Asset manager Bitwise has made its next move in a bid to offer a NEAR ETF, filing its S-1 form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This development provides a bullish outlook for the Near Protocol price, with institutional investors gaining exposure to the altcoin through this fund.
Bitwise Registers NEAR ETF Filing With US SEC
A SEC filing shows that Bitwise has registered its proposed NEAR ETF with the US SEC. This move is part of the plans to launch a fund that will directly track the value of the Near Protocol price and provide investors with exposure to the altcoin.
This comes following the asset manager’s registration of the Near Protocol ETF in Delaware. Following this filing, the firm will now move to file a 19b-4 form for the ETF with the Commission through an exchange. This will officially kickstart the approval process as the exchange declares its intention to list and trade the fund on its platform.
The Commission already has several filings for other altcoin ETFs on its desk, including ones from Bitwise. Bitwise has already filed for Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and Aptos ETFs.
However, the SEC has shown it is in no hurry to approve these funds despite the regulatory-friendly environment that the Commission has created under this new administration. The agency has so far delayed its decision on all other crypto ETFs, with the latest being Canary Capital’s Litecoin ETF filing.
Insight Into The Altcoin’s Current Price Action
Amid Bitwise’s NEAR ETF filing, crypto analyst Lycus has provided insights into the Near Protocol’s current price action. He remarked that the altcoin’s price appears to be stabilizing above the $1.75 support zone.
The analyst added that if it can reclaim the $3.70 resistance, there could be a price surge towards the $5 level. Lycus affirmed that the NEAR price is showing strong support and advised market participants to wait for a small wick around $2.65 if they are planning to accumulate.
XRP continues to show strength despite recent market volatility. While Bitcoin experienced sharp moves, XRP’s price action has remained relatively stable. As of now, XRP is trading around $2.20, with strong support forming between $2.17 and $2.23.
Looking ahead to next week, several key economic events could cause short-term swings in the broader crypto market. On Wednesday, investors will closely watch the core PCE inflation report and GDP data, followed by jobless claims and manufacturing PMI on Thursday. Friday’s unemployment data will round out the week. Although this data can trigger intraday volatility, analysts believe it is unlikely to shift XRP’s long-term trend unless results differ significantly from forecasts.
From a technical perspective, XRP remains within a broader trading range, despite recent lower highs and lower lows. Analysts suggest this movement still supports the idea of consolidation rather than a full downtrend. XRP might briefly dip toward $2.05, but a continuation to $2.35 or $2.40 appears more likely if current support levels hold.
Volume for XRP remains relatively low, but its 84% correlation with Bitcoin means it may mirror BTC’s movements in the short term. For now, XRP is holding steady, and unless there is a major shift in macroeconomic data, it may see gradual upward movement in the coming days.
The post XRP Price Prediction And Analysis For April 27 appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
XRP continues to show strength despite recent market volatility. While Bitcoin experienced sharp moves, XRP’s price action has remained relatively stable. As of now, XRP is trading around $2.20, with strong support forming between $2.17 and $2.23. Looking ahead to next week, several key economic events could cause short-term swings in the broader crypto market. …
The crypto market concludes another week with unprecedented developments sparking investor enthusiasm. A strategic Bitcoin reserve was announced in the U.S., whilst a crypto stockpile and summit followed. Simultaneously, despite the optimistic developments, BTC and major-league altcoins continued encountering market volatility.
Mentioned below are some of the most buzzworthy market updates reported by CoinGape over the past week.
Crypto Market This Week Sees US Bitcoin Reserve & Crypto Stockpile
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a strategic Bitcoin reserve for America this week. This reserve is expected to encompass roughly 200,000 Bitcoins, which are currently held by the government through the cessation of funds involved in criminal and illicit activities.
Intriguingly, Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick have been appointed officials who will focus on potential resources to help the reserve acquire more BTC ahead. Trump revealed that these BTC coins are also not to be sold ahead, offering the reserve more value.
Further, the nation expects to see a ‘crypto stockpile’ comprised of assets like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and XRP ahead, per Trump’s announcement. The main difference between the two sagas is that while the government will put efforts into acquiring more BTC, no active efforts for upsizing the crypto stockpile are to be made. Altogether, these were the major pro-crypto advancements in the U.S. this week.
Crypto Summit: What’s The Scoop?
Simultaneously, the cryptocurrency market saw a White House crypto summit this week, which was hosted by President Donald Trump and Crypto Czar David Sacks.
Notably, Trump showcased strong efforts to end “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” which has been putting regulatory pressure on banks, leading them to close accounts of crypto businesses. Further, the 47th U.S. President continued reflecting strong support for cryptocurrencies, hinting that the government’s stance is primed to be more favorable for digital assets ahead.
Overall, the Bitcoin reserve announcement, crypto summit, and a crypto stockpile launch ahead have sparked noteworthy market optimism.
Bitcoin & Altcoins Still Volatile
However, despite the broader developments this week, BTC and major league altcoins face crypto market turbulence.
BTC price closed the week near $86K after riding a rollercoaster in the past seven days. ETH price lost nearly 2% and closed the week near $2,200. XRP price also faced turbulence and exchanged hands at $2.32 as the week closed, up by only 3% in 7 days. Lastly, SOL price lost 3.5% weekly and rested at $138, in line with the broader market trend.
Ethereum’s long‑awaited Pectra upgrade is live, activating 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals on the mainnet.
The network crossed the upgrade slot at 10:05 UTC and reached finality roughly 12 minutes later, clearing the last hurdle after two turbulent testnet runs.
Ethereum’s Pectra Hard Fork Goes Live: What You Need to Know
The headline change, EIP‑7251, raises each validator’s effective balance from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, letting large staking providers consolidate thousands of nodes and slash bandwidth costs.
Pectra has gone live and finalized ! Testing of the newly activated EIPs continues.
Pectra Upgrade also debuts EIP‑7702, allowing externally owned accounts to temporarily execute smart‑contract code. The feature unlocks gas‑fee payments in stablecoins, subscription‑style transfers, and native wallet‑recovery tools. Nine additional EIPs target data availability, validator onboarding, and cryptographic efficiency.
At press time, ETH trades around $1,840, up almost 3% over the last 24 hours, as markets digest the upgrade while bracing for today’s FOMC rate decision.
Core developers will now pivot to the next hard fork, “Fusaka,” slated for late 2025, but today’s smooth rollout cements Ethereum’s momentum after three years of incremental tweaks.
BeInCrypto contacted Bitfinex analysts for insight on the Pectra Upgrade. In their opinion, Pectra brings both opportunities and challenges for Ethereum Layer 2s.
While it boosts efficiency and lowers costs, it may also concentrate validator power and reduce Layer 2 fee revenues.
According to the analysts, this shift could impact decentralization and incentives, pushing Layer 2s to adapt through innovation and user-focused design.
“Ultimately, the Pectra upgrade represents a double-edged sword for Ethereum’s Layer 2s,” Bitfinex analysts told BeInCrypto.
Others like Nicolai Sondergaard, Research Analyst at Nansen, offer a more measured outlook. Speaking to BeInCrypto, Sondergaard said Pectra enhances Ethereum’s Layer-2 ecosystem by doubling blob capacity and raising calldata costs.
According to Sondergaard, this makes blobs the standard for rollup data, with lower fees and smoother UX on dApps.
He said DeFi and NFTs benefit from smarter wallets, gas sponsorship, and cheaper transactions, while onboarding and voting in DAOs and social apps become easier.
“Gasless voting or simplified onboarding becomes more practical with the new wallet capabilities. Meanwhile, the upgrade doesn’t introduce backward-incompatible changes, meaning existing contracts continue functioning as-is,” Sondergaard concluded.
Meanwhile, while the technical changes are mostly invisible to users, major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase implemented temporary service pauses as a precaution.
Binance and Coinbase Halt Key Services
Binance exchange said deposits and withdrawals of 14 tokens would not be available starting Wednesday at 09:45 (UTC).
“Starting at approximately 2025-05-07 09:45 (UTC), Binance will suspend the deposits and withdrawals of token(s)…to support the Ethereum network upgrade and hard fork to ensure the best user experience,” read the announcement.
With this news, the following tokens will not be available for depositing and withdrawing on Binance. Services will resume once the tokens are deemed stable and the volatility inspired by the Pectra Upgrade has eased.
Ethereum (ETH)
Polygon (POL)
Arbitrum (ARB)
Metis (METIS)
Optimism (OP)
Scroll (SCR)
zkSync Era (ZKSYNC)
Cyber (CYBER)
Base (BASE)
Metal DAO (MTL)
Manta Network (MANTA)
Celo (CELO)
Starknet (STRK)
Worldcoin (WLD)
Binance suspends deposits and withdrawals for 14 tokens. Source: Binance announcement
This suspension comes as the exchange looks to support the Ethereum network upgrade and hard fork, ensuring the best user experience.
Notably, while Binance halts deposit and withdrawal functions for these tokens, trading on their networks will remain operational.
Coinbase also announced a similar move, pausing some operations to ensure a smooth and secure transition.
“To ensure user fund safety, we will temporarily pause Ethereum deposits and withdrawals from 2:50 AM to 3:45 AM PT,” Coinbase stated in a post.
However, the initiation of new staking requests on the Coinbase exchange will be delayed during that time. Normalcy will resume after 3:45 AM PT without affecting existing staked positions.
! Testing of the newly activated EIPs continues.