Hong Kong’s financial regulators are moving to legalize trading in Bitcoin and crypto derivatives. This step aims to boost the city’s position as a major crypto hub and attract more investors. By creating clear rules and allowing these new financial products, Hong Kong hopes to provide safer, more transparent markets. The move reflects growing global acceptance of cryptocurrencies and could open the door for more innovation in the region’s financial sector.
According to an on-chain analyst, the movement of dormant Bitcoins (BTC) increased by 121% in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024.
This shift may signal that long-term investors are reacting to broader economic trends or anticipating market changes.
Dormant Bitcoin on the Move: What’s Driving the Trend?
In a recent post on CryptoQuant, the analyst revealed that investors moved around 28,000 dormant Bitcoins in Q1 2024. March was particularly noteworthy, with approximately 19,296 BTC moved. This was in contrast to the lower figures in January (approximately 3,034 BTC) and February (approximately 5,678 BTC).
“In the first three months of 2025, more than twice the amount of long-dormant Bitcoin has been moved compared to the same period in 2024,” the post read.
Comparing this to the first quarter of 2025, the total amount of Bitcoin moved was notably higher. Over 62,00 BTC, dormant for over seven years, was transferred. Specifically, investors moved 24,595 BTC in January, 21,820 BTC in February, and 16,456 BTC in March.
Recently, Glassnode pointed out that Bitcoin has experienced its deepest drawdown of the cycle. In its weekly newsletter, the firm emphasized that investors are facing intense pressure. Furthermore, many are currently experiencing their largest unrealized losses ever.
“Current unrealized losses are largely concentrated among newer investors, while long-term holders remain in a position of unilateral profitability. However, an important nuance is emerging, as recent top buyers age into long-term holder status, as noted, the level of unrealized loss within this cohort is likely to increase,” the newsletter read.
However, Glassnode noted that BTC’s dip remains within the typical range of previous corrections seen in bull markets. Importantly, Bitcoin has also been on a recovery rally lately.
Over the past week, its value has appreciated by 8.9%. Yet, daily losses stood at 2.2%. At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $92,164. The decline wasn’t isolated, as the broader crypto market also experienced a correction.
Meanwhile, the increased movement of dormant assets is not limited to Bitcoin. A parallel trend has emerged in the Ethereum (ETH) market. Data from Lookonchain showed that in early February, a whale deposited its entire holdings of 77,736 ETH into Bitfinex after being inactive for six years.
In early April, Onchain Lens posted about an eight-year dormant whale moving 11,104 ETH worth 19.97 million.
“Of this, 247.93 ETH was sent to Coinbase and 10,856 ETH to a new wallet. The whale initially withdrew ETH for $2.51 million from Kraken and Gemini, 8 years ago,” Onchain Lens added.
This asset movement reflects investors’ strategic repositioning amid economic uncertainty.
The long-running Ripple vs SEC battle might finally be wrapping up this year. With settlement talks and a critical SEC meeting this week, the stakes are higher than ever for XRP. Here’s a quick rundown of where things stand, what’s next, and why this week could be crucial for XRP.
2024 – SEC Files For an Appeal To the Second Circuit
Last year, the SEC had filed an appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging a federal judge’s ruling that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail customers did not violate securities laws, while institutional sales did.
January 15, 2025 – SEC Files Opening Brief To Overturn the 2023 Ruling
At the start of 2025, the SEC filed an opening brief on January 15th, in its appeal against Ripple, seeking to overturn the 2023 ruling that classified XRP sales differently for institutional and retail investors. The SEC claims all XRP sales should count as unregistered securities, arguing that Ripple’s marketing created profit expectations.
However, Ripple’s legal chief, Stuart Alderoty, brushed it off as old arguments which would be dropped by the next administration.
March 19, 2025 – Both the parties drop appeals
On March 19th this year, the SEC dropped its appeal against Ripple Labs regarding the legal status of the XRP token. This marked a significant regulatory shift for the crypto industry under the new administration.
Although Ripple scored a win on public sales, but it had to pay a $125 million fine as the court still held that institutional sales of XRP did violate securities laws.
May 8, 2025 – $50 Million Deal Finalised
Ripple and the SEC finally settled their long-running legal battle on May 8, 2025, agreeing to a $50 million deal. The deal was followed after months of appeals and negotiations. Ripple got a reduced penalty and the case ended on a favorable terms.
Both the parties also asked the court for an indicative ruling to lift the ban on XRP sales and to release the $125 million penalty held in escrow. Of that amount, $50 million would go to the SEC, and the rest back to Ripple.
May 15, 2025 – Judge Torres Denies Request For Indicative Ruling
But in a recent update, Judge Torres denied SEC’s request to lift the ban on XRP sales to big investors and to lower Ripple’s $125 million fine. After this, XRP’s price dropped from $2.65 on May 14 to $2.30 on May 17. Judge Torres called it “procedurally improper” and was not done in the right way.
However, Ripple’s CLO, Stuart Alderoty pointed out that nothing in the court order affects Ripple’s recent wins—like XRP not being classified as a security and the issue was purely procedural. Fred Rispoli also shared that this will get resolved, but Ripple and the SEC will need 2-3 weeks to prepare and file their motion, followed by another week or two for the judge to make a decision.
What’s Next?
Investors now await the SEC’s next move, a new settlement request that follows the court’s rules. The SEC needs to clearly show that lifting the ban on XRP sales and lowering the fine will benefit both big investors and the public.
Legal Expert Bill Morgan shared a quick timeline on on what could be next. After another three steps, the case could be fully closed.
Right now, Ripple and the SEC are preparing to file a new motion with the correct legal steps. If the court agrees for an indicative ruling, they’ll ask the Appeals Court to send the case back to Judge Torres so she can approve the agreed relief.
Once the Appeals Court agrees, Ripple and the SEC will officially ask Judge Torres to lift the injunction and reduce the fine as they agreed.
After the injunction is lifted and Ripple pays the $50 million fine, both sides will ask the Appeals Court to dismiss the ongoing appeals, which will officially close the case.
This week could bring clarity to the Ripple case, with a closed SEC meeting set for Thursday, May 22. A favorable ruling could clear up things for XRP ETF as well.
The post Why Ripple vs SEC Lawsuit Could Finally End in 2025 appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
The long-running Ripple vs SEC battle might finally be wrapping up this year. With settlement talks and a critical SEC meeting this week, the stakes are higher than ever for XRP. Here’s a quick rundown of where things stand, what’s next, and why this week could be crucial for XRP. 2024 – SEC Files For …
Over the past few months, Ethereum has experienced a significant decline in user activity on its blockchain. This slowdown has reduced the network’s burn rate—a mechanism that helps decrease ETH supply over time.
With fewer tokens being burned, ETH’s circulating supply has risen, putting inflationary pressure on the asset. As a result, the coin has struggled to maintain a stable price above the $2,000 level in recent months.
Low Burn Rate Equals More Coins in Circulation
According to Ultrasoundmoney, 72,927 ETH, valued at $134 million at current market prices, have been added to ETH’s circulating supply in the past month alone.
At press time, this sits at 120,730,199 ETH, significantly above pre-merge levels.
This increase in ETH’s supply is driven by a decline in user activity on the Ethereum network, reducing its burn rate. Ethereum’s burn mechanism, introduced through EIP-1559, destroys a portion of transaction fees to reduce the circulating supply of ETH.
However, this mechanism is directly tied to network usage. So, when fewer transactions occur like this, less ETH is burned, resulting in ETH’s supply spiking.
According to Etherscan, the daily amount of ETH burnt has dropped by 95% year-to-date. In fact, the network recently recorded its lowest amount of coins burnt in a single day on April 20.
Many users and developers are migrating from Ethereum to Layer-2 (L2) solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum. These networks offer significantly lower transaction fees and faster execution, reducing user activity on Ethereum’s mainnet.
For example, as of April 30, the average transaction fee on Optimism’s mainnet was just $0.024. By contrast, completing a transaction directly on Ethereum cost users an average of $0.18 on the same day, which is over seven times more expensive.
Optimism Average Transaction Fee. Source: Dune Analytics
Moreover, thanks to the recent meme coin mania, “Ethereum killers,” such as Solana, have gained significant traction over the past few months, drawing users away from the L1.
Together, these trends have led to a decline in Ethereum’s transaction count, hence the network’s low burn rate.
How Do Ethereum’s Fundamentals Stack Up?
The drop in Ethereum’s user demand and the subsequent rise in ETH’s supply have raised important questions about the strength of its fundamentals.
When asked how Ethereum currently compares to other Layer-1 (L1) networks amid broader market weakness, Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, offered his perspective.
“Ethereum’s fundamentals remain strong relative to other Layer 1s, particularly when you consider its total value locked (TVL) of $368.921 billion, which positions it at the top of the leaderboard,” Liu said.
Although Liu acknowledged that Ethereum ranks fifth in 24-hour fees, behind Tron, Solana, HyperLiquid, Bitcoin, and BNB Chain. He emphasized that the network still “demonstrates significant demand and usage.”
Temujin Louie, CEO of Wanchain, shares a similar perspective. While speaking with BeInCrypto, Louie noted:
“Compared to other Layer 1s, fundamentals remain Ethereum’s strength. Unlike many Layer 1s with aggressive inflation as part of their design, Ethereum’s post-merge architecture makes it potentially deflationary. However, the benefits of EIP-1559 depend on on-chain activity. Nevertheless, this is a structural advantage over most competing Layer 1s.”
While increased activity across Layer-2 (L2) solutions and “Ethereum killers” like Solana may have contributed to a decline in user demand on Ethereum itself, Louie believes that the L1 network “remains a leader in decentralization and has a near-unmatched track record that continues to secure its place in the market.”
What About ETH Price?
Even with strong fundamentals, declining activity on Ethereum poses challenges for ETH in the short- to mid-term. Commenting on this, Liu explained that lower network activity generally signals weaker demand for ETH.
At the same time, increased coin issuance on the network undermines Ethereum’s deflationary model, which was designed to support price appreciation.
“This combination could result in bearish price movements,” Liu warned, “especially as investors look to alternative Layer 1s offering better scalability and lower fees.”
Kadan Stadelmann, CTO of Komodo Platform, also highlighted the role of macroeconomic factors:
“If Ethereum experiences an extended decrease in usage, the price could fall considerably depending on how much use drops, especially if the Fed continues its policy of quantitative tightening compared to quantitative easing. Short-term, this could mean price drops down to the $2,000 range. If the trend continues, however, then Ethereum could find itself in a prolonged consolidation period or outright downtrend.”
ETH Eyes $2,000 Breakout Amid Strengthening RSI
ETH currently trades at $1,834, noting a 1% price dip over the past day. Despite the brief pullback, the bullish pressure in the coin’s spot markets continues to strengthen, reflected by the coin’s climbing Relative Strength Index (RSI).
At press time, this momentum indicator is at 57.68. ETH’s RSI readings signal growing bullish conditions. This indicates that the altcoin has room for upward movement if buying pressure increases.
In this scenario, its price could break above $2,027.
