SharpLink, a U.S.-listed company, has announced a $425 million PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) deal, with Consensys leading the investment. The agreement includes issuing around 69.1 million shares at $6.15 each, and the deal is expected to close by May 29. The company plans to use the funds to purchase Ethereum (ETH), making it its primary treasury reserve asset. This bold move highlights growing corporate interest in crypto as a long-term store of value and treasury diversification strategy.
Bitcoin price has crashed by another 4.5% taking a dip to $80,350 levels as market sentiment turns bearish just ahead of the US CPI data release this week. The overall crypto market crash over the last 24 hours has eroded more than $170 billion of investors’ wealth with market analysts predicting more pain ahead.
Will Bitcoin Price Crash to $75,000?
Bitcoin price has once again come under heavy selling pressure, facing strong rejection at $92,500 and extending weekly losses to more than 11.15%. Popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted that over $1 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) long positions were liquidated today. The massive liquidation highlights the intense market volatility currently impacting the cryptocurrency sector.
Source: Ali Martinez
Bitcoin Forms a Bearish Pennant Says Peter Brandt
Veteran trader Peter Brandt has shared a technical analysis suggesting the recent Bitcoin price action confirms a bearish outlook. In the latest chart structure, Brandt has identified three critical technical developments hinting at further downside pressure.
The analysis highlights a double top formation with peaks reaching approximately $108,100, followed by a bearish pennant pattern. According to Brandt, Bitcoin made a “deep retest” of its previous high near $95,321 before breaking down through the pennant formation.
The chart also indicates that Bitcoin price found temporary support at $81,513 following the breakdown, but the completion of the bearish pattern suggests further downside potential. Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes also believes that there could be more pain left ahead for BTC. He wrote:
“An ugly start to the week. Looks like $BTC will retest $78k. If it fails, $75k is next in the crosshairs. There are a lot of options OI struck $70-$75k, if we get into that range it will be violent”.
Will BTC Enter Bear Market After US CPI?
Several market analysts believe that Bitcoin is finally entering a bear market as market sentiment deteriorates despite the launch of the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Furthermore, the initiative has revealed an apparent lack of intent to purchase anything beyond seized BTC.
On the other hand, institutional demand for Bitcoin has dried up significantly, as evident by the massive outflows from Bitcoin ETFs. Between March 3 and March 7 (ET), Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced significant outflows, signaling waning investor sentiment in the market. Data shows a net outflow of $799 million during the period, with Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) accounting for $201 million of the total.
All eyes will be on the US CPI data for February coming this week, ahead of March 12. February’s U.S. consumer price data is expected to reflect gradual progress in controlling inflation, a key concern for Federal Reserve policymakers. The central bank may opt to maintain a cautious stance, monitoring the broader economic landscape amid evolving fiscal policies.
According to projections, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) excluding food and energy likely increased by 0.3%, as per a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Ripple is increasing the size of its investments in cryptocurrency custody, but legal expert John Deaton says the stablecoin issuer is playing the long game. John Deaton says the change in direction will see Ripple offer tokenization-as-a-service to global financial institutions, potentially improving the XRP price.
Ripple Turns Its Sight On Custody Services
According to an X post by crypto lawyer John Deaton, Ripple Labs is pitching its addition of custodial offerings to its range of payment services. Deaton says that a bird’s eye view of Ripple’s plays will reveal the bigger picture for the stablecoin issuer.
For Deaton, Ripple’s Hidden Road broker deal is the clearest signal for the company’s foray into custodial services. Ripple has previously acquired Metaco and Standard Custody in 2023 and 2024, splurging billions on the acquisitions.
John Deaton notes that the primary reason for the pivot to custodial service is a play to position Ripple as an all-in-one hub for financial institutions embracing distributed ledger technology.
“By offering custody alongside payments and stablecoin solutions, Ripple becomes a one-stop shop for financial institutions integrating blockchain technology,” said Deaton.
Deaton notes that the aggressive push toward custody services is an attempt to “make up for lost time” following its long-running SEC case. The crypto lawyer surmises that Ripple is keen on snatching a chunk of the market share amid projections of the custody market capitalization tipped to reach 16 trillion in market share by 2030.
Deaton Says The End Game Is A Big Push Toward Tokenization
According to John Deaton, Ripple is positioning itself to advance toward providing tokenization-as-a-service to banks. Ripple will achieve this by leveraging its growing custody infrastructure to provide a seamless window for financial institutions to tokenize traditional assets.
John Deaton says the future offerings will allow financial sector players to tokenize stocks and real estate from a single platform. The end game will see the XRP Ledger evolve to be the hub for tokenized assets, with the RLUSD stablecoin playing a significant role.
The tokenization use case will improve the stablecoin adoption, with a CoinGape article predicting XRP’s price if RLUSD captures 80% of USDT’s market share. Deaton says Ripple is increasing its activity levels to put significant distance between itself and its closest competitor.
“Looks to me that Brad Garlinghouse is making up for lost time after being slowed down by the SEC lawsuit,” said Deaton.
Ripple is facing increasing competition from Circle’s Payment Network launch, designed to offer real-time payments. At the moment, XRP price is trading at $2.30, gaining nearly 7% over the last day.
