The XRP price slumped in the first quarter even after some notable Ripple news, including the end of the SEC case and its ecosystem growth. Ripple was trading at $2.2 on April 1, down by 35% from its highest level in 2025. There is a risk that the XRP coin will crash soon, even as the Ripple USD (RLUSD) volume to total value locked (TVL) jumped.
Ripple USD (RLUSD) Volume to TVL Has Jumped
One of Ripple’s strategies to grow its ecosystem has been the launch of RLUSD, a regulated stablecoin. Ripple hopes that its regulation and transparency will help to dethrone Tether and USD Coin.
Recent data shows that RLUSD stablecoin is still a small player in the stablecoin industry. It has a market cap of over $243 million, a tiny amount in an industry valued at over $237 billion.
However, a closely watched metric shows that RLUSD is in a good place. It has a volume-to-total value locked (TVL) of 37%. This figure is much higher than that of other stablecoins. For example, USDC has a ratio of 14.26%, while Tether is slightly behind at 34.5%.
RLUSD Stats
A higher ratio means that RLUSD holders use it to handle daily transactions. It also means that a higher liquidity is provided to facilitate trading. A stablecoin with a low ratio means that it is not being used.
RLUSD has become the biggest player in the XRP Ledger network, with the other notable players being Sologenic, Crypto Trading Fund, Coreum, and XRP Army.
XRP price has also lagged despite other bullish catalysts. The SEC has ended its Ripple case, while many companies have applied for a spot XRP ETF. Further, Ripple is working to become the best alternative to SWIFT, a network that handles billions of dollars each day.
XRP Technical Analysis Points to a Potential Crash
While Ripple has some solid fundamentals, there is a risk that it will have a strong downtrend in the coming weeks. There is a risk that the XRP price is about to form a death cross pattern as the spread between the 50-day and 200-day Weighted Moving Averages (WMA) narrows. A death cross is a highly risky pattern in technical analysis.
The other risk is that the Ripple price has formed a head and shoulders pattern, whose neckline is at around $2. This price coincides with the 50% Fibonacci Retracement, which is drawn by connecting the lowest point in 2024 and highest level this year.
XRP Price Chart
XRP Price Targets
Therefore, a drop below this neckline will be a victory for bears, who will trigger panic selling. More downside will push the token downwards, potentially to the $1.5, the 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement level.
The bearish Ripple price forecast will be canceled if the coin surges above right shoulder point at $3. Such a move will likely trigger a jump to the YTD high of $3.4, followed by the psychological point at $5.
Banana (BANANA) has recently seen a price rally, gaining 44% as it attempts to break out of a descending wedge pattern. While this bullish setup suggests the potential for further gains, investors’ behavior could hinder the altcoin’s progress.
Despite the price rise, many investors are reluctant to hold, potentially delaying the breakout.
Banana Gun Faces Selling
Over the past two weeks, the supply of Banana on exchanges has risen by 300,000 tokens, worth just under $5 million. This increase in selling pressure amounts to roughly 9% of the entire market cap, which stands at $55 million. The growing supply on exchanges is a direct result of the altcoin failing to sustain its recovery, pushing many investors to sell and lock in profits.
This increased selling activity points to a highly bearish sentiment surrounding Banana. The failure to recover has triggered a wave of profit-taking, further weighing on the price.
The overall macro momentum for Banana has been marked by a significant spike in active deposits over the past 24 hours, the highest since November 2024. This surge indicates that more Banana tokens are being offloaded, reflecting investor sentiment and profit-taking behavior.
Unlike previous selling periods where investors sought to offset losses, this round of selling appears to be driven by those booking profits. This shift in behavior could signal further selling in the short term, particularly if the price stabilizes or continues to rise.
At the moment, Banana is trading at $15.95 after rising by 44% over the past day, sitting within a descending wedge pattern that typically signals bullish potential. However, despite this setup, the altcoin has struggled to break out in the last 24 hours, leaving its future uncertain.
If the current weak momentum and selling trends persist, Banana will likely test the lower trend line of the pattern. This could push the price down to $10.29, delaying any potential recovery and reinforcing the bearish outlook.
On the other hand, if broader market conditions improve and investor sentiment shifts, Banana could see a breakout from the wedge pattern. Successfully breaching the $17.57 barrier would signal a reversal and could send the price towards $23.24. Such a move would invalidate the current bearish outlook and mark the beginning of a stronger upward trend for Banana.
A lot happened this week in crypto, marking developments expected to continue shaping the industry. Important headlines came from administrative decisions, ecosystem developments, and analysts probing the market outlook.
In case you missed it, the following is a roundup of some of the most important developments in the crypto market this week.
XRP Lawsuit’s Jay Clayton Became New SDNY Attorney
“Trump’s former SEC Chair Jay Clayton has taken his position as interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York. He will serve for up to four months until confirmed by the Senate or appointed by Manhattan federal judges,” former Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reported.
The move came as Democratic leaders in the Senate reportedly hinted at blocking Clayton’s nomination. Trump’s move to install him as interim could see Clayton avoid the Senate confirmation process.
Clayton is the legal expert who initially filed the longstanding legal action between the SEC and Ripple. As it happened, Clayton filed the lawsuit on December 22, 2020, and resigned the next day in what will be remembered as a “parting shot” for the agency.
Pi Network Pioneer Frustration Over Ambiguous Roadmap
Another crypto incident this week concerned Pi Network pioneers. As BeInCrypto reported, the controversial project released its Mainnet Migration Roadmap. However, it failed to impress pioneers as it lacked key details.
Specifically, several gaps sparked concerns, including failing to disclose how many Pioneers remain in the queue. Similarly, it was unable to show the network’s daily migration capacity. The absence of these figures makes it impossible for users to predict when their migration will occur.
Further, opaque criteria for node rewards and the UI’s “Transferable Balance” underestimating actual migrated amounts raised flags. Pi Network also offers no audit or error‑resolution process for users who spot mismatches in their historical mining data, exacerbating the fears.
“I thought we were mining all of these PI coins this whole time? I thought the security circles were the Consensus Mechanism. It kinda seems to me like there isn’t a blockchain, and never was one. What kind of “Blockchain protocol” would “Require” all tokens to be minted at genesis?” one community member wrote.
Pi Network (PI) price performance. Source: CoinGecko
Data on Coingecko shows PI coin was trading for $0.6539 as of this writing, up by a modest 1.1% in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin Cycle Unfolds Noticeably Different From Previous Ones
More interestingly, BeInCrypto reported a concerning shift: this cycle is unfolding remarkably differently than the past ones post-halving.
In previous cycles, BTC price tended to rally aggressively months after the Bitcoin halving. The post-halving period saw strong upward momentum and parabolic price action.
This trend was largely driven by retail enthusiasm and speculative demand, which proved most pronounced from 2012 to 2016 and 2016 to 2020.
Things are happening differently in the current cycle. Instead of accelerating after the halving, the price surge began in October and December 2024, driven by Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded funds) hype. This was followed by consolidation in January 2025 and a correction in late February.
PancakeSwap Announces CAKE Tokenomics Date
This week in crypto, PancakeSwap announced the official date for its CAKE tokenomics, April 23. As BeInCrypto reported, key changes included the removal of veCAKE, staking, and revenue sharing, with 5.3 million CAKE to be burned annually to curb supply.
However, there was also controversy as Cakepie DAO pushed back against veCAKE removal. Several developers and community members believe CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 will benefit the project in the long term.
“At its core, CAKE Tokenomics 3.0 defends true value and protects CAKE holders by strengthening long-term fundamentals—such as aggressively cutting emissions to accelerate deflation and sustainably grow value,” Chef Philip said.
Meanwhile, others voiced strong concerns on X (Twitter), criticizing the decision to eliminate veCAKE. Among them was Cakepie DAO, one of the largest veCAKE holders, who called it non-transparent and potentially damaging to projects built around that model.
Against this backdrop, PancakeSwap resorted to a $1.5 million CAKE compensation plan.
“PancakeSwap is willing to provide 1.5M USD in CAKE to CakePie DAO primarily used to compensate CKP Holders if CakePie DAO enables mCAKE holders to redeem 1:1 back to CAKE and opens the redemption page in a timely manner if the proposal passes. Detailed plans will be announced once the mirror proposal on CakePie is completed,” the Head Chef of PancakeSwap wrote.
Data on CoinGecko shows Pancake’s CAKE was trading for $2.12 as of this writing, up by nearly 10% in the last 24 hours.
Zora Airdrop and Token Launch Announcement
Adding to the list of the many events that happened this week in crypto, Zora Network announced that it would airdrop 1 billion ZORA tokens (10% of the total supply) on April 23. The tokens would reward early platform users across two snapshot periods.
As it happened, the crypto airdrop happened in style, sparking confusion as it lacked an official checker or claim site. Users were required to go to the contract address and check their allocations.
Speaking to BeInCrypto, Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base blockchain, said that one must not understand anything about crypto or the underlying infrastructure before posting on Zora. He also defended the value of content coins, emphasizing their potential for creators despite volatility.
