On Friday, Vaultro Finance officially revealed the first-ever decentralised index fund dashboard on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Calling it “a new era of on-chain portfolio investing”, the fund protocol announced the launch in a blog post, confirming that it is the first protocol to deliver a fully on-chain index fund interface on XRPL. XRP Ledger Gets a Boost With DeFi Index Fund Dashboard For XRPL users, it’s a biggie, as the Vaultro Finance’s launch brings structured, on-chain investment tools like index funds tracking AI, DeFi, and stablecoins, directly to XRPL users. This eliminated the need for centralised intermediaries and reduced technical barriers, claims Vaultro Finance. The significant milestone also boosts XRPL’s utility beyond payments. It also aligns with Ripple’s push into regulated DeFi and tokenized real-world assets like U.S. Treasury funds. As the Ripple lawsuit remains unresolved, such utilitarian projects could brighten the sentiments within the XRP community. In a… Read More at Coingape.com
Bitcoin slid 0.7% on Sunday, May 4, falling below $96,000 for the first time since midweek. The drop marks a second consecutive day of losses, following a strong institutional-led rally that pushed BTC to a 70-day high of $98,200 on Friday, per Coingecko data.
Despite reclaiming a $2 trillion market capitalization briefly, Bitcoin’s bullish momentum has stalled, coinciding with soft weekend volumes and renewed macro uncertainty.
On a weekly basis, Bitcoin is still up 4.5%, while 30-day performance remains strong at 12.8%, supported by ETF inflows and renewed accumulation from U.S. corporate treasuries.
However, resistance around the $98,000 level has proven tough to break, especially in the absence of clear macro tailwinds.
At the same time, Ethereum’s inability to hold above $1,900 and declining futures trading volume across top exchanges like Binance and CME further confirm the cautious short-term sentiment over the weekend.
DeMark Warns: Bear Market in U.S. Stocks Could Be Imminent
Tom DeMark, creator of the TD Sequential indicator and a trusted technical advisor to major hedge funds, has issued a fresh warning: a U.S. stock market top is imminent and could give way to a full-blown bear market within months.
DeMark, who accurately predicted the February top and April low in the S&P 500, says the index is showing clear signs of exhaustion.
S&P 500 Technical Analysis | DeMark/Market WIT
His analysis highlights that two more closing highs in the S&P 500 would complete a 9-count exhaustion cycle, a historically reliable signal for trend reversals.
Once this occurs, DeMark expects a retracement below 4,835 the intraday low from Aprilrepresenting a 20%+ drop from February’s highs.
“A top is imminent. Too much technical damage has been done,” DeMark said,
He also, added that the market remains vulnerable to improvement in global trade outlook or liquidity conditions.
What’s Next: Will DeMark’s Prediction Derail Bitcoin’s $100K Target?
Bitcoin price correlation to traditional markets, especially the S&P 500, has become increasingly relevant in the current macro environment.
On February 19, when China imposed retaliatory tariffs and global markets dipped, Bitcoin’s correlation to the S&P 500 fell to a yearly low of 0.27%. At the time, BTC acted as a partial hedge, decoupling from equities.
Bitcoin vs S&P 500 Price Correlation
However, President Donald Trump’s softening stance on tariffs and aggressiv push for rate cuts, have boosted broader market sentiment in recent weeks.
As a result, the BTC/S&P 500 correlation has surged, reaching 0.82% at press time.
This implies that Bitcoin may now respond more directly to U.S. equity moves than earlier this year.
If the market correction predicted by DeMark is driven by geopolitical tensions or inflationary trade tariffs, Bitcoin could attract safe-haven flows and maintain upward momentum.
Historical data shows BTC often benefits from global instability and monetary easing.
On the other hand, if the S&P 500’s decline stems from systemic risk such as a recession, financial contagion, or an energy shock.
Bitcoin may not be spared. In such scenarios, investors typically flee risk assets broadly, and BTC could experience significant drawdowns.
Conclusion: Bitcoin’s $100K Outlook Hinges on Crash Catalyst
Bitcoin’s $100K target and sustained $2 trillion market cap remain within reach, but macro risks are now front and center.
Whether Tom DeMark’s bear market call derails the BTC rally will largely depend on what drives the next wave of equity losses.
If it’s policy or trade-related, Bitcoin may rally as a hedge. But if the downturn it triggered by deep economic stress, recession or energy crisis, Bitcoin price could fall with the pack, as Demark predicts
According to data from StakingRewards, Solana (SOL) has overtaken Ethereum (ETH) in staking market capitalization, reaching $53.15 billion compared to Ethereum’s $53.72 billion.
This milestone has sparked heated discussions across the social media platform X, raising the question: Is this a turning point for Solana, or merely a short-lived surge?
Solana Outpaces Ethereum As High Staking Yields Prove Appealing
Recent data reveals that 64.86% of Solana‘s total supply is currently staked, delivering an impressive annual percentage yield (APY) of 8.31%. In contrast, Ethereum has only 28.18% of its supply staked, with an APY of 2.98%.
Staking rewards for Solana and Ethereum. Source: StakingRewards
This disparity highlights Solana’s growing appeal for investors seeking passive income through staking. Staking market capitalization is calculated by multiplying the total number of staked tokens by their current price. With SOL priced at $138.91 as of this writing, Solana has officially surpassed Ethereum in this metric.
However, Solana’s high staking ratio has sparked some controversy. Critics, such as Dankrad Feist on X, argue that Solana’s lack of a slashing mechanism (or penalties for validator violations) undermines the economic security of its staking model. With its slashing mechanism, Ethereum offers greater security, despite its lower staking ratio.
“It’s very ironic to call it ‘staking’ when there is no slashing. What’s at stake? Solana has close to zero economic security at the moment,” Dankrad Feist shared.
Increased Whale Activity Signals Caution
Meanwhile, recent moves by “whales” (large investors) have further fueled interest in Solana. On April 20, 2025, a whale unstaked 37,803 SOL (worth $5.26 million). Similarly, Galaxy Digitalwithdrew 606,000 SOL from exchanges over four days (April 15–19, 2025), concluding with 462,000 SOL.
Additionally, on April 17, 2025, a newly created wallet withdrew approximately $5.15 million worth of SOL from the Binance exchange. In the same tone, Binance whales withdrew over 370,000 SOL tokens valued at $52.78 million.
While some whales withdrew their SOL holdings, other large holders accumulated. Janover, a US-listed company, increased its Solana holdings to 163,651.7 SOL (worth $21.2 million) and partnered with Kraken exchange for staking on April 16, 2025.
These actions signal diverging plays from institutional investors and whales, as the Solana price fluctuates around key levels.
SOL Price Analysis: Opportunities and Challenges
As of this writing, SOL was trading at $140.49, up 3.53% in the past 24 hours. Analysts highlight $129 as crucial support for the Solana price, with $144 presenting the key roadblock to overcome before Solana’s upside potential can be realized. Breaking above the aforementioned roadblock could propel SOL toward new highs.
The most important support for SOL is at $129. Source: Ali/X
Conversely, dropping below the $129 support level could trigger increased selling pressure. Nevertheless, SOL has shown a remarkable recovery, with a 14.34% increase over the past week.
Another factor to consider is the ongoing development of the Solana ecosystem. Key innovations include the QUIC data transfer protocol, the combination of Proof-of-History (PoH) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS), and the diversification of validator clients.
With these, Solana continues to enhance its performance and decentralization. Additionally, the launch of the Solang compiler, compatible with Ethereum’s Solidity, has attracted developers from the Ethereum ecosystem.
BeInCrypto also reported on Solana’s upcoming community conference, otherwise termed Solana Breakpoint. Key announcements from this event could provide further tailwinds for the SOL price.
Nevertheless, despite surpassing Ethereum in staking market capitalization, Solana faces significant challenges. Ethereum benefits from a more mature DeFi ecosystem, greater institutional trust, and enhanced security through its slashing mechanism.
To some, Ethereum’s lower staking ratio (28%) may be a deliberate strategy to reduce network pressure and ensure liquidity for DeFi applications.
In contrast, Solana’s high staking ratio (65%) could limit liquidity within its DeFi ecosystem. This raises the question of whether Solana can strike a balance between staking and the growth of its decentralized applications.
As Solana continues challenging Ethereum’s dominance, the crypto community remains divided. Is Solana’s rise a sustainable breakthrough, or just another wave of hype?
SUI has recently seen a 12% rise in the past 24 hours, bringing back some investor confidence. However, this price increase could prove disastrous for traders, as it may trigger significant liquidations if the altcoin reaches a key price level.
The recent rally is a double-edged sword with potential consequences for short traders.
SUI Traders Face Losses
According to liquidation data, SUI faces a potential $96 million worth of liquidations if its price hits $3.48. This would primarily impact short traders, who have positioned themselves for a price decline.
Should SUI rise towards this critical level, short contracts would be liquidated, forcing traders to cover their positions and further propelling the price increase.
This potential liquidation event highlights the volatility of SUI and the risks involved for traders who are betting against it. With a surge in price, short traders might be forced to exit their positions, inadvertently fueling the uptrend.
As a result, this scenario could exacerbate the price rally, putting both short and long traders at the mercy of unpredictable price movements.
Despite the recent 12% rise, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicates a decline, signaling a lack of investment inflows. The CMF is currently showing negative momentum, suggesting that investors are not fully backing SUI’s price rise.
The recent gains appear to be driven more by short covering rather than a broad-based surge in buying interest.
Should the outflows continue, SUI’s price could face additional pressure. The lack of strong buying support, coupled with the decline in CMF, suggests that the recent rally may not be sustainable.
If these outflows persist, they could lead to a price reversal, diminishing the optimism generated by the recent gains.
At the time of writing, SUI is trading at $3.27, having risen by 12% in the last 24 hours. The price is currently facing resistance at $3.33, which has proven to be a significant barrier in the past.
Given the ongoing outflows, it seems unlikely that SUI will break through this resistance level in the near term.
If SUI fails to breach the $3.33 resistance, it could retrace to lower levels, such as $3.13 or $2.91, wiping out the recent gains. This would mark a continuation of the consolidation phase, as the lack of strong buying pressure prevents further upward movement.
However, the Parabolic SAR indicator is approaching a key level, with a potential flip below the candlesticks that could signal the start of an uptrend.
If SUI successfully breaks through $3.33, the price could rise to $3.48. A breach of this level would invalidate the bearish outlook, triggering a wave of liquidations on short positions and further boosting the price.
