settlement network (but without decentralized assets) around 2004, well before bitcoin.

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) June 26, 2026 Schwartz’s answer makes that point clear. He wrote that Fugger conceptualized a decentralized payment and settlement network “but without decentralized assets” around 2004. That means the idea came before Bitcoin, but XRP itself did not.

The official XRP Ledger history page places XRP’s launch in 2012. It says Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto built a distributed ledger that aimed to improve on Bitcoin’s limits. The ledger included a native asset that became XRP.

The XRPL learning portal also says the three developers joined forces in 2011 to create a faster and more scalable digital asset. That timeline puts XRP after Bitcoin, not before it.

XRP origin debate continues online MitchRob later asked whether Satoshi Nakamoto may have drawn any inspiration from Fugger’s earlier concepts. He also asked which network was built with a better framework for payments and settlement.

Schwartz had not answered that follow-up in the provided thread at the time of writing. The question remains speculative because no public evidence in the thread shows that Satoshi used Fugger’s work when designing Bitcoin.

The confusion comes from the Ripple name. Fugger’s RipplePay project came before Bitcoin, while the XRP Ledger came after Bitcoin. Ripple Labs later used the Ripple name, but the technical system behind XRP was built separately.

As previously reported, David Schwartz recently explained his XRP Ledger role after stepping back from daily leadership. The report noted that he remains CTO emeritus and one of XRPL’s co-creators.

XRPL history still matters The debate comes as XRP Ledger development continues. In a previous article, crypto.news discussed Schwartz backing the XRP Ledger 3.2.0 upgrade, which renamed the core server software from rippled to xrpld.

That update moved XRPL further away from older Ripple-branded software names. It also added cleanup fixes for features tied to DeFi tools, vaults, lending, permissioned domains and token functions.

Previously, crypto.news explored XRPL’s growing tokenized finance use cases. Schwartz said XRPL use is expanding from payments into tokenized assets, stablecoins and other financial tools.

The latest exchange does not change XRP’s history. Fugger helped shape an early payment idea before Bitcoin. XRP and XRPL, however, began later as separate code written by Schwartz, McCaleb and Britto.

David Schwartz, who served for many years as Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer and now holds the title of CTO Emeritus, has issued a direct response to longstanding debates over the origins of XRP. Schwartz categorically denied claims that Canadian developer Ryan Fugger created the XRP token.

RipplePay at the center of the debateAt the heart of these claims lies the RipplePay system, established by Fugger in 2004. Launched five years before Bitcoin, RipplePay’s similar name led some in the crypto community to incorrectly credit Fugger as the founder of XRP. In his latest comments, Schwartz emphasized that this perception is not accurate from either a technical or historical perspective.

According to Schwartz, XRP’s true history began in 2012, and any effort to trace a “hidden founder” back to earlier times lacks technical basis.

Schwartz outlined that Fugger’s 2004 RipplePay initiative was an ordinary payment system based on mutual trust between users. This system had neither a blockchain foundation nor a digital coin. The technical underpinnings associated with XRP emerged only in 2012, after Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb acquired the RipplePay platform from Fugger.

Emphasis on building the code from scratchSchwartz explained that the team—later known as OpenCoin and eventually Ripple Labs—acquired RipplePay mainly for its brand value and memorable name, not for its technology. He stressed that the technical infrastructure was completely rebuilt. Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto, and David Schwartz wrote entirely new code to develop the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and XRP token. The consensus is that only the name survived from the old system.

Ripple is widely recognized for its cross-border payment technologies. The XRP Ledger stands out as the open-source, distributed system that supports XRP. Schwartz’s statement was issued as conspiracy theories regarding the origins of XRP resurfaced on social media.

Old patents reignited rumorsSome of these theories cited Schwartz’s distributed computing patent applications filed between 1988 and 1991. These documents have led to periodic speculation that Schwartz could be Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic creator of Bitcoin. Even further, certain XRP supporters have pointed to these patents as supposed evidence that the coin was secretly developed under the influence of the US government.

Mini glossary: Distributed computing refers to systems in which transaction and data processing workloads are shared across multiple computers, rather than being handled by a single central entity. Although this concept shares some similarities with modern blockchain structures, early distributed computing patents alone do not represent a direct foundation for today’s crypto networks.

Schwartz rejected these interpretations, arguing that his late-1980s developments are technologically outdated and unrelated to the modern architecture of XRP Ledger. As he explained, the efforts to link his own patents or Fugger’s earlier project to the birth of XRP simply fit available facts into appealing narratives.

With this recent clarification, Schwartz reaffirmed that XRP’s origins date to 2012. He reiterated that the token’s creation was based on new code and a completely reimagined technical structure; earlier claims to founding are regarded as historical curiosities rather than technically valid arguments.

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.

A conditional national trust bank charter, a pending Federal Reserve master account, and a string of acquisitions in brokerage, payments, and treasury. Ripple is assembling a full regulated-finance stack. The benefits flow first to its stablecoin and the company itself. What is left for XRP is the question.

Summary

Ripple has assembled a full regulated-finance stack: a conditional national trust bank charter, a pending Federal Reserve master account bid, and acquisitions in prime brokerage, payments, and treasury services. The charter and master account primarily benefit RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin, whose reserves would sit under federal and state oversight, not XRP directly. A national trust bank cannot take ordinary deposits or carry federal deposit insurance, so the real prize is direct access to Federal Reserve payment rails and custody of its own stablecoin reserves. For XRP, the benefit is indirect: a more legitimate, bank-grade Ripple strengthens the whole ecosystem and XRP’s role as a bridge asset, but it creates no direct token-demand mechanism. This is the same pattern that defined XRP through 2026, in which Ripple’s wins flow first to the company and RLUSD, with the token benefiting slowly, if at all. Ripple is turning itself into a bank, or something very close to one, and it is doing it methodically.

Over the past year the company won conditional federal approval to operate a national trust bank, applied for a Federal Reserve master account that would give it direct access to the central bank’s payment systems, and bought its way into prime brokerage, payments, and corporate treasury services through a series of acquisitions.

Add the dollar stablecoin it already issues, the 70-plus regulatory licenses it holds around the world, and a fresh European license that lets it passport services across 30 countries, and the picture is unmistakable.

A company once known mainly for a cross-border payments network and a controversial token is assembling the full apparatus of a regulated financial institution.

For XRP holders, who have watched the token grind sideways near a dollar through a year of Ripple triumphs, the natural question is what all of this means for them.

The honest answer is more complicated, and more sobering, than the headlines suggest, because almost every piece of Ripple’s banking build benefits the company and its stablecoin first, and the token only indirectly.

This piece works through Ripple’s transformation into a regulated financial institution and what it actually delivers for XRP. It covers the banking stack Ripple is assembling, what a national trust bank can and cannot do, the real prize of a Federal Reserve master account, why the charter is mostly a stablecoin story, what genuinely accrues to XRP, the bull case within the bank build, and what holders should watch.

The goal is to separate the real significance of Ripple becoming a bank, which is considerable for the company, from the wishful assumption that everything good for Ripple is automatically good for the token, which 2026 has repeatedly shown to be false.

A payments company is turning into a financial institution Take the full measure of what Ripple has built, because the strategy only becomes clear when you see the pieces together.

The foundation is a conditional charter to operate a national trust bank, granted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal regulator that supervises national banks. The OCC conditionally approved Ripple National Trust Bank alongside other crypto firms in a broader wave of national trust bank approvals.

That federal approval matters because it moves Ripple deeper into the regulated banking perimeter without turning it into an ordinary retail bank.

A subsequent rule expanded what such trust banks are allowed to do, turning what would have been a narrow custody license into something with real operational scope, including digital-asset custody, stablecoin reserve management, and certain payment services.

On top of the charter, a Ripple subsidiary applied for a Federal Reserve master account, the account that would connect Ripple directly to the central bank’s payment rails.

And around that regulatory core, Ripple has been buying capabilities: a prime brokerage, a payments business, and a corporate treasury-services firm, each acquisition adding a piece of the institutional-finance stack.

Layer in the rest and the ambition is obvious. Ripple issues a dollar-pegged stablecoin that has grown past $1 billion in market value.

It holds dozens of regulatory licenses across jurisdictions, and it recently secured preliminary European authorization that lets it offer regulated services across the entire European Economic Area.

That is where Ripple’s European license fits into the larger build. The company is not only chasing U.S. banking access; it is trying to make its regulated-finance stack portable across major markets.

Taken individually, any one of these is a notable corporate step. Taken together, they describe a single, coherent strategy: to become the institutional infrastructure layer for crypto-native finance.

Ripple wants to be a regulated entity that banks and corporations can trust to custody assets, manage stablecoin reserves, settle payments, and connect to both the traditional financial system and the blockchain world.

Ripple is not dabbling in banking. It is building a bank-grade financial institution deliberately, piece by piece.

The question for a token holder is where, in all of this carefully assembled machinery, XRP actually fits.

What a national trust bank is, and what it is not Before assessing what the charter means for XRP, it is worth being precise about what a national trust bank actually is, because the word “bank” carries connotations the charter does not deliver.

A national trust bank is not a retail bank. It cannot take ordinary deposits, cannot offer checking or savings accounts, and does not carry federal deposit insurance, the protection that backs ordinary bank deposits.

What it can do is custody assets, provide fiduciary and trust services, manage reserves, and, under the expanded rule, handle digital-asset custody and certain payment-related functions.

Headlines that say “Ripple becomes a bank” are gesturing at something real, but they compress away an important distinction.

That distinction matters for understanding the charter’s purpose. Ripple’s trust bank exists primarily to serve Ripple’s stablecoin business.

Its core planned function is to custody and manage the reserve assets that back the stablecoin, which today are held through a separate trust entity, and to provide custody to institutional clients.

By bringing reserve management in-house under a federal charter, Ripple gains tighter control, removes reliance on third-party custodians, and obtains a regulatory standing that few stablecoin issuers can match: oversight at both the federal level, through the national chartering regulator, and the state level, through New York’s financial regulator.

That dual supervision is a genuine selling point to institutions weighing whether to trust Ripple’s rails.

This is also why the fight over trust charters matters. Senator Elizabeth Warren and banking groups have challenged the idea that crypto firms with OCC trust charters should be treated like bank-grade institutions, arguing that they could act like crypto banks without the same restrictions.

NEW: Sen. Elizabeth Warren joins banks to challenge Ripple and other crypto firms with OCC trust charters. Claims they act as crypto banks avoiding regulatory obligations pic.twitter.com/ojuHDUd73U

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) May 28, 2026 The crypto industry has pushed back. The Digital Chamber called on the OCC to uphold crypto trust bank charters for firms including Coinbase, Ripple, Circle, and BitGo, arguing that the charters are part of bringing digital assets into regulated finance rather than keeping them outside it.

NEW: Digital Chamber calls on OCC to uphold crypto trust bank charters for Coinbase, Ripple, Circle and BitGo against Sen. Warren’s claim of banking law violations pic.twitter.com/qBLrmTOD14

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) May 27, 2026 But notice what the trust bank does not do. It does not custody XRP for the benefit of XRP holders, does not create any obligation to buy or hold the token, and does not make XRP a bank deposit or a regulated bank instrument.

It is, at its heart, infrastructure for the stablecoin, which is the recurring theme of Ripple’s entire banking build.

The real prize: a Federal Reserve master account The most consequential piece of Ripple’s banking strategy is the one furthest from being secured: a Federal Reserve master account.

A master account is the account a financial institution holds directly with the central bank, and it is the gateway to the core of the financial system.

It allows direct settlement through the central bank’s payment networks, the same rails the largest banks use, and direct access to base money rather than balances held at a commercial bank.

For a stablecoin issuer, the prize is enormous. With a master account, Ripple could hold the reserves backing its stablecoin directly at the central bank, the safest possible place, eliminating the counterparty risk of relying on private banks and giving institutions far greater confidence in the stablecoin’s solvency and redemption safety.

That is why custody and reserve safety matters so much in this story. Stablecoins are only as trusted as the assets backing them, the institutions holding those assets, and the transparency around redemption.

The catch is that no crypto-native firm has ever received full access of this kind on ordinary terms, and the bar is extraordinarily high.

The central bank has historically been reluctant to extend master accounts to non-traditional institutions. Uninsured trust banks face the most stringent levels of review, and previous attempts by crypto-adjacent firms to win access have often failed or taken years.

Ripple’s subsidiary has applied, and the application remains pending, with no public timeline and no clear signal of when or whether the central bank will act.

Approval would be genuinely transformative. It would mark a deeper integration between a crypto-native company and the core U.S. financial system, and it would dramatically strengthen the institutional credibility of RLUSD.

Ripple, Circle receive conditional national bank charter approvals from OCC

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) December 12, 2025 But it is far from assured. Even in the optimistic case, the direct beneficiary is again the stablecoin and the company’s settlement capabilities, not the token.

A master account would let Ripple hold stablecoin reserves at the central bank and settle through its rails. It would not, by itself, create demand for XRP.

The prize is real, and the prize is mostly about everything except the token.

Why this is mostly a stablecoin story Step back and a clear pattern emerges from every piece of Ripple’s banking build: it is, overwhelmingly, a stablecoin story.

The trust charter exists primarily to custody and manage stablecoin reserves. The master account, if granted, would primarily benefit the stablecoin by letting its reserves sit at the central bank.

The European license primarily expands where Ripple can offer regulated payment and stablecoin services. The acquisitions in brokerage, payments, and treasury primarily build out an institutional settlement and services business in which the stablecoin is the natural cash leg.

Ripple’s dollar stablecoin has grown past $1 billion, expanded across multiple blockchains, and won approvals in multiple jurisdictions. The banking apparatus is being constructed largely to support and legitimize it.

That is why the RLUSD the bank serves is the center of the story. A stablecoin is useful to institutions precisely because it is designed to hold a steady dollar value while moving across crypto rails.

Ripple’s own reserve-transparency page also shows why this matters. The company is trying to make RLUSD look less like an experimental crypto product and more like a regulated dollar instrument with transparent backing, regular attestations, and bank-grade custody.

This is the same dynamic that defined XRP through 2026, when Ripple’s marquee bank deals and settlement milestones ran through its stablecoin and ledger while the token captured little beyond a negligible network fee.

As previously reported, this is why Ripple wins bypass the token. Ripple can deepen its institutional footprint while XRP still waits for direct, measurable token demand.

The banking build is that dynamic taken to its logical conclusion. Ripple is constructing a regulated financial institution whose central purpose is to make its stablecoin the most trusted, most institutionally credible dollar token in the market, and to build a settlement and custody business around it.

XRP is part of the broader ecosystem, but it is not the thing the bank is for.

A holder hoping that the charter, the master account bid, and the acquisitions would translate into direct demand for the token is, once again, watching the wrong variable.

The value of all this machinery flows first to Ripple the company and to the stablecoin it is built to serve, exactly as Ripple’s own communications have acknowledged in noting that the banking progress is unlikely to move the token’s price directly or immediately.

So what do XRP holders actually get? If the bank build is mostly about the stablecoin, the fair question is whether XRP holders get anything at all.

The honest answer is yes, but indirectly and slowly. The benefit to XRP runs through legitimacy and ecosystem strength rather than any direct mechanism.

As Ripple becomes a regulated, bank-grade financial institution, the entire ecosystem it anchors gains credibility in the eyes of the banks and corporations Ripple wants as customers.

A more trusted Ripple makes every part of its stack, including the ledger on which XRP lives and the role XRP can play, more palatable to institutional users.

The argument, which Ripple and many holders make, is that demand for one asset in an ecosystem can lift others in the same stack, and that a Ripple wired into the core of the financial system is a Ripple better positioned to drive real-world use of XRP as a bridge asset over time.

This indirect benefit is not nothing, and it would be a mistake to dismiss it. XRP’s most plausible long-term role is as a bridge asset that moves value between currencies in settlement.

A Ripple with a federal charter, a master account, and a credible institutional settlement business is a Ripple with more opportunities to route that kind of settlement in ways that touch the token.

But the benefit is conditional, gradual, and unguaranteed, three qualities that make it very different from the direct, immediate boost holders often hope for.

XRP does not become a bank deposit, a stablecoin, or a regulated instrument through any of this. It remains a separate, volatile asset whose demand depends on whether Ripple’s growing institutional infrastructure eventually channels real settlement volume through it.

The competing path is obvious: the same settlement volume could instead keep flowing through RLUSD, which is better suited to settlement precisely because it does not move in price.

The banking build improves the odds that Ripple can win regulated institutional business someday. It does not make that business flow through XRP now, and it does not create token demand on its own.

The bull case within the bank build In fairness to the optimistic view, there is a coherent bull case for XRP buried inside Ripple’s banking transformation, and it deserves a clear statement.

The strongest version goes like this: Ripple is methodically removing every reason an institution might hesitate to build on its rails.

The charter answers the custody and reserve-management question. The master account, if granted, answers the reserve-safety question at the highest possible level.

The acquisitions answer the brokerage, payments, and treasury questions. The licenses answer the regulatory question across jurisdictions.

As those barriers fall one by one, Ripple becomes a place where serious institutions can conduct serious volume. In a world where Ripple is running large-scale regulated settlement, the case for using XRP as the neutral bridge asset between currencies strengthens, because the infrastructure to do it at scale finally exists and is trusted.

Pair that with the token’s other tailwinds, including the regulatory clarity from its resolved legal status, the spot exchange-traded funds gathering assets, and the prospect of federal legislation codifying its commodity classification, and the bull case becomes clearer.

That is where the legislation that could codify XRP fits in. If the CLARITY Act turns XRP’s commodity treatment into durable federal law, it could make institutions more comfortable using the token where it has a genuine settlement role.

In that version of the future, XRP sits inside a maturing, increasingly bank-grade ecosystem at exactly the moment that ecosystem becomes capable of institutional-scale activity.

If even a fraction of the settlement flowing through a fully built-out Ripple touches XRP as a bridge, the demand could be meaningful, and it would arrive on top of a token that has already cleared its regulatory hurdles.

This is a real argument, and it is why the banking build is truly good news for the long-term XRP thesis even though it is not a direct catalyst.

The caveat, as always, is the word “if.” The bull case depends on Ripple choosing and managing to route settlement through the token rather than through the stablecoin, and the entire pattern of 2026 suggests the stablecoin keeps winning that role.

The infrastructure being built is real. Whether XRP is wired into it is the open question.

What XRP holders should watch For a holder trying to judge whether Ripple’s banking transformation will ever translate into token demand, the analysis points to a few specific signals worth tracking, none of which is another charter or acquisition headline.

The first is the Federal Reserve master account decision.

If granted, it would be a landmark for Ripple and the stablecoin, and it would mark the company’s deepest integration into the financial system. Over time, that expands the surface area where XRP could be used.

If denied, a key piece of the institutional thesis stalls.

Either way, it is the most consequential pending item, and its outcome shapes everything downstream.

The second and more important signal is whether XRP actually appears in the settlement flows of Ripple’s bank-grade business, as opposed to the stablecoin doing all the work.

This is the variable that decides the entire question. If Ripple’s institutional settlement increasingly routes through XRP as a bridge asset, generating real, recurring token demand, then the banking build will finally have reached the token.

If, as has been the pattern, the stablecoin carries the settlement while XRP captures only a fee, then the bank is a Ripple and stablecoin story with XRP riding the halo of legitimacy but not the flows.

The third signal is the broader regulatory picture, particularly whether federal legislation codifies XRP’s status, which would compound the legitimacy the banking build provides.

The honest synthesis is that Ripple becoming a bank is a major, genuine achievement that strengthens the company, the stablecoin, and the long-term credibility of the whole ecosystem.

For XRP specifically, it improves the odds without delivering the goods.

The token’s payoff depends on a future choice, to run regulated settlement through XRP, that Ripple has not yet shown it will make.

Until it does, the bank is being built for everything except the token, and the token, as it has all year, waits.

Frequently asked questions Is Ripple actually becoming a bank? Sort of, but with important caveats. Ripple won conditional federal approval to operate a national trust bank and applied for a Federal Reserve master account, and it has acquired prime brokerage, payments, and treasury businesses. But a national trust bank is not a retail bank: it cannot take ordinary deposits, offer checking or savings accounts, or carry federal deposit insurance. It is a specialized institution for custody, fiduciary services, and reserve management. So Ripple is building a bank-grade regulated financial institution, but one focused on custody and stablecoin reserves instead of traditional deposit-taking banking.

What is the Federal Reserve master account and why does it matter? A master account is an account held directly with the central bank, giving direct access to its payment rails and to base money, the same access the largest banks have. For Ripple, it would let the company hold its stablecoin’s reserves directly at the central bank, the safest possible location, eliminating reliance on private banks and boosting institutional confidence in the stablecoin. No crypto-native firm has ever been granted full access of this kind on ordinary terms, the review is stringent, and Ripple’s application is pending with no timeline. Approval would be transformative for the company and stablecoin, though not a direct catalyst for XRP.

Does Ripple’s banking push help XRP? Indirectly and gradually, not directly. The charter and master account primarily benefit Ripple’s stablecoin, whose reserves they would custody and secure. XRP does not become a deposit, a stablecoin, or a regulated instrument. The benefit to XRP runs through legitimacy: a bank-grade Ripple strengthens the whole ecosystem and improves the odds that XRP is eventually used as a bridge asset in regulated settlement. But that is conditional and slow, not the direct demand boost holders often hope for, and Ripple itself has acknowledged the banking progress is unlikely to move the token’s price immediately.

Why does the stablecoin benefit more than XRP? Because the entire banking build is designed around the stablecoin. The trust charter exists mainly to custody and manage stablecoin reserves. The master account, if granted, would let those reserves sit at the central bank. The acquisitions build a settlement business in which the stablecoin is the natural cash leg. A stablecoin is suited to settlement precisely because it holds a steady value, while XRP’s volatility makes it less suitable for that role. So Ripple’s regulated infrastructure naturally channels value to the stablecoin, with XRP benefiting only as part of the broader, more credible ecosystem.

What is the bull case for XRP in all this? The bull case is that Ripple is methodically removing every reason an institution might hesitate to use its rails, through the charter, the master account bid, the acquisitions, and the licenses. As those barriers fall, Ripple becomes capable of large-scale regulated settlement, and the case for using XRP as a neutral bridge asset between currencies strengthens because the trusted infrastructure to do it finally exists. Combined with XRP’s regulatory clarity, its ETFs, and possible federal legislation, the bull case is that XRP sits inside a maturing, bank-grade ecosystem just as that ecosystem becomes capable of institutional-scale activity. The caveat is whether settlement actually routes through XRP instead of the stablecoin.

What should XRP holders watch next? Three things. First, the Federal Reserve master account decision, which would mark Ripple’s deepest integration into the financial system and expand where XRP could be used, or stall a key part of the thesis if denied. Second, and most important, whether XRP actually appears in the settlement flows of Ripple’s institutional business, generating real token demand, as opposed to the stablecoin doing all the work. Third, the broader regulatory picture, especially whether federal legislation codifies XRP’s commodity status. The token’s payoff depends on Ripple choosing to route regulated settlement through XRP, a choice it has not yet shown it will make.

This article is information, not investment advice. Cryptocurrency is volatile, and regulatory approvals, corporate plans, and figures reflect reporting available as of June 26, 2026, which can change quickly. Verify current data from primary sources before making any decision.

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is poised to welcome a new generation of lending and yield products as its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem continues its rapid expansion. 

Ripple executive J. Ayo Akinyele has provided a detailed clarification regarding the upcoming Lending Protocol v1.1. 

Akinyele explicitly stated that v1.1 is an enhancement to the existing protocol, rather than a replacement for v1.0, and emphasized that developers have no reason to hold off on utilizing v1.0 today.

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"The protocol works as designed," Akinyele noted, explaining that the v1.1 update simply introduces refinements and added flexibility driven by feedback from the ecosystem and the long-term vision for lending on the XRPL.

Version 1.1 will ship as a separate amendment that extends the existing protocol. The previous will not be deprecated, meaning supporting it now allows institutions and developers to deploy lending applications and use cases directly on the mainnet.

"The protocol works as designed. v1.1 enhances it: refinements and added flexibility driven by ecosystem feedback and where we want lending on XRPL to go. It ships as a separate amendment that extends the existing protocol. v1.0 will not be deprecated, and supporting it now will enable institutions and developers to deploy lending applications and use cases on mainnet," he said. 

The activation of v1.1 will follow the standard amendment process, meaning there is no dependency requiring users to wait for it before acting on v1.0. Each amendment will be reviewed on its own merits by validators on their normal cadence.

SOIL eyes first application After the news of the protocol's development, another Ripple executive confirmed that a new wave of lending and yield products is officially coming to the network.

SOIL, a prominent protocol known for offering institutional lending services using USDC, RLUSD, and XRP, has officially announced its plans to integrate the XRPL Lending Protocol alongside SAV. The firm is positioning itself to become the first application to leverage these native features, which could potentially introduce an entirely new category of yield-generation products directly to the XRP Ledger.

To facilitate this new phase of lending services, the firm has proposed the activation of specific technical standards in the near future. Most notably, this includes the XLS-65 and XLS-66 standards, which are expected to be activated as soon as possible to ensure the lending upgrade is effectively deployed across the network.

TLDR: Binance’s XRP Perpetual-Spot Volume Imbalance Z-Score sits near neutral at 0.17, within normal historical range. XRP dropped over 3.3% in 24 hours to $1.049 as tech stock declines triggered over $1 billion in crypto liquidations. Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin launched on SBI VC Trade in Japan, becoming the first regulated listing with zero fees. Spot XRP ETFs recorded $31.32 million in June net inflows, well below May’s record high of $132 million. Binance’s XRP Perpetual-Spot Volume Imbalance Z-Score is holding near neutral at approximately 0.17, according to the latest on-chain data.

The reading reflects that the gap between perpetual and spot trading volumes remains within a historically normal range.

XRP is trading near $1.02 as of this writing, down over 4.4% in 24 hours amid a broad crypto market selloff. Despite the price drop, derivatives market activity has not shown signs of excessive speculative buildup.

Z-Score Stability Points to Measured Derivatives Positioning The Volume Imbalance indicator on Binance measures the difference between perpetual and spot trading volumes for XRP.

The current reading stands at approximately 0.51, with the 30-day Z-Score sitting near 0.17. That figure places the current imbalance well within the range of normal activity relative to the past month.

Source: CryptoQuant

Perpetual trading continues to dominate XRP market activity, but the margin of dominance remains unremarkable.

The Z-Score has moved through notable swings over the past several months. During price rallies in April and May, perpetual volumes expanded sharply, widening the gap above spot market activity on several occasions.

As XRP’s price retreated and speculative interest eased, the indicator pulled back toward balanced levels. The 30-day Z-Score then stabilized near zero before settling at its current modest positive reading.

A Z-Score of 0.17 indicates the present level of perpetual dominance is not exceptional. It falls broadly in line with average derivatives activity recorded over the past month.

There is no evidence of the kind of leverage buildup that typically precedes sharp price swings or large-scale liquidation events. At the same time, the reading does not suggest any notable drop in trader participation across derivatives markets.

The data paints a picture of cautious, measured positioning in XRP derivatives at this stage. Traders appear to be adjusting exposure gradually rather than piling into directional bets.

That behavior is consistent with a market navigating a broad selloff without taking on outsized risk. The Z-Score’s proximity to neutral reflects that restraint across Binance’s XRP derivatives market.

Market Context: Selloff and Ecosystem Developments XRP’s decline of over 4.4% in 24 hours came alongside a broader crypto market selloff driven by falling technology stocks.

Over $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated during the period across the market. The price pressure pushed XRP to approximately $1.02, compounding recent weakness in the token.

Despite the turbulence, Binance’s derivatives data has not shown a corresponding spike in speculative activity.

Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin launched in Japan through SBI VC Trade, the first Japanese exchange to list the asset. The listing is fully regulated and carries zero fees, going live immediately upon approval.

X Finance Bull noted on X that the Japan listing continues opening regulatory doors for the broader Ripple ecosystem.

JUST IN 🚨 RLUSD on Japan now.

Is $XRP for settlement next?

SBI VC Trade became the first Japanese exchange to list Ripple's stablecoin, fully regulated, zero fees, live today.

Japan keeps opening doors for the Ripple ecosystem one piece at a time.pic.twitter.com/IT9nYBpz1g https://t.co/SfemaHq3N2

— X Finance Bull (@Xfinancebull) June 24, 2026

RLUSD also surpassed Ethereum in circulating supply, adding to the milestone’s weight despite subdued XRP price action.

Spot XRP ETFs recorded $31.32 million in net inflows during June, per SoSoValue data. That figure trails May’s record of $132 million in net inflows by a wide margin.

Still, the ongoing institutional interest reflected in ETF flows contrasts with the short-term price weakness. Cumulative inflows into spot XRP ETF products have exceeded $1.43 billion since their November 2025 launch.

The combination of a neutral Z-Score, modest ETF inflows, and active ecosystem expansion gives a layered picture of XRP’s current market state.

Price performance has weakened amid macro-driven selling pressure. However, derivatives positioning on Binance remains measured, and the broader Ripple infrastructure continues to grow.

The Z-Score’s stability near 0.17 suggests traders are not amplifying the selloff through excessive leveraged exposure.

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.

TL;DR 

XRP on-chain map points to $0.51: Key support at $1.06 holds 830M+ coins; a breakdown targets $0.80, $0.62, and $0.51 where 1.06B XRP cost basis is concentrated.Dormant 2024 whale moves $2.5 million in SHIB: 600 billion tokens routed through OTC-linked smart contracts; over $20M moved via similar channels in the past month amid a 23% price drop.Singapore adds Hyperliquid to investor alert list: Project insists no rules were broken; Multicoin's Kyle Samani accuses the team of misrepresenting decentralization; Bitwise CEO backs its fundamentals.Bitcoin tests $58,000 as Q2 concludes: $900 million in liquidations, seven weeks of ETF outflows at $1.34B, hawkish Fed wipes out Q3 rate cut hopes.On-chain roadmap plots XRP trajectory down to $0.51As the crypto market tries to find solid ground, well-known analyst Ali Martinez shared fresh Glassnode on-chain data on XRP, clearly showing where buyers are hiding and what traders should prepare for. Through the URPD metric, or realized price distribution, he effectively drew a roadmap for the market that, in the event of a decline, leads straight to the $0.51 mark.

Right now, the coin is undergoing a tough strength test, attacking a major volume block at $1.06. Investors should watch this level closely: more than 830 million XRP changed hands there in the past, so this threshold may define the trend for the coming weeks. If it holds, XRP may move higher; a close below it would open the door to a prolonged correction.

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XRP's UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD), Source: Ali Martinez citing GlassnodeIf bears do manage to break through this defense, the transaction history chart points to three main zones where billion-scale volumes were previously accumulated and where the price is likely to be bought most aggressively:

$0.80 — the first stop on the way down, where 923 million XRP was historically traded.$0.62 — the densest liquidity node, with an impressive turnover of 1.16 billion XRP.$0.51 — the final and strongest support target, which could become an ideal bottom. The cost basis of 1.06 billion coins is concentrated here, making this level a key reference point for smart money.Bottom line: the blockchain shows a clear picture — major players have already marked their price interests with real capital. XRP's next move will depend on whether the market has enough liquidity to hold the current psychological barrier or whether a gradual descent toward long-term accumulation levels is ahead.

2024 whale awakens: $2.5 million in SHIB on the moveAt the same time, on-chain monitoring recorded a large movement of funds on the Shiba Inu network. A major holder that had been inactive since 2024 transferred 600 billion SHIB tokens worth $2.51 million, as Arkham data indicates.

Behind this transfer is a chain of several addresses. The original wallet, "0x34596…", sent a tranche of 486.98 billion SHIB through an intermediate address to the "0x3Ece6…" hub, where the funds were merged with other flows and redirected to the final address, "0x9999f…". As a result, the recipient's balance accumulated more than $3.24 million in SHIB and stablecoins.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) from 2024 whale being tunneled through the chain of unidentified wallets, Source: ArkhamThe transaction structure itself points to the involvement of large players rather than retail traders. The sending hub regularly processes billion-token blocks, from 113 billion to 1.25 trillion SHIB, through ForwarderV4 smart contracts. This node can be linked to the infrastructure of over-the-counter, or OTC, desks or market makers providing liquidity for Binance and OKX.

This transfer fits into the broader trend of large holders locking in positions. Over the past month alone, more than 3.8 trillion SHIB, or about $20 million, has been moved through similar on-chain channels. The capital movement is taking place against the backdrop of a local decline in the meme token's value: over the past 30 days, SHIB has lost about 23% of its value and is trading near $0.0000042.

The use of OTC channels allows large players to move volume without direct pressure on exchange order books. However, the trend of funds being moved out still forces the market to remain cautious.

Singapore takes aim at HyperliquidAn even bigger surprise, however, was the decision by Singapore's regulator, MAS, to add the DeFi protocol Hyperliquid to its Investor Alert List, or IAL, which is designed to protect consumers from unlicensed entities.

The Hyperliquid team quickly clarified the situation and tried to calm the market. There is no panic, because inclusion on this list does not mean a ban, enforcement action, or identified violations. The project was originally created as open, permissionless infrastructure and never claimed to be authorized by MAS, so users still retain full self-custody, while all transactions continue to pass transparently through the blockchain as usual.

Moreover, Hyperliquid emphasized its willingness to work constructively with regulators around the world to help create clear rules for on-chain finance.

Nevertheless, the platform's public statement triggered criticism from professional market participants over its terminology. Well-known investor Kyle Samani of Multicoin sharply criticized the platform's statement and directly accused the team of gaslighting the industry. 

Hyperliquid is not permissionless. Stop gaslighting the public

Being permissionless would require, at the very least

1) being open source
2) mainnet validators operating around the world as opposed to in a single building

— Kyle Samani (@KyleSamani) June 26, 2026 According to him, Hyperliquid simply has no right to call itself "permissionless" while the project's source code is closed and its mainnet validators are physically located almost in the same building instead of being distributed around the world.

Against this wave of criticism, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley unexpectedly came to the defense of the protocol's business model, urging skeptics to look at the situation more broadly. 

Horsley believes the era of tying value to the relative market capitalization of Bitcoin or Ethereum has passed. A new generation of platforms is emerging, where real products, revenue, fees, and the volume of tokens held by users matter. By these fundamental metrics, Hyperliquid has enormous value.

Crypto market outlook: Bitcoin holds the line at $58,000 as Q2 pressure peaksBitcoin is testing the psychological $58,000–$60,000 zone as the market remains overloaded with selling pressure. Quarter-end positioning, ETF loss-taking, and tough U.S. macro data have all converged. Excessive margin leverage has been washed out by a wave of liquidations, sentiment has moved into deep risk-off mode, but the technical removal of the derivatives overhang opens a window for stabilization.

Key checkpoints:

Bitcoin price: Bitcoin is testing a local low at $58,100. The current spot range is trapped within a daily decline of 5.81%. A sustained move below $58,000 would open the way to a strong order block at $54,000.ETF outflows at $1.34 billion: Funds are recording their seventh week of net outflows. BlackRock's IBIT saw $265.2 million withdrawn in one day. The secondary hit is coming from Ethereum ETFs, which have been losing liquidity for six consecutive days, with $81.87 million in outflows as of June 25.Liquidations at $900 million: A cascade of forced long-position closures occurred as the price was squeezed toward $58,000. The derivatives market has been fully cleared of speculative leverage, and open interest has fallen to multi-month lows.Macro and PCE inflation: The U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures index exceeded the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Hawkish rhetoric from the Fed's new leadership wiped out the chances of a rate cut in Q3, triggering a capital shift into U.S. Treasuries.$10.6 billion options expiry: Quarterly Deribit options expired today at 16:00 UTC+4. Around 80% of call positions expired out of the money, as the price remained far from the maximum pain point of $72,000. Market makers completed their hedging.MiCA on June 30: Four days remain before strict EU rules come into force. Binance is reducing operations in Greece and several eurozone countries. A local sell-off in altcoins and unauthorized stablecoins by European retail investors is being observed. You Might Also Like

XRP is facing fresh selling pressure, with its price dropping close to the $1 psychological level and sparking a long liquidation frenzy.

XRP has continued to slide lower in the past 24 hours. It fell deeper than Bitcoin and other large-cap altcoins during this period, except for Ethereum.

The asset is down 4%, only lower than Ether’s 5.4% in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. XRP slumped to a low of $1.008 before buyers stepped in to spark a rebound to $1.036. Now, bulls are fighting to keep the $1 psychological price mark, as the dip is the closest XRP has come to breaking below this level.

XRP Correction Spikes Long Liquidation As expected, leveraged long positions suffered severe losses. Amid the 4% drop, $43.18 million worth of XRP bull bets were liquidated from the market. This accounted for 97% of the total XRP positions forced to exit the market in the past 24 hours.

The total figure is $44.3 million, with XRP short positions accounting for just $1.13 million.

Notably, this trend temporarily changed in the past 4 hours, as shorts dominated XRP liquidations. Out of the $398,100 leveraged positions wiped out, $325,470 were shorts, and just $72,620 belonged to longs. This change aligned with the period where XRP rebounded from the intraday low to its current price, wrecking late shorts.

XRP Liquidations/Coinglass Meanwhile, in the past hour, the market has returned to hunting long positions as they top the liquidation chart again. Specifically, $56,510 in long liquidations of the total $56,530 tells the whole story.

The XRP liquidation is just a fraction of the total positions wiped out from the broader crypto market. Over the past 24 hours, $1.09 billion worth of positions have been forcefully closed, with $846 million being long positions and $244 million short positions.

XRP Dip Buying Efforts Amid the dip, market users appear to be accumulating. The Coinglass XRP spot flows show that outflows have surpassed inflows to exchanges, indicating withdrawals from platforms where XRP is easily sold to third-party and self-custody wallets.

Inflows stood at $159.9 million and outflows at $167.8 million. This means that a net of $7.85 million left crypto exchanges in the past 24 hours, culminating in about 7.62 million XRP tokens at the current market price.

XRP Spot Flows/Coinglass Nonetheless, the dip buying is not supported by futures enthusiasm. The growing liquidation has forced a cautious stance among derivative traders, with open interest dropping 8.7% to $2.3 billion. Futures flows also reflect this trend, with outflows surpassing inflows by $44 million in the past 24 hours.

Key Supports as $1 Grip Is Loosening With bears consistently testing the $1 support, their persistence could pay off, especially if the current market conditions endure. Per the UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD), XRP recently broke the $1.06 support, where over 830 million XRP changed hands.

For the uninitiated, the URPD metric measures the amount of an asset’s supply last moved at a particular price. The higher the volume moved, the more significant a level becomes, offering either support or resistance, depending on the price direction.

According to the URPD, the next core support level is $0.80, where wallets transacted 923 million XRP. After this is the $0.62 level, with 1.16 billion XRP moved there. A deeper correction could take XRP to $0.51, where 1.06 billion XRP changed hands.

XRP URPD Supports per Ali Martinez 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.

Ethereum has been striving to hold its ground in the crucial support zone between $1,584 and $1,683 in recent days. Market analysts note that if ETH manages to sustain this level, bullish momentum could strengthen. On the other hand, a break below this band may pave the way for further selling pressure and deepen the correction.

Attention fixed on a key support zoneApproximately 4 million ETH changed hands in the spotlighted price range, turning this area into a technically significant support region. If Ethereum posts a daily close above $1,683, buyers could gain the upper hand, setting their sights on the next supply zones—$1,980 and $2,079.

A daily close above $1,683 could bolster the bullish outlook and lift the price toward the $1,980 to $2,079 range.

Conversely, a dip below $1,584 could undermine the existing technical structure, drawing attention to lower demand areas near $1,237 and $1,089. In this scenario, the market could once again focus on the psychologically significant $1,000 region.

In the short term, daily closes are expected to serve as the key indicator of direction. Whether buyers can defend this high-activity zone, or sellers seize control, will play a crucial role in determining the next move for ETH’s price.

Long term resistance remains a hurdleAt the time of reporting, ETH traded close to $1,573, remaining within the broader accumulation range between $1,400 and $1,700. Despite this, Ethereum still lingers below the long-term descending resistance line, keeping the overall trend under downward pressure.

Analysis points out that the pullback, which commenced after the 2025 peak, has added importance to this region. If buyers fail to protect the current zone, the bearish pattern could not only persist but potentially intensify. In that case, the $1,200 mark may again come into play.

As one of the largest blockchain networks for smart contracts and decentralized applications, Ethereum’s sharp price movements capture the attention of both the ETH market and a wider set of altcoin investors.

Ethereum continues to trade below both the long-term descending resistance line and the strong moving average resistance near the $2,332 level.

The main moving average resistance around $2,332 stands out as one of the most significant barriers to upward movement. According to market observers, overcoming the descending trend line and reclaiming this level could open the door to a more robust recovery for Ethereum.

For the time being, technical indicators suggest that caution still prevails. As long as ETH fails to rise above long-term resistance levels, broader macro pressures persist and downside risks in the market have not been eliminated.

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.

XRP Sinks Deeper as the Psychological $1 Mark Comes Into Play

Trading of the DRAM memory ETF is now available on the Solana blockchain, with its holdings covering Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and SanDisk.

Jupiter official announcement: Trading of Roundhill Memory ETF (ticker: DRAM) is now supported on the Solana blockchain, with its holdings covering Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and SanDisk.

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At the opening of US stock markets, AI application software stocks rose against the trend, with ServiceNow and Figma climbing more than 5%.

According to Bitget market data, AI software stocks in the US market rose against the trend at opening. ServiceNow (NOW.US) and Figma Inc (FIG.US) jumped more than 5%, while Palantir (PLTR.US), Adobe (ADBE.US), Workday (WDAY.US), Salesforce (CRM.US), and Datadog (DDOG.US) gained over 3%, and Microsoft (MSFT.US) rose by more than 2%. Microsoft has hiked Xbox prices three times in 13 months, and stated that storage component costs will double next year.

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According to Bitget market data, most US space concept stocks advanced at the opening of US stock trading. Specifically: SpaceX (SPCX) slipped 0.75% to $151.8; Virgin Galactic (SPCE) gained 8%; AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rose 3.45%; Rocket Lab (RKLB) added 4%; Redwire (RDW) gained 1.9%.

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According to Bitget market data, US stocks opened with broad declines in optical communication concept stocks, including: Pure Photonics ETF (FOTO) fell 5.7%; Marvell Technology (MRVL) — a stock NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang previously touted as the next trillion-dollar market cap company — dropped 6.1%; AAOI (Applied Optoelectronics) fell 7.1%; LITE (Lumentum Holdings) dropped 8.86%; COHR (Coherent Corp.) declined 8.4%; and CIEN (Ciena Corporation) fell 4.75%.

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US stocks opened with all three major indices in the red, with semiconductor and storage sectors plunging; Micron and SanDisk fell more than 5%.

According to Bitget market data, the three major US stock indexes all fell at opening: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.44%, the S&P 500 declined 0.67%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1%. The semiconductor and storage sectors saw broad declines, with individual stocks performing as follows: NVIDIA (NVDA) dropped 1.56%; Intel (INTC) fell 3.5%; Broadcom (AVGO) declined 2.5%; Qualcomm (QCOM) fell 0.4%; Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 5.78%; Western Digital (WDC) fell 7%; SanDisk (SNDK) declined 7.5%; Micron Technology (MU) dropped 5.4%.

2 minutes ago

@BlackRock has deposited an additional 4,577 $BTC and 41,996 $ETH into Coinbase Prime, valued at approximately $337.2 million, continuing a notable pattern of large crypto transfers to the institutional platform.

Part of a Larger Wave of Transfers The latest deposit follows a significant $611 million liquidity transfer executed earlier in the week. Over that prior 48-hour period, BlackRock moved a total of 7,160 $BTC and 98,850 $ETH to wallet addresses on Coinbase Prime, with a combined value of approximately $611 million based on asset prices at the time. Those earlier tokens were transferred across multiple wallet addresses in three separate batches of large $BTC transfers and a single transfer carrying over 51,000 $ETH.

The market is interpreting the activity as tied to ETF fund flows and is watching future net inflows and outflows closely. The moves have sparked mixed reactions among investors, though the pattern has become familiar and is often expected during periods when BlackRock's ETF products are witnessing net outflows.

What the Transfers May Signal While the deposits have fueled speculation about possible sell activity, analysts noted that transfers to institutional trading platforms do not automatically confirm direct liquidation of Bitcoin or Ethereum holdings. Coinbase Prime supports institutional custody and settlement services, meaning wallet transfers alone cannot establish whether any sale occurred.

When an institutional investor like BlackRock deposits Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, it often precedes a specific action within the ETF ecosystem, such as creating new shares or settling redemptions. BlackRock has not confirmed any sales or disclosed the purpose of the transfers, leaving open the possibility that the movements relate to institutional custody or settlement services rather than immediate trading activity.

The scale and frequency of the transfers nonetheless reinforce BlackRock's position as one of the most active institutional participants in the digital asset space, with on-chain trackers continuing to flag each new movement as a key data point for market participants.

Sources:
BlackRock Sends $217M in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime, Blockonomi
BlackRock Transfers Over $600 Million in BTC and ETH to Coinbase, Digital Today
BlackRock Extends Bitcoin and Ethereum Transfers With Massive $217M Move, Crypto Economy

BlackRock just shifted 4,577 BTC and 41,996 ETH to Coinbase Prime, a combined transfer worth approximately $336 million.

The Bitcoin portion alone was valued at roughly $271 million, while the Ethereum tranche came in at around $65 million. On-chain tracking firms including Onchain Lens and Arkham flagged the transactions, which are linked to BlackRock’s management of its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA).

What’s actually happening here Coinbase Prime serves as BlackRock’s custody, trading, and operational partner for its crypto ETF products. These transfers are the plumbing behind ETF share creation, redemption, and portfolio rebalancing. When new ETF shares are created because investor demand is high, the underlying crypto needs to move to the right custodial accounts. When shares are redeemed, the process reverses.

On-chain analysts have broadly characterized this transfer as consistent with standard ETF-related flows rather than any directional market bet. The absence of meaningful price movement in either Bitcoin or Ethereum following the deposit reinforces that interpretation.

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In January 2026 alone, BlackRock has transferred over $300 million in cryptocurrency to Coinbase Prime. Throughout 2025 and into 2026, similar transactions regularly exceeded $100 million per event.

BlackRock has not issued any official commentary on the transfer.

The bigger picture for crypto ETFs The fact that these transfers have become routine, happening regularly and in increasingly large sizes, signals that institutional infrastructure for crypto has matured well past the experimental phase.

The Ethereum side of the equation is worth noting separately. ETHA, BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF, has operated in the shadow of IBIT since launch. The 41,996 ETH transfer, while smaller in dollar terms, still represents meaningful operational activity. At roughly $65 million, the ETH deposit suggests that Ethereum ETF flows remain active.

What this means for investors When $336 million in crypto moves from the world’s largest asset manager to an exchange and nothing happens, it tells you something about where we are in the institutional adoption cycle. The market has learned to distinguish between operational custody transfers and actual buy or sell pressure.

The pattern is now well-established: large deposits to Coinbase Prime from BlackRock wallets are overwhelmingly associated with ETF mechanics, not market positioning.

Over $300 million in transfers in a single month suggests that ETF inflows and redemptions are running at a healthy clip. Sustained ETF activity of this magnitude acts as a structural demand source for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, providing a floor of institutional liquidity that didn’t exist before 2024.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

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According to Bitget market data, the three major US stock indexes all fell at opening: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.44%, the S&P 500 declined 0.67%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1%. The semiconductor and storage sectors saw broad declines, with individual stocks performing as follows: NVIDIA (NVDA) dropped 1.56%; Intel (INTC) fell 3.5%; Broadcom (AVGO) declined 2.5%; Qualcomm (QCOM) fell 0.4%; Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 5.78%; Western Digital (WDC) fell 7%; SanDisk (SNDK) declined 7.5%; Micron Technology (MU) dropped 5.4%.

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According to Bitget market data, most US space concept stocks advanced at the opening of US stock trading. Specifically: SpaceX (SPCX) slipped 0.75% to $151.8; Virgin Galactic (SPCE) gained 8%; AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rose 3.45%; Rocket Lab (RKLB) added 4%; Redwire (RDW) gained 1.9%.

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At the opening of US stock markets, optical communication concept stocks fell broadly, with MRVL, AAOI, and LITE down more than 6%.

According to Bitget market data, US stocks opened with broad declines in optical communication concept stocks, including: Pure Photonics ETF (FOTO) fell 5.7%; Marvell Technology (MRVL) — a stock NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang previously touted as the next trillion-dollar market cap company — dropped 6.1%; AAOI (Applied Optoelectronics) fell 7.1%; LITE (Lumentum Holdings) dropped 8.86%; COHR (Coherent Corp.) declined 8.4%; and CIEN (Ciena Corporation) fell 4.75%.

2 minutes ago

US stocks opened with all three major indices in the red, with semiconductor and storage sectors plunging; Micron and SanDisk fell more than 5%.

According to Bitget market data, the three major US stock indexes all fell at opening: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.44%, the S&P 500 declined 0.67%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1%. The semiconductor and storage sectors saw broad declines, with individual stocks performing as follows: NVIDIA (NVDA) dropped 1.56%; Intel (INTC) fell 3.5%; Broadcom (AVGO) declined 2.5%; Qualcomm (QCOM) fell 0.4%; Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 5.78%; Western Digital (WDC) fell 7%; SanDisk (SNDK) declined 7.5%; Micron Technology (MU) dropped 5.4%.

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THE BLOCK: Ethereum OG wallets finally sell after 8 years, locking in estimated $27M profit after $150M unrealized peak: onchain analysts

The Dogecoin project's official social account has a sense of humour about its own price chart. As $DOGE shed roughly 26% of its value over the past month, the team posted a quip about "downward dog" charts, the yoga pose that apparently doubles as a candlestick pattern these days.

"somebody needs to tell the charts to stop doing the downward dog," the official Dogecoin account wrote, timing the post to coincide with what has been a sustained slide across multiple timeframes.

DOGE Sinks as Broader Market Takes a Hit Dogecoin fell to a low of $0.072 during Wednesday's session before partially recovering. At the time of writing, it was still in the red, down 3.14% in the prior 24 hours to around $0.076. Since June 14, Dogecoin has closed lower in 7 of the past 10 trading days, reflecting a steady deterioration in price momentum.

The dog-themed meme coin had fallen roughly 9% in a week and nearly 24% in a month as selling pressure continued to mount. A broader drop in investor sentiment across the cryptocurrency market appears to be reflected in Dogecoin, a leading meme coin. Macroeconomic uncertainty has overlapped with internal industry issues, and market liquidity is also falling as investor money shifts to artificial intelligence-related stocks, large initial public offerings and prediction markets.

$1 Billion Wiped in Liquidations Digital assets saw roughly $1 billion in positions liquidated across the crypto market in a single 24-hour window, according to CoinGlass data. The decline triggered about $778 million in long liquidations, with short liquidations accounting for the remainder.

Bitcoin briefly slipped below the psychological $60,000 level toward $59,000, triggering a leverage-driven liquidation cascade that pushed crypto futures liquidations above $1 billion, according to CoinGlass. The liquidation data suggests that leverage, rather than spot selling alone, played a major role in the speed of the move. When heavily margined long positions are clustered around obvious support levels, a break can force automatic selling into already thin liquidity.

For now, the joke may be on the charts. But with Dogecoin trading near key technical support and broader market sentiment still fragile, the real punchline remains to be seen.

Sources:
U.Today: Dogecoin X Issues 'Downward Dog' Remark Amid $1 Billion Market Selloff
Crypto Briefing: Over $1B in Crypto Positions Liquidated in 24 Hours
CryptoRank: Bitcoin Flushes Below $60,000 as Crypto Liquidations Top $1 Billion

Strategy founder Michael Saylor, known as a big bull in the market, had been silent on his platform for two days since the Bitcoin price sharply dropped below $60,000.

But she finally broke the silence and made a new post.

Despite the setbacks, Saylor vowed to continue adhering to his current Bitcoin strategy.

Michael Saylor stated that market volatility will test all capital structures, and that his company will continue to focus on Bitcoin’s prudent capital allocation, creditworthiness, and long-term value creation.

Thanking the investors, Saylor emphasized that Strategy will continue to implement its current strategy with transparency and determination.

“Volatility tests every capital structure. The strategy remains committed to a focus on Bitcoin, disciplined capital allocation, credit quality, and long-term value creation. We are grateful to our investors and will continue to implement with transparency and determination.”

Saylor, known in the cryptocurrency community for posting pro-Bitcoin content daily on her X account, drew attention to the community by taking a break from her posts.

Saylor, who last posted on June 24th, has been unusually silent, leading some in the community to say that the decline has managed to silence even her.

With the decline in Bitcoin, Strategy’s unrealized loss has reached $13 billion. At this point, according to the latest analyses, Strategy’s unrealized loss in Bitcoin assets has exceeded Dogecoin’s market value.

While the company’s paper losses are approximately $13 billion, Dogecoin’s market capitalization is around $11.5 billion.

In this state, the company’s losses have also exceeded the market capitalization of other major altcoins such as Cardano, XMR, Chainlink, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, UNI, and NEAR.

Strategy currently holds approximately 844,000 BTC, with an average purchase price of around $75,600.

*This is not investment advice.

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Dogecoin’s price has once again tested the crucial $0.073 support zone following its recent pullback, setting the stage for a potential rebound across both short and long-term charts. As investors search for signals of a turnaround, analysts warn that a clear break below this level could undermine the current bullish outlook and trigger steeper losses.

Short-term focus intensifies on $0.073 supportA buy signal has emerged on the daily chart from the TD Sequential indicator, following the sharp slide that pulled DOGE down to around $0.075. This technical sign suggests that selling pressure could be losing steam and that a swift recovery may be on the cards in the short term.

Mini glossary: TD Sequential is a technical analysis indicator used to measure exhaustion and potential trend reversals in price action. The presence of a “9” signal on the chart typically serves as a warning that the current trend may be losing momentum.

The TD Sequential buy signal on the daily chart points to weakening selling pressure and indicates Dogecoin may be gearing up for a short-term recovery, according to analysts.

At the time of publication, DOGE was hovering around $0.0772, with the first notable upside target set at $0.081. A move above this threshold could pave the way for a test of the $0.084 resistance zone. However, with lower highs and lower lows still characterizing the price action, the viability of a bullish scenario depends heavily on Dogecoin’s ability to maintain support at $0.073.

If daily closing prices fall below $0.073, the current buy signals could be invalidated. In such a scenario, downside risk would increase and selling pressure may accelerate again, intensifying bearish sentiment.

LevelSignificance$0.073Critical support$0.081Primary upside target$0.084Next resistance zoneLong-term trend line faces a testZooming out to longer time frames, Dogecoin is once again approaching the lower boundary of its long-term ascending trend channel. This makes the $0.073 range significant not only as a short-term pivot, but also as a defining technical support for DOGE’s larger price structure.

Historical price action shows DOGE trading near $0.0735 following a prolonged retreat from its 2025 peaks. This region has served as a cornerstone for the coin’s general upward momentum in the past. The ongoing defense of this trend line by bulls keeps discussions alive around accumulation phases and possible cyclical bottoms.

In the view of market analysts, the $0.073 area stands as the last major line of defense in the current market structure.

Should a reversal occur from this level, the $0.11 zone would be the initial focus for an upward move. This could be followed by approximately $0.215, which aligns with the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement. It should be noted, however, that upside scenarios beyond these levels remain highly uncertain; maintaining both the established trend and favorable market conditions will be essential for a more sustained recovery.

Conversely, a decisive break below the lower trend channel could damage the optimistic long-term setup. In this case, Dogecoin may be exposed to deeper declines and the significance of the $0.073 area as a last stand would only intensify.

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.

A Smart Contract Approach to Wallet RecoveryCardano founder Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) is experimenting with a smart contract designed to help users recover funds from wallets compromised in the recent SecondFi exploit. According to Hoskinson, the contract would use a zero-knowledge proof to verify that a claimant possesses the 24-word seed phrase associated with an affected wallet, without requiring that phrase to be exposed on-chain. If verified, the contract would vend $ADA and Cardano native tokens from a dedicated recovery pool to the confirmed owner. Hoskinson said he plans to coordinate with the Midnight team and key developers on the findings before any wider rollout.

The Midnight network, Cardano's privacy-focused sidechain, is a natural fit for this kind of work. Hoskinson has previously described Midnight as deeply connected to zero-knowledge systems , and the project's cryptographic tooling makes it a practical base for building proof-based recovery mechanisms.

The SecondFi Exploit: What Happened SecondFi, the Cardano wallet formerly known as Yoroi, confirmed a major exploit that drained roughly 16 million $ADA, worth approximately $2.4 million, from 374 user wallets across three separate attacks. SecondFi's team traced the breach to a vulnerability in its proprietary wallet generation software, which gave attackers access to funds across multiple user wallets. Critically, Cardano's base protocol was not the entry point.

The team rescued a further 129 million $ADA before attackers could reach it, routing funds to a third-party custodian, but blockchain security firm SlowMist estimates total losses could still exceed $20 million pending an independent audit. Users cannot protect themselves by simply moving their seed phrase to another wallet. The vulnerability activates at the address level when a transaction is signed, and affected users must submit claims directly to SecondFi.

SecondFi was built on the foundations of Yoroi, a wallet created by EMURGO, one of the three founding entities behind Cardano. That history makes the breach sting harder for the community. The team says it is working with IOG, Cardano Foundation, IntersectMBO, and SundaeSwap to limit damage across the wider ecosystem.

Hoskinson's proposed recovery mechanism remains experimental, and no timeline has been confirmed. Its viability will depend on the technical findings from his coordination with the Midnight team and core developers. For now, affected users have been advised to wait for official guidance from SecondFi before taking any independent action.

Sources:
CoinDesk: SecondFi loses $2.4 million in Cardano wallet exploit, up to $20 million at risk
CryptoNewsZ: SecondFi fixes Cardano wallet flaw that led to 16M ADA theft
CoinGabbar: SecondFi Cardano Wallet Exploit: User Impact and Recovery Plan

The Cardano ecosystem is attracting renewed attention even as ADA continues to hover near its weakest price levels in years. 

While prices remain under pressure, fresh on-chain data shows that Cardano user activity and community discussion have accelerated. Intelligence platform Santiment highlighted this in an X post, pointing out that this setup has previously preceded short-term price recoveries.

Network Activity Climbs as Attention Returns The recent Santiment network metrics analysis indicates that daily active addresses have climbed to approximately 29,025. At the same time, Cardano’s share of overall cryptocurrency discussions has risen to around 0.33%. 

Cardano On-Chain Activity and Social Discussion Spike/Santiment Interestingly, the increase marks the second major spike in both indicators this month, despite ADA remaining close to price levels last seen in December 2020. The asset trades at $0.144, as persistent weakness has ensured that prices continue to lose key support levels.

The latest data shows that more users are interacting with the Cardano network even as sentiment across the broader market remains cautious. Notably, the sharp increase in both active addresses and social dominance have appeared amid the heightened uncertainty surrounding the ADA ecosystem.

It comes after several weeks of intense governance debates, treasury funding disagreements, and recent comments from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson. While they are negative and have driven FUD, these debates have brought the project back into focus.

What Played Out Around Cardano Treasury Funding In May, the Cardano Foundation’s request for 7.8 million ADA to fund the yearly flagship summit in Singapore did not pass. The proposal received 65.21% of all votes, below the 66.67% stake-weight threshold for approval. This led the Foundation to cancel the convention for this year.

Another request from a major Cardano stakeholder also stalled. The Input Output Global (IOG) requested 32.9 million ADA in funding for research, network scaling, and upgrades around quantum resistance. While some passed, Cardano DReps cast an abstention vote on others, calling them unnecessary treasury spending.

Hoskinson criticized this move, claiming that such decisions set Cardano backwards and it risks losing its core science roots. As the argument escalated, he disclosed that he is stepping away from the network for a while and warned that more native projects could fail this year.

Previous Spikes Preceded Relief Moves The current combination of rising on-chain activity and elevated social engagement has appeared twice before in recent months. In both cases, ADA experienced modest relief rallies shortly after these indicators reached similar levels.

For context, Cardano experienced mild growth in April as the social dominance rose close to 0.43% and active addresses climbed above 21,700. A similar scenario played out in early June when the governance debate was at its peak. Daily active addresses spiked above 30,000 and social dominance above 0.33%, with price rebounding 28%.

Notably, that pattern does not guarantee the same outcome this time, but it suggests that periods of extreme pessimism have previously coincided with renewed buying interest after heavy selling.

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.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has introduced a new idea to make wallet recovery safer without compromising user privacy. 

In a post shared on June 26, 2026, Hoskinson revealed that he is experimenting with a Cardano smart contract to help users recover lost wallets securely.

The proposed system would allow users to recover ADA and Cardano Native Tokens (CNTs) stored in a dedicated pool by proving they own a wallet’s 24-word recovery phrase through a zero-knowledge proof (ZKP). Importantly, users would not need to reveal the phrase itself during the process.

A Recovery System Built Around Privacy Hoskinson’s proposal revolves around the use of zero-knowledge technology. Specifically, users would simply prove that they know the recovery phrase that controls the wallet instead of exposing sensitive wallet information.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson on X This would keep private information hidden from both the blockchain and outside parties. With this proposed setup, funds would remain locked inside a smart contract or special recovery pool. Once the contract confirms the proof, it will automatically release the assets to the rightful owner.

Such a system could support ethical recovery efforts by helping users regain access to lost or stolen funds but reduce the need to trust third parties. The goal is to make self-custody easier and safer without giving up the security that cryptocurrencies are known for.

To move the project forward, Hoskinson said he plans to work with several well-known members of the Cardano ecosystem. These include Pi Lanningham, CTO at Sundae Labs, Sebastien Guillemot, a major contributor to both Cardano and Midnight, and the wider Midnight team.

The proposed recovery system also builds on several existing Cardano features, including its UTxO model, Plutus smart contracts, and growing support for zero-knowledge applications. These technologies could help make self-custody more practical but maintain security standards.

The SecondFi Incident Hoskinson’s announcement comes at a time when wallet security has become a major topic within the Cardano community. Notably, the recent SecondFi security incident brought attention to the risks associated with wallet recovery.

SecondFi, a Cardano-based self-custodial platform, suffered a security breach from its key-generating software that led to losses initially reported at $2.4 million. The issue affected certain wallet addresses linked to the neofinance platform. 

SecondFi has advised users not to import their recovery phrases into other wallets because the threat activates when users sign transactions, not during the restoration process itself. The platform is currently preparing a verification and claims procedure for affected users.

Meanwhile, recent Cardano wallet updates have continued to focus on restoration performance, Mithril snapshots, and security improvements. 

However, some older versions of SecondFi still use 15-word recovery phrases, which may limit how easily those wallets can work with a recovery system designed specifically for 24-word phrases.

Crypto Industry Searching for Better Recovery Solutions Across the cryptocurrency industry, managing recovery phrases remains one of the biggest challenges facing users. Notably, standard 12-word and 24-word BIP39 seed phrases provide a reliable way to restore wallets, but they also create a single point of failure. 

If users lose both their device and recovery phrase, they usually lose access to their funds permanently. Many security breaches also come from phishing attacks, malware, and social engineering schemes.

As a result, developers continue to explore ZK-based recovery systems. Similar ideas have appeared in discussions about quantum-resistant recovery methods and privacy-focused blockchain networks. However, developers still need to address issues involving legacy wallets and implementation security.

The industry is also testing other approaches, including social recovery systems, multi-party computation (MPC), biometric and hardware-based authentication, and hybrid custodial models. Some projects, such as Chia, have introduced features like clawbacks and vaults to reduce the impact of theft.

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.

Cardano (ADA) on-chain activity spiked for the second time this month, with daily active addresses and social dominance climbing.

The uptick came as the token traded near December 2020 price lows. ADA has fallen nearly 41% over the past month, outpacing the broader market’s 19.9% decline.

Cardano Activity Surged as the Token Hit Five-Year LowsThe spike arrived during heavy selling. ADA traded near $0.142 on June 26, down about 3.38% on the day. 

Today’s decline adds to a broader slide that has pulled the altcoin down by more than 13% over the past week.

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Cardano (ADA) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto MarketsThe downtrend followed ADA’s break below the $0.23 support level in early June. Despite the price slide, Santiment noted that network activity rose.

Daily active addresses reached 29,025. At the same time, social dominance climbed to 0.33% of all crypto discussions. Santiment recorded the same setup earlier in June, marking the second activity spike in a single month.

“Cardano has suddenly become one of crypto’s biggest conversation pieces as on-chain activity explodes for a second time this month,” the firm said.

Cardano Active Addresses and Social Sentiment. Source: X/Santiment Hoskinson Warnings and Governance Disputes Fueled the FUDThe analytics firm explained that much of the negative sentiment traced back to founder Charles Hoskinson. In early June, warned that more projects could fail.

Hoskinson also stepped back from videos, interviews, and X. Furthermore, he drew a hard line on his role in the token’s performance.

“What I’m not passionate about is making the price of ADA go up,” he said.

Governance disputes have added to the strain. Santiment noted that while the developments “have fueled bearish sentiment, they’ve also pushed Cardano back into the spotlight.”

It added that the combination of the on-chain spike and elevated FUD has previously preceded mild relief rallies. 

“The on-chain spike and major FUD do hint at a mild relief rally, as the chart shows how the two previous instances of this setup unfolded,” the post read.

The coming sessions will show whether the pattern holds or sellers retain control.

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Tether stablecoin USDt has become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization as Ether fell to its lowest price of the year on Friday

Ether’s market capitalization dropped below $185 billion following a 5.2% price crash over 24 hours, sending the asset tumbling to $1,510 on Coinbase, according to TradingView. This allowed USDt, with a $186 billion market capitalization, to surpass the cryptocurrency. 

“[The] stablecoin overtake really highlights how the market still favors stability over ETH’s volatility right now,” Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue Research Institute, told Cointelegraph. 

The development reflects accelerating stablecoin growth, which currently represents almost 15% of the entire crypto market capitalization. Stablecoin supply contracted more than 30% in the last bear market, but they’re hitting record highs this time, wrote 21Shares on Thursday, adding:

“To us, that is the strongest evidence yet that stablecoins are one of crypto’s defining use cases – demand that no longer depends on the cycle.”USDt flipped ETH in market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko

Alvin Kan, chief operating officer of Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph that the flip is a “notable milestone that highlights the explosive growth and dominance of stablecoins in today’s crypto ecosystem.”

“It demonstrates strong demand for reliable, liquid on- and off-ramps during periods of volatility, while serving as a reminder that ETH must continue delivering compelling utility and narrative momentum to maintain its position.” Kan said the development is positive for the broader market, as deeper stablecoin liquidity supports higher trading volumes and ecosystem innovation.

ETH prices are back at crucial support levels last visited in October 2023 and April 2025.

The Ethereum ecosystem has also faced internal changes recently, following several executive departures and a 20% workforce reduction at the Ethereum Foundation.

However, a new nonprofit organization called Ethlabs was launched this week by key EF developers and researchers and backed by Ether treasuries Bitmine and Sharplink. 

ETH prices are at a critical long-term support level. Source: TradingView

Not all are bearish  Some have taken Ether's decline as an opportunity.

Ether treasury company Sharplink bought the dip, making its first purchase in eight months, scooping up 5,000 ETH on Thursday. Bitmine, chaired by Tom Lee, has also been accumulating at these low prices, adding a further 76,881 ETH last week. 

Meanwhile, Circle’s USDC (USDC) also flipped Ripple’s XRP (XRP) in market capitalization as XRP fell back towards $1, its lowest level since November 2024, leaving XRP with a market capitalization of $64 billion compared with USDC's $73.6 billion.

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Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

PANews reported on June 26, according to Cointelegraph, that as Ethereum’s price dropped to a yearly low, Tether’s stablecoin USDT briefly became the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Ethereum’s market cap fell below $185 billion after plunging 5.2% in 24 hours, and its price on Coinbase once dipped to $1,510, allowing USDT, with a market cap of $186 billion, to momentarily surpass Ethereum.

Coingecko data shows that Ethereum’s market cap has rebounded to $189.1 billion, now sitting above USDT’s $186 billion market cap.