XRP has been consolidating over the last few days, managing to stay above the $2 mark. However, after validating a four-month-long downtrend earlier this month, the altcoin is struggling to sustain its current position.
As investor interest wanes, XRP may face challenges in maintaining upward momentum.
XRP Is Losing Investors’ Interest
New addresses associated with XRP have hit a 5-month low, signaling a decline in new investor interest. This suggests that XRP is losing traction within the market as fresh capital fails to flow into the asset. The absence of new buyers could make it difficult for XRP to maintain its position above $2.
The falling demand is concerning as XRP’s price growth is often supported by new market participants. With fewer investors entering the market, the altcoin may face a prolonged period of stagnation. Unless there is a shift in demand, XRP’s ability to maintain its price level could be compromised.
The overall macro momentum for XRP remains weak, as reflected by technical indicators like the RSI. Currently stuck below the neutral line of 50.0, the RSI suggests that XRP is still in the bearish zone. This indicates a lack of bullish momentum, which could prevent the altcoin from seeing any significant rallies in the near term.
In addition, the broader market sentiment continues to be bearish, which further impacts XRP’s potential for recovery. Unless the market turns around or the altcoin finds new sources of demand, XRP’s price will likely remain suppressed.
XRP’s price is currently at $2.10, holding above the $2.02 support level but facing resistance at $2.16. The ongoing downtrend that has persisted since the beginning of the year continues to weigh heavily on the altcoin. If the price fails to break through the resistance level, XRP may try to push higher.
The current market conditions could prevent XRP from surpassing $2.16. However, if the price loses the $2.02 support, it may drop to the next support level of $1.94. Should this happen, the altcoin could experience a more significant decline, potentially reaching as low as $1.79.
Alternatively, if XRP manages to breach the $2.16 resistance, it could rally towards $2.27. With a change in investor sentiment and market conditions, this could propel the altcoin to $2.40, invalidating the bearish outlook.
Welcome to the US Morning Crypto News Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee to see what analysts say about Bitcoin amid the showdown between BTC behemoth Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Jack Mallers’ investment firm, 21 Capital. With their Bitcoin models coming into question, is there a specific definition of what winning means in Bitcoin?
Strategy Grows Bitcoin Stockpile, Buys $1.42 Billion in BTC
Strategy announced that it recently purchased another 15,355 BTC worth approximately $1.42 billion at an average price of $92,737 last week.
The firm currently holds 553,555 BTC, valued at approximately $52.7 billion. The average buying price is $68,459, and the unrealized profit is $14.8 billion.
“By continuing to grow its Bitcoin holdings, the company maintains its status as a major force in the cryptocurrency market, drawing interest from investors and industry analysts. Strategy is the largest Bitcoin Treasury Company, an independent, publicly traded business intelligence company, and a Nasdaq 100 stock,” Phoenix reported.
A recent US Crypto News publication highlighted the advent of 21 Capital. The Bitcoin investment firm sprouted after Cantor Fitzgerald, SoftBank, Tether, and Bitfinex pooled $3 billion in capital.
Based on sentiment, this new venture could inadvertently challenge Strategy’s position at the helm of corporate Bitcoin ownership in a model sense. According to 21 Capital, Strategy size could make increasing its Bitcoin per share difficult, a metric investors tend to consider.
Amid chatter that 21 Capital could threaten the Michael Saylor-led firm, BitStrategy, a shareholder at Strategy, challenged the prospective market rival’s business model.
Tension Grows in Bitcoin Treasury Space
In a detailed post on X (Twitter), BitStrategy acknowledged the brewing tension in the Bitcoin treasury arena. However, it holds that Strategy is way ahead of the competition.
“Their company is in direct competition with ours, and they seek to exploit a perceived vulnerability in our structure, openly highlighting their strengths relative to ours to win investment,” BitStrategy challenged in a recent post.
Beyond BTC Yield, also reported in a recent US Crypto News publication, the firm initiated key performance indicators months ago- BTC Gain and BTC $ Gain.
Bitcoin Gain multiplies the BTC Yield by Strategy’s aggregate balance, reflecting the scale of the firm’s operations.
Bitcoin $ Gain takes this further, converting the BTC Gain into dollar terms, for added transparency.
This proactivity by Strategy suggests a commitment to defend its position as a leading Bitcoin-holding corporation amidst rising rivals.
“You can fake an impressive BTC Yield. You cannot fake an impressive BTC Gain,” BitStrategy chimed.
However, analyst KenjiKoshu argues that while Strategy may show substantial Bitcoin gains, smaller companies like 21 Capital could achieve higher Bitcoin per share.
“As someone who has done deep thinking about why MSTR is undervalued, it might be true BTC gain can still be substantial if not higher for MSTR. On a per-share basis, however, which would be what supports the stock; it will be hard to deny a smaller, similarly reputable company is going to make more Bitcoin per share when on the same strategy,” the analyst wrote.
This outlook aligns with sentiment from 21 Capital that Strategy’s large size impedes increasing its Bitcoin per share.
However, BitStrategy articulated that the point of BTC Gain and BTC $ Gain signals the importance of a whole-of-company view of performance relative to a per-share view.
Per the shareholder, there is no agreed-upon conventional valuation methodology for Bitcoin companies. This means any metric is somewhat arbitrary.
Investors increasingly turn to digital assets as a safe haven, with Bitcoin becoming a hedge against the US dollar’s volatility as crypto inflows surge to $3.4 billion.
ZachXBT’s investigation claims that the mysterious 50X Hyperliquid whale is actually a British cyber criminal named William Parker (formerly known as Alistair Packover). Parker has a long history of fraud, hacking, and casino theft.
This trader made headlines by profiting roughly $20 million from a series of highly leveraged trades
Who is William Parker, AKA the 50X Hyperliquid Whale?
William Parker is a British cyber criminal with a long track record in hacking and fraud.
“I tracked down a recent payment from 0xe4d3 to an unnamed person who confirmed they had been paid by the Hyperliquid trader. They provided a UK phone number used to communicate with them. Public record reveals the name William Parker is likely tied to this number,” wrote ZachXBT.
He was arrested in 2023 for allegedly stealing around $1 million from two casinos. Even after serving time, Parker continued his illicit activities.
William Parker, AKA Alistair Packover. Source: BBC
So, how did he actually make $20 million in a very short time? The answer is ‘using leverage’.
Understanding 50x Hyperliquid Trades
In crypto, leverage means borrowing funds to increase the size of your trading position. In this case, the whale used up to 50× leverage. This means that even a small favorable move in an asset’s price could multiply his profits many times over.
For example, if he had a 50× leveraged position and the price moved 2% in his favor, that 2% swing could translate into about a 100% gain on his original investment.
“A whale who opened a $450 million short position on btc with 40x leverage closed all their trades, making a $9.46M profit in 8 days. Although this person is referred to as a “Hyperliquid whale,” they are actually a criminal, gambling with stolen funds,” wrote Web3 attorney Langerius.
The trader, William Parker, as revealed by ZachXBT, opened very large positions in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether during volatile market moments.
He timed his trades when the market was moving rapidly earlier this month due to the whole White House Crypto Summit and Bitcoin reserve saga.
The volatile market sentiment allowed him to move around big events or sudden price changes.
“When a whale shorts over $450 million in BTC and wants a public audience, it’s only possible on Hyperliquid. Anyone can photoshop a PNL screenshot. No one can question a Hyperliquid position, just like no one can question a Bitcoin balance. The decentralized future is here,” Hyperliquid wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
How Did Parker’s Leveraged Trades Affect the Market?
In some cases, his massive trades also forced other traders into liquidation. When a trader’s position is liquidated, the system sells its assets at a loss to cover the borrowed funds.
This boosted the whale’s gains and also disrupted the market. Although using 50× leverage is extremely risky, Parker managed his trades carefully.
His strategy was successful enough that he reportedly made around $20 million from these high-stakes moves.
Bitnomial announced that it will launch an XRP futures contract tomorrow, the first in the US. The announcement comes after the SEC reportedly dropped its landmark lawsuit against Ripple today.
Bitnomial dropped its own suit against the Commission regarding the regulatory status of this offering. An XRP futures contract could help lay the critical groundwork for spot ETF approval.
Case in point, Bitnomial subsequently announced that it will launch an XRP futures contract tomorrow.
“Bitnomial is launching the first-ever CFTC-regulated XRP futures in the US — physically settled for real market impact. Plus, we’ve voluntarily dismissed our case against the SEC as regulatory clarity improves. Current clients have access to XRP futures on March 20, 2025. Prospective clients can onboard with one of our FCM partners,” the firm claimed.
XRP futures are standardized derivative contracts that allow traders to speculate on or hedge against future price movements of the altcoin with physical settlement. They promote market maturity by enhancing liquidity, improving price discovery, and providing a regulated avenue for risk management.
Bitnomial tried to launch an XRP futures contract in 2024, but the SEC blocked the effort. The Commission claimed that these futures contracts would qualify as securities, and Bitnomial sued it to defend its position.
Now, the firm is dropping its suit and will launch these contracts through Botanical, a CFTC-regulated exchange. No SEC involvement is required.
“Crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial plans to drop its own lawsuit against Wall Street’s top cop after suing the agency in October over its claim that it had jurisdiction over Bitnomial’s planned XRP futures contract,” wrote Eleanor Terrett.
In other words, this looks like a huge win for the XRP community. The SEC has recently signaled that it might allow the CFTC to regulate more crypto products, and it seems like this is starting.
If the SEC continues passing crypto-related financial products to its sister Commission, it could be a very bullish trend.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, recently spoke in an interview about the SEC case and a few other topics. He explicitly confirmed that Ripple could not overturn a previous ruling against the firm, as it tried to do. He said that Ripple may continue fighting for the right to sell XRP to institutional investors, but he isn’t certain.
Garlinghouse is certain, however, that an XRP ETF will happen soon. He didn’t comment on Bitnomial’s XRP futures contract, but he cited other factors.
“I have immense confidence on the ETF. I think there’s 11 different filings pending with the SEC to launch ETFs. I think those will be live in the second half of this year,” Garlinghouse claimed.
In other words, things are looking good for Ripple supporters overall. The SEC lawsuit is over, and Bitnomial’s new XRP futures contract might help lay the groundwork for an ETF.
