Yesterday, El Salvador’s National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) met with staff members from the SEC’s Crypto Task Force. They sketched out plans for a cross-border “regulatory sandbox” for crypto.
This plan involves two pilot programs, each costing less than $10,000, where a US-based broker would partner with a Salvadoran tokenization firm. The plan is tailored to give data on the Task Force’s top regulatory priorities.
Will El Salvador Partner with The SEC?
The SEC’s meeting with CNAD discussed plans for El Salvador, as recorded in a log on the Commission’s site. In the meeting, the parties explicitly discussed priorities in line with Commissioner Hester Peirce’s initial statement announcing the Crypto Task Force.
Of four stated goals, the notion of a “cross-border sandbox” was listed first.
“This initiative offers the SEC Crypto Task Force a live, real-world case study to evaluate streamlined regulatory approaches for digital assets—an opportunity to observe and refine frameworks that could enhance US market innovation. A key lesson from El Salvador’s experience is the transformative potential of tokenization, particularly in real estate,” it claimed.
This sandbox will take the form of a pilot program with two scenarios, each costing $10,000 or less.
In Scenario 1, a US-based real estate broker will partner with a Salvadoran tokenization firm. They will enable investors to purchase tokenized shares of a piece of property.
Scenario 2 tests these firms’ ability to raise capital by selling tokenized shares, using this capital to actually launch a project. It doesn’t specify the project in question, but this scenario doesn’t mention real estate in any capacity.
Both these endeavors will give the SEC valuable data on joint business ventures in El Salvador.
Representatives from El Salvador and the SEC were joined by Erica Perkin, a lawyer specializing in digital asset consulting, and Heather Shemilt, a former partner at Goldman Sachs.
According to the document, participants discussed these proposals, but it doesn’t seem like they actually reached a binding agreement.
The Task Force only sent some of its staff to this meeting, no Commissioners were actually present. Still, this partnership with El Salvador could give the SEC a lot of useful insights.
This plan offers a low-cost way to gather hard data on half of the Task Force’s highest priorities, which seems like a valuable opportunity.
Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.]
Grab a coffee as we delve into market sentiment about XRP ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in the US. As prospects for this financial instrument continue to grow, experts have weighed in on the possible impact on Ripple’s XRP token.
Crypto News of the Day: XRP ETF Inflows to Reach $8.3 Billion, Standard Chartered Predicts
There has been much chatter this week in crypto about XRP ETFs, ranging from false rumors and reports to delays in key decisions. However, one thing appears certain: the conversation is growing more than ever.
In a recent US Crypto News publication, ETF analyst Eric Balchunas indicated they have raised their odds to 85%. Based on this, analysts offer diverging outlooks on how such a product might perform.
“XRP price could rise to $12.23 or $22.20 after ETF Approval if XRP ETFs Get 15% to 30% of Bitcoin ETF Inflows,” a popular account on X shared.
BeInCrypto data shows that XRP was trading for $2.22 as of this writing, down by almost 1% in the last 24 hours.
Against this backdrop, BeInCrypto contacted Standard Chartered for a commentary. The bank’s head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, said it was challenging to predict precise inflow figures.
However, he indicated that comparative data from Europe could provide some guidance.
“The amount of eventual inflows to XRP ETFs is difficult to estimate. However, Bitwise has listed ETPs in Germany for XRP, Solana, Litecoin, BTC, and ETH, which may provide an apples-for-apples comparison,” Kendrick told BeInCrypto.
Drawing on his prediction of how an XRP ETF could perform and the associated impact on XRP price, Kendrick compared Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins.
Citing Bitwise data, the Standard Chartered executive noted that altcoins garner a larger percentage of ETP (exchange-traded product) net asset value (NAV) as a percentage of coin market capitalization than Bitcoin and Ethereum.
However, he acknowledged that this could be because fewer ETPs are available for altcoins. Kendrick added that NAV-to-market-cap ratios from already approved US spot ETFs provide a useful benchmark.
Based on these assessments, Geoff Kendrick projected that a US-listed spot XRP ETF could attract as much as $8.3 billion in inflows within its first year.
“Of the US spot ETFs approved so far, NAV as a percentage of market cap is 3% for Ethereum and just under 6% for Bitcoin. At current XRP market cap, that would imply a range of $4.4 billion to $8.3 billion as a future total NAV measure for an XRP ETF, which seems like a reasonable target range for inflows in the first 12 months,” Kendrick added.
Kendrick Sees Ripple Price at $8, Bitfinex Analysts Question Investor Interest for XRP ETFs
The Standard Chartered executive said he expects XRP price gains to keep pace with Bitcoin price growth targets.
He forecasted the Ripple price to rise to $8 by 2026, contingent on spot XRP ETF approvals in the US. This would constitute a 260% surge above the current price of $2.22.
“In real terms, XRP inflation is currently 6%, versus 0.8% for Bitcoin. As such, we target the XRP-USD price levels of $5.50 at end-2025, $8.00 at end-2026, $10.40 at end-2027, $12.50 at end-2028 and $12.25 at end-2029,” Kendrick explained.
Meanwhile, analysts at Bitfinex caution against optimism, saying that investor interest in a US-based spot XRP ETF may not match that witnessed in Bitcoin ETFs.
“We expect limited inflows into an XRP ETF as some investors may choose to broaden their exposure across available crypto ETFs. However it is unlikely to see the level of flows experienced by Bitcoin,” Bitfinex analysts told BeInCrypto.
The contrasting assessments reflect broader uncertainty over how altcoin ETFs might perform in a regulated US market.
Bitcoin’s dominance and changing regulatory attitudes toward digital assets still heavily influence the crypto market in the US.
So far, Grayscale, Wisdom Tree, Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares have filed for XRP ETF approvals with the SEC. Bitwise’s application received official acknowledgment on February 18, triggering several timelines for approving, denying, or extending the application.
The final deadline is October 12, 240 days after official receipt. This date is equivalent to the ‘final deadline’ of January 10, 2024, for BTC ETF approvals, the day they were approved.
However, with other applications beyond XRP ETF pending approval, including Solana and Litecoin, Kendrick noted that other applications in the pipeline could affect the timeline for XRP ETF approval.
“Litecoin seems most likely to progress the fastest, providing early insight into how the new SEC leadership will treat altcoin ETFs,” Kendrick said.
As a hard fork of Bitcoin, Litecoin could already be viewed by the SEC as a commodity rather than a security. According to Kendrick, its similarity to Bitcoin may make it conceptually easier for investors to understand.
“We expect a wave of cryptocurrency ETFs next year, albeit not all at once. First out is likely the BTC + ETH combo ETFs, then probably Litecoin (because it is a fork of BTC, [therefore it’s a] commodity), then HBAR (because it’s not labeled security), and then XRP/Solana (which have been labeled securities in pending lawsuits),” Balchunas stated.
In a convoluted and dramatic scandal, HyperLiquid was rocked today by a massive JELLY short squeeze. It was forced to assume one trader’s liabilities, leaving it on the hook for $230 million.
As this situation developed, major CEXs like Binance and OKX listed JELLY perpetuals in what looks like a direct attack. HyperLiquid delisted the token, sparking extreme controversy.
Essentially, massive JELLY whales managed to manipulate the meme coin price, causing losses in HyperLiquid’s HLP vault.
“A massive whale with 124.6 million JELLYJELLY ($4.85 million) is manipulating its price to make Hyperliquidity Provider (HLP) face a loss of $12 million. He first dumped the token, crashing the price and leaving HLP with a passive short position of $15.3 million. Then he bought it back, driving the price up—causing HLP to suffer a loss of nearly $12 million,” LookonChain claimed via social media.
So, essentially, JELLY JELLY initially surged nearly 500% today. This dramatic jump was sparked by what’s called a “short squeeze.” It occurs when someone bets heavily that a coin’s price will fall (known as “shorting”), but instead, the price unexpectedly rises.
In this case, a trader borrowed a massive amount of JELLY tokens and sold them immediately. He expected the price to drop, buy the tokens back cheaper, and keep the difference as profit.
Unfortunately for the trader, the price didn’t fall—it skyrocketed, forcing them to buy back the coins at much higher prices, creating massive losses.
This sudden forced buying pushed the price even higher, catching the attention of traders and investors who jumped in to ride the wave. In under an hour, JELLY’s market cap rapidly increased from $10 million to $43 million.
This frenzy also left Hyperliquid, the exchange involved, holding a big loss of $6.5 million from the trader’s failed short position, sparking speculation about potential financial stress on the platform.
Meanwhile, Binance and OKX listed JELLY perpetuals, further driving its price up. So the potential loss became even larger for Hyperliquid. Some users even urged Binance and other competitors to list the token and deal a ‘death blow’ to Hyperliquid.
Binance Users Urging Officials to List JELLY JELLY and Trigger Losses for Hyperliquid. Source: X (formerly Twitter)
Binance is Apparently Trying to Liquidate HyperLiquid
In a very interesting twist, it looks like these competitors are heeding the call. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, was hit with a wave of requests to list JELLY JELLY, thereby causing big losses for HyperLiquid.
Yi He, one of its co-founders, said she would consider a listing, and crypto sleuth ZachXBT claimed that the original whale was funded via Binance.
Shortly after these developments happened, Binance announced that it would begin offering perpetuals contracts for JELLY.
OKX also jumped on the bandwagon with perpetuals trading of its own. After this, HyperLiquid announced that it would delist JELLY JELLY, seemingly erasing its unrealized losses.
“After evidence of suspicious market activity, the validator set convened and voted to delist JELLY perps. All users apart from flagged addresses will be made whole from the Hyper Foundation. This will be done automatically in the coming days based on onchain data. There is no need to open a ticket. Methodology will be shared in detail in a later announcement,” HyperLiquid’s statement claimed.
This radical action immediately caused an explosion on social media. HyperLiquid’s supporters expressed unease over the JELLY JELLY incident, while its detractors accused the firm of criminal activity.
The firm’s validators confirmed that they unanimously took the decision, partially rebutting rumors that its CEO acted alone.
Still, there are no mincing words here. If HyperLiquid can simply declare its JELLY JELLY liabilities null and void, that’s a highly destabilizing act.
The way it handled the $JELLY incident was immature, unethical, and unprofessional, triggering user losses and casting serious doubts over its integrity. Despite presenting itself as an innovative decentralized exchange with a…
Meme coins to watch today include LUNA, HOUSE, and TURBO. All three are showing strong price action and rising volume. LUNA is up 92% in the past seven days as part of the surging Virtuals Protocol ecosystem.
HOUSE gained nearly 26% despite a short-term pullback and continues to draw attention from Solana meme coin traders. Meanwhile, TURBO spiked 25% in 24 hours, with volume exploding over 200%, signaling growing momentum.
Luna by Virtuals (LUNA)
Launch Date – October 2024
Total Circulating Supply – 1 Billion LUNA
Maximum Supply – 1 Billion LUNA
Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) – $25.9 million
The Virtuals Protocol ecosystem has been trending, with VIRTUAL up 93% in the past seven days. LUNA followed with a 76% gain, now the fourth-largest token in the ecosystem by market cap, just behind VIRTUAL, AIXBT, and VADER.
If momentum holds, LUNA could test resistance at $0.032. A breakout may push it toward $0.041, opening the door for further upside.
Despite a 15% dip in the last 24 hours, Housecoin is still up nearly 26% on the week. If the pullback continues, key support lies at $0.063—losing that could send it to $0.047.
If buyers return, HOUSE could retest $0.13 and possibly reach $0.15, setting a new all-time high and reigniting the hype.
TURBO
Launch Date – May 2023
Total Circulating Supply – 69 Billion TURBO
Maximum Supply – 69 Billion TURBO
Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) – $397.69 Million
TURBO has jumped nearly 30% in the past week, with a 25% gain in just 24 hours. Its 24-hour volume surged over 200%, hitting $282 million—about 70% of its market cap—making it one of the most interesting meme coins to watch today.
