Cardano’s lacklustre performance over the past week has prompted some of its largest holders to begin selling their coins. On-chain data reveals that ADA whales holding between 100 million and 1 billion coins have collectively offloaded over $160 million worth of the asset within the last seven days.
This wave of distribution suggests waning confidence among the ADA large holders, adding further pressure to an already fragile market.
Cardano Whale Sell-Off Deepens Bearish Sentiment
According to Santiment, over the past week, Cardano whale addresses that hold between 100 million and 1 billion ADA have sold 170 million coins, valued at over $106 million at current market prices.
This wave of distribution signals a negative shift in sentiment among whales. Their decision to offload such a large volume of tokens adds pressure to ADA’s already struggling price.
Moreover, this trend could also influence retail traders to follow suit, exacerbating the selling pressure and further reducing the chances of an ADA price rebound in the near term.
The coin’s weighted sentiment is also currently negative, confirming the growing bearish bias across the market. At press time, this is at -0.20.
This on-chain metric analyzes social media and online platforms to gauge the overall tone (positive or negative) surrounding an asset. When its value is below zero like this, the overall market sentiment regarding the asset is bearish.
Per Santiment, ADA’s weighted sentiment has remained below zero since March 8, indicating that bearish discussions and outlooks continue to outweigh bullish ones.
This persistent negativity suggests a heightened risk of prolonged price decline, as traders appear reluctant to re-enter or increase their exposure to the asset.
Bearish Momentum Builds for ADA
On the daily chart, readings from ADA’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) support this bearish outlook. As of this writing, this key momentum indicator, which tracks an asset’s oversold and overbought market conditions, is at 46.47.
The RSI indicator ranges between 0 and 100, with values above 70 indicating that the asset is overbought and due for a decline. On the other hand, values below 30 signal that the asset is oversold and could witness a rebound.
At 46.47, the downward tilt of ADA’s RSI suggests weakening momentum and the potential for further losses if buying pressure does not return soon. In this scenario, ADA’s price could fall to $0.50.
Zora Network — a dedicated layer-2 solution for NFTs — has officially announced the ZORA token airdrop, scheduled for April 23, 2025.
Launched in 2020, Zora has raised $60 million from investors such as Coinbase Ventures and Haun Ventures. The airdrop comes amid a cooling NFT market and ongoing debates around “content coins.”
Zora to Launch ZORA Token on April 23: Key Details
According to Zora’s official announcement, the airdrop will take place on April 23. It will be a retroactive airdrop aimed at users who have actively engaged with the platform.
The snapshot data splits into two phases:
The first phase spans from January 1, 2020, to March 3, 2025.
The second covers March 3, 2025, to April 20, 2025.
Zora plans to allocate 10% of its total 10 billion token supply—that is, 1 billion ZORA—for this airdrop. The Zora team will hold 18.9% of the supply, and strategic advisors and development supporters will control over 26%.
Moreover, Binance revealed it would list ZORA on Binance Alpha on April 23. Binance also announced an airdrop of 4,276 ZORA tokens to eligible users.
“Exclusively for users who have totally purchased at least $50 on Alpha using Spot or Funding accounts on Binance Exchange between 00:00:00 March 22, 2025 (UTC) to 23:59:59 April 20, 2025 (UTC),” Binance stated.
Currently, ZORA is trading at around $0.03 on pre-market platforms, which allow token trading before the official launch. This price suggests the airdrop is worth about $30 million. Zora Network’s fully diluted market cap sits at around $300 million.
Zora is more than an NFT marketplace. It also functions as a protocol that enables third parties to build and sell NFTs. One notable example is its recent integration with Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 project.
According to a recent report from BeInCrypto, Base used Zora to tokenize a post on X titled “Base is for everyone.” They turned it into an ERC-20 token. That post generated over $30 million in trading volume within 12 hours and earned $70,000 in profit.
However, the event sparked controversy. Some users accused Base of a “pump and dump” scheme after the token’s price plummeted 99% within four hours. At its peak, trading volume on Uniswap hit $13 million before collapsing.
Base denied that the token was a meme coin or a pump-and-dump plan. Still, the incident raised concerns about transparency in projects tied to Zora.
As of writing, data from Dune shows that Zora Network has processed over 87 million transactions. It currently attracts about 37,000 active addresses per day.
Total Transactions And Active Users on Zora Network. Source: Dune
However, user activity has dropped sharply. The number of active users has declined by over 80% in the past year.
Moreover, a recent report from Binance indicates that the NFT market experienced a significant decline last month. Total sales volume across the top 10 blockchains decreased by 12.4%, which suggests weaker buyer interest.
Welcome to the US Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee to see why Standard Chartered thinks XRP could soon leapfrog Ethereum, how Tether’s institutional pivot might reshape the stablecoin market, and how players like BlackRock, Galaxy Digital, and the Federal Reserve could shape crypto’s next chapter.
Standard Chartered says XRP Set to Outperform, Could Overtake Ethereum by 2028
As global trade tensions intensify, Standard Chartered sees a silver lining for crypto investors, urging them to focus on long-term winners poised to benefit from the disruption.
“Tariff noise creates the opportunity to look for long-term value/pick winners in Digital Assets for the next leg higher. Today we add XRP to that list of winners (BTC and AVAX other identified winners, ETH identified loser). XRP’s core use is as a cross-border and cross-currency payments platform. That part of Digital Assets is undergoing a shift higher in volumes, something we see continuing. By the end of 2028 we see XRP’s market cap overtaking Ethereum’s. That will make XRP the second largest (non-stablecoin) Digital Asset at that time. Keep looking for winners and HODLing those you already own”, Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Head of Digital Asset Research, in an email to BeInCrypto.
Kendrick also pointed to Bitcoin’s resilience as a signal of what’s to come for the broader crypto market.
“Tariff mess will be over soon, and Bitcoin’s solid performance during the noise tells us a leg higher for the asset class will follow” he said.
He also points out important points about the recent performance of XRP:
“XRP price rose 6x in the two months following Trump’s election victory, the strongest performance among the top 15 digital assets by market cap. This reflected market expectations that the SEC would drop its appeal of a court ruling concerning Ripple, as well as the potential for XRP ETFs to be approved under new SEC leadership.”
But Kendrick believes the fundamentals — not just politics — are driving XRP’s momentum.
“We think these gains are sustainable, not just because of recent leadership changes at the SEC but also because XRP is uniquely positioned at the heart of one of the fastest-growing uses for digital assets – facilitation of cross-border and cross-currency payments. In this way, XRPL is similar to the main use case for stablecoins such as Tether: blockchain-enabled financial transactions that have traditionally been done through traditional financial (TradFi) institutions. This stablecoin use has grown 50% annually over the past two years, and we expect stablecoin transactions to increase 10x over the next four years. We think this bodes well for XRPL’s throughput growth, given the similar use cases for stablecoins and XRPL.”
Tether’s Big Play: Institutional-Grade Stablecoin Targets US Market
Charles Wayn, co-founder of decentralized Web3 super-app Galxe, told BeInCrypto that:
“The news that Tether is planning to launch an institutional-grade stablecoin for the US market is fantastic for the crypto industry. Tether pioneered stablecoins with its first launch over a decade ago in 2014, and its flagship product — USDT — is now the third largest cryptocurrency in the world. Unlike its rival, USDC, USDT has never been formally audited, leading to frequent questions over its balance sheet. Nonetheless, it remains the industry’s favored stablecoin, shown by its market cap of over $144 billion, which is well over double the size of USDC’s $60 billion.”
Wayn believes this move, along with Tether’s push for transparency, positions the company as a future leader in institutional crypto adoption.
“As such, this move, combined with other recent news that Tether is seeking a full audit from a Big Four accounting firm, shows that the company is not only willing to be compliant but also be a leader in institutional adoption. While USDT sadly did not pass the EU’s directive on stablecoins under MiCA, this new product will likely be designed to pass new legislation coming from the US.”
He adds that institutional momentum — fueled by players like BlackRock — reinforces why now is a pivotal moment for stablecoins and broader market stability.
“As such, there is little doubt that USDT will work hard to launch its new product in good time. As we see huge institutions like BlackRock further entering the market with another $66 million purchase of Bitcoin last week, along with the rapid growth of its RWA BUIDL fund, institutional adoption is now taking off rapidly.”
Crypto Chart of the Day
Total Stablecoin Market Cap and BTC Price. Source: Coinglass.
Stablecoins total market cap is currently close to its all-time highs, above $210 billion.
Byte-Sized Alpha
– Analysts warn that a return to Quantitative Easing in 2025 could ignite a massive crypto rally, potentially pushing Bitcoin toward $1 million and sparking a surge in altcoins.
– Zero inflows into Bitcoin ETFs and declining futures interest hint at fading investor confidence, though rising put contracts and positive funding rates point to cautious optimism.
– Galaxy Digital secures SEC approval to reorganize and move toward a May 2025 Nasdaq listing, signaling renewed confidence in crypto amid improving US policy support.
– Binance Research shows that during tariffs, RWA tokens outperform Bitcoin, as rising macro pressures weaken BTC’s role as a diversification asset.
– MicroStrategy’s pause in Bitcoin buying last week, amid $5.91 billion in unrealized losses, signals growing caution and raises questions about liquidity, debt, and broader institutional confidence.
During a livestream hosted by the leading exchange HTX, Founder of TRON and Advisor to HTX, Justin Sun expressed confidence in the approval of the newly filed Canary Capital Group Staked TRX ETF, calling it a “non-replicable” opportunity for both investors and the broader crypto market.
The event, titled “TRX ETF is Coming? The First Altcoin ETF with Staking Rewards – Will It Spark a New Crypto Bull Run?”, featured @HTX_Molly and leading crypto influencers in discussion with Sun on the TRX ETF filing, the outlook for staking-based ETFs, and the path to regulatory compliance.
A First-of-Its-Kind ETF With Staking Rewards
The key differentiator of this TRX ETF application is its inclusion of a staking mechanism, which could provide investors with enhanced yield opportunities. Notably, the TRX ETF is among the few, out of all crypto ETFs with pending S-1 filings, to incorporate staking features.
While the application process for such ETFs is significantly more challenging than for spot ETFs – evidenced by the past failures of Staked ETH ETF applications – Justin Sun remains hopeful. He believes the SEC, under its new crypto-friendly Chairman Paul Atkins, is showing increased openness toward cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the TRX ETF application seeks immediate approval, aiming to be the groundbreaking cryptocurrency ETF to integrate staking. Its success, he asserts, would make its value “unreplicable.”
Sun: Market Is Undervaluing Approval Odds
“The market might be undervaluing the probability of the TRX ETF’s approval, a matter of which I am highly confident,” Justin Sun remarked. His confidence stems partly from his considerable experience with crypto ETF applications, including his involvement in securing approval for the initial Bitcoin futures ETFs and the subsequent Bitcoin spot ETFs. Furthermore, the TRX ETP’s successful listing and outperformance against Bitcoin and Ethereum equivalents in Europe provide a strong precedent.
Justin argues that the rarity of ETF applications reaching the S-1 filing stage indicates that approval for the TRX ETF may not be far off. He also noted that even if the SEC rejects the initial submission, the team will revise the S-1 document in accordance with the SEC’s recommendations and continue the application process.
TRX ETF Could Catalyze the Next Bull Market
Justin Sun suggests that the potential impact of TRX ETF approval is underestimated. “The approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF demonstrated that a few tens of billions of dollars in inflows could trigger a trillion-dollar market rally. This is a prime example of ‘confidence leverage.’ The TRX ETF’s approval could have a similar or even greater impact, potentially igniting the next bull run and attracting a new wave of institutional interest in crypto ETFs on Wall Street.”
Simultaneously, the ETF will facilitate RWA (Real-World Assets) growth. “The real breakthrough for RWA won’t just come from technological progress but from building a mutually beneficial ecosystem,” Justin explained. “Traditional institutions aren’t held back by technology. They’re limited by the absence of a clear mechanism to acquire public chain tokens and share in their appreciation. The ETF serves as the key to unlocking this – without it, large-scale institutional investment is unlikely, thus hindering the movement of trillions in assets onto the blockchain. The ETF isn’t just a price catalyst; it’s the decisive factor in the successful adoption of RWA.”
Looking ahead, Justin emphasized that this year will be pivotal for enhancing regulatory compliance and expanding collaborations within the U.S. market. “The TRX ETF application is just the beginning. TRON and HTX have significant developments planned for each subsequent quarter, with the necessary groundwork already underway.”
About HTX
Founded in 2013, HTX has evolved from a virtual asset exchange into a comprehensive ecosystem of blockchain businesses that span digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investments, incubation, and other businesses.
As a world-leading gateway to Web3, HTX harbors global capabilities that enable it to provide users with safe and reliable services. Adhering to the growth strategy of “Global Expansion, Thriving Ecosystem, Wealth Effect, Security & Compliance,” HTX is dedicated to providing quality services and values to virtual asset enthusiasts worldwide.
