The latest trading tales of Hyperliquid whales like Andrew Tate and James Wynn underscore that fortunes can be made and lost in the blink of an eye in the DeFi space. Andrew Tate’s recent X post highlights a staggering 138.5% gain on an Ethereum long position with 25x leverage on Hyperliquid. This impressive trade starkly
U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF products have recorded over a whopping $3 billion worth of weekly inflows this Saturday, marking their first-ever consecutive weekly inflows after nearly 5 weeks of market turmoil.
Data from the tracker SosoValue on Saturday, April 26, signaled that U.S.-based BTC exchange-traded products closed this week, marking $3.06 billion worth of inflows. Previous data suggests that these ETPs last recorded consecutive inflows in the prior month, with the week that concluded on March 28.
Bitcoin ETF Inflows Spike Over $3 Billion, Here’s Data To See
SosoValue data suggests that after the week that concluded on March 28, 2025, this is the first time ever that U.S. Bitcoin ETF products saw consecutive weekly inflows, that too over $3 billion. Statistics indicated that these products recorded $15.85 million in inflows in the last week, concluding on April 17.
However, previous data indicated that BTC ETF products recorded $713.30 million in outflows as of the week concluding on April 11, 2025. Further, $172.69 million worth of inflows were recorded as of the week concluding on April 4, 2025. Before this, the last consecutive weekly inflows were recorded at $196.48 million as of the week closing on March 28.
Source: Sosovalue
The conclusion? Broder crypto market sentiments have taken a severe hit over the past month, given Donald Trump’s tariff flip-flopping. As a response, risk assets encountered severe investor uncertainty, with institutions also exercising caution alongside global markets. This cautious approach pushed the U.S. spot BTC exchange-traded products to react negatively before finally glimmering hope in recent days.
Intriguingly, the broader scenario remains bullish across the crypto market at the moment, rationalizing the robust inflows. Bitcoin price climbed nearly 11% this week, closing in at the $94K level. This rising price action appears to have kicked off a positive sentiment for other altcoins and Bitcoin ETF products as well. While ETH, XRP, and SOL prices gained nearly 2%, CoinGape reported that BTC ETF products recorded inflows worth $381 million in just a day recently.
The U.S. spot BTC exchange-traded products hold total net assets worth $109.27 billion, representing 5/80% of the flagship crypto’s market cap. This statistic further underscores the ETPs’ massive influence over the coin’s market.
In the first six months of 2025, crypto thefts reached an unprecedented $2.1 billion, setting a new record for illicit activity in the crypto space.
This marks a significant escalation from previous years, with infrastructure attacks and state-sponsored actors, particularly North Korea, driving the surge in losses.
Crypto Theft Reaches New Heights in H1 2025
In its latest report, TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm, disclosed that between January and June 2025, the crypto sector endured nearly 75 distinct hacks and exploits. These attacks led to losses exceeding $2.1 billion,
This represented a 10% increase compared to the previous record of $2 billion stolen in the first half of 2022. Moreover, the amount is nearly equivalent to the funds stolen throughout all of 2024.
“The first half of 2025 has delivered a stark reminder of the crypto ecosystem’s vulnerabilities,” the report read.
The Amount Stolen via Crypto Hacks Over the Years. Source: TRM Labs
TRM Labs noted that most of the stolen funds in the first half of 2025 (over 80%) resulted from infrastructure attacks. This includes tactics like stealing private keys and seed phrases or compromising platforms’ front end. On average, these incidents caused 10 times greater losses than other attacks, highlighting their outsized impact on the crypto ecosystem.
“Infrastructure attacks refer to attack techniques that target the technical backbone of the digital asset system to gain unauthorized control, mislead users, or reroute assets. Often enabled by social engineering or insider access, these breaches expose critical weaknesses at the foundation of cryptosecurity,” TRM added.
The firm also revealed that protocol exploits accounted for 12% of the stolen funds. This involves flash loans and re-entrancy attacks.
Malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities in a blockchain protocol’s underlying logic or smart contracts. This allows them to extract funds or disrupt the system’s functionality.
“This incident alone accounted for nearly 70% of total losses so far this year, pushing the average hack size to nearly $30 million — double the $15 million average in H1 2024,” the report stated.
TRM Labs pointed out that North Korea-affiliated groups were behind $1.6 billion of the total stolen funds. Moreover, the report highlighted that other state actors are increasingly using crypto hacks as a tool for geopolitical leverage.
“Such events underscore how digital asset theft is becoming a covert instrument in geopolitical conflicts and national policy,” TRM Labs added.
To combat these exploits, TRM Labs advocated for a multi-layered defense strategy. Recommendations include regular security audits, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and using cold storage.
The firm emphasized the need for advanced defenses against state-level threats, such as improved insider threat detection and countermeasures for social engineering. Lastly, TRM Labs stressed the importance of global collaboration among law enforcement, financial intelligence units, and blockchain intelligence firms to track stolen funds and prosecute cybercriminals.
XRP is at a turning point, and analysts are split on its next move. Some warn it could drop to $1 if it loses key support at $2, while others believe it could rally to $30 by May 2025, especially with its recent inclusion in strategic reserves.
In parallel, StratoVM ($SVM) had a 347% increase, and as Bitcoin’s DeFi sector grows, StratoVM could help bring smart contracts, AI, and faster transactions to the network.
Here’s a closer look at what’s going on with both projects.
Will XRP Rebound to $30 After a Drop to $1?
XRP’s price could be in for a dramatic swing. Market expert Ali Martinez warns that if XRP falls below the critical $2 support level, it could tumble by 40%, which would drag its value down to $1. Others share this concern and emphasize that holding above $2 is crucial to prevent a deeper sell-off.
Despite the bearish outlook in the short term, some experts are optimistic. EGRAG CRYPTO believes the token could surge to $30 by May 2025 and cites historical trends and technical patterns. He compares the current market setup to 2017, when XRP consolidated before skyrocketing in price.
One of the key reasons behind this bullish prediction is XRP’s recent inclusion in strategic reserves.
Investors now face a crucial period of uncertainty. If XRP loses its key support, it could drop significantly. But if history repeats itself, a major rebound could happen.
As of today, XRP is trading at around $2.48, up 4.5% in the last 24 hours. Trading volume has been strong, reaching approximately $9.84 billion over the same period.
StratoVM ($SVM): The Breakthrough Layer-2 That Could Transform Bitcoin Beyond Just Digital Gold
Bitcoin is the go-to asset for storing value, often compared to digital gold. But when it comes to smart contracts, DeFi, and AI applications, it lags behind faster blockchains like Ethereum and Solana.
That’s where StratoVM ($SVM) could come in—a Layer-2 solution designed to potentially tap into Bitcoin’s potential beyond just being a store of value.
Unlike Ethereum, which powers countless decentralized apps and financial tools, Bitcoin’s functionality has been limited. StratoVM might be able to change that by making Bitcoin transactions faster, integrating DeFi, and enabling AI-powered applications.
SVM’s price has grown over 347% in the last week, hitting $0.2217, according to CoinGecko. Yet, despite this massive jump, its market cap is still at $3.7 million—small compared to projects like CoreDAO ($990 million). This means there’s still a lot of room for growth if more people start using it.
SVM 7-day chart, Source: CoinGecko
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s DeFi sector (BTCFi) is exploding. In just a year, the total value locked (TVL) in Bitcoin-based DeFi projects has skyrocketed from $307 million to $5.85 billion, according to DefiLlama. With that kind of momentum, demand for Layer-2 solutions like StratoVM could soar.
StratoVM is already gaining traction—it’s listed on Uniswap, and rumors are circling about a centralized exchange (CEX) listing. The project’s testnet is active, with 113,000 wallets and 56,000 daily transactions.
If StratoVM achieves its goal, Bitcoin could break past its traditional role and step into DeFi, smart contracts, and AI.
Final Thoughts
XRP’s next move is uncertain—some expect a drop to $1, while others see a rally to $30. Either way, it’s a crucial time for investors.
Meanwhile, StratoVM ($SVM) seems to be gaining momentum and showing that Bitcoin can do more than just store value. If it keeps growing, it could help Bitcoin compete in DeFi, smart contracts, and AI.
Disclaimer: It’s important to note that participating in presales carries risks, including market volatility and potential project delays. Please conduct thorough research, understand the risks of market volatility, and seek professional advice before engaging with any blockchain project. Future-oriented statements are speculative and may not be modified.
The post XRP News Today: Expert Says XRP Could Drop To 1$ Amid Market Dump And Then Rally to 30$ Ahead of Strategic Reserve appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
XRP is at a turning point, and analysts are split on its next move. Some warn it could drop to $1 if it loses key support at $2, while others believe it could rally to $30 by May 2025, especially with its recent inclusion in strategic reserves. In parallel, StratoVM ($SVM) had a 347% increase, …