XRP has suffered a near 10% decline over the past week, dampening trader sentiment and triggering a wave of sell-side activity in its futures market.
As buying pressure wanes, the altcoin risks plunging below the key support formed at $2 in the near term.
XRP Futures Traders Position for Decline
The bearish tone in the XRP market is evident in the token’s taker buy/sell ratio, which has consistently posted negative values for the past two weeks.
This indicates that sell orders dominate buy orders across the XRP futures market. At press time, this stands at 0.92, per CryptoQuant.
An asset’s taker buy-sell ratio measures the ratio between the buy and sell volumes in its futures market. Values above one indicate more buy than sell volume, while values below one suggest that more futures traders are selling their holdings.
The sustained decline in XRP’s taker buy/sell ratio over the past few weeks points to a mounting sell-off among futures traders, many of whom are increasing their exposure to short positions.
This is reflected by the token’s long/short ratio, which currently stands at 0.94.
For context, this metric has remained below one since May 8, highlighting that traders have been positioning for a downside move for nearly a month.
The extended demand for short positions suggests that XRP’s price dip is not just a reaction to short-term volatility. It also shows a broader bearish tilt increasingly driven by expectations of lower prices.
Will XRP Hold the $2 Support?
At press time, XRP trades at $2.13. If bearish pressure gains momentum, the token risks slipping below the psychological $2 mark. A breach of this key support line could deepen the ongoing correction and cause XRP to trade below $1.99.
However, a resurgence in new demand for the altcoin could invalidate this bearish outlook. If buying surges, the XRP token could witness a bullish correction and climb to $2.29.
In the crypto market, a new generation of on-chain banking products is currently taking shape. Highlighting this evolution, EVAA Protocol, the first and leading DeFi protocol on TON, is hosting deFINTECH, a legendary side event of TOKEN2049 Dubai, in collaboration with TAC, the Layer 1 TON EVM network extension that connects the TON blockchain with Ethereum apps, allowing Telegram users to access popular EVM applications directly from their TON wallet.
The event is supported by key partners, including sponsor Ston.fi, the leading DEX on the TON blockchain, and media partners BeInCrypto and INCRYPTED, providing official media coverage. The curated gathering will take place on April 30, 2025, from 2 PM to 6 PM at DAOS HUB Dubai, deFINTECH’s official venue partner.
deFINTECH brings together the builders, product leaders, and fintech visionaries who are actively reimagining the future of banking on blockchain rails. The event focuses on envisioning on-chain neo-banking—financial services built natively on-chain and natively integrated into everyday platforms like Telegram. This includes exploring stablecoin payments, Telegram-native wallets, tokenized vaults, and intuitive on-chain yield tools.
Hosted by EVAA Protocol, deFINTECH highlights the platform’s dedication to DeFi accessibility and efficiency. EVAA provides liquidity market solutions and leveraged staking strategies, integrated deeply with Telegram and top-tier TON applications like Tonkeeper, Notcoin, Ston.fi, FIVA, TG Wallet, and DeDust. This creates a frictionless experience for users to borrow, lend, and earn yield on TON.
Why deFINTECH Matters
With Telegram’s crypto ecosystem gaining significant traction and stablecoins becoming a preferred medium for payments and savings, particularly in emerging markets, novel opportunities are arising at the intersection of Web3, embedded finance, and real-world adoption. deFINTECH serves as a dedicated venue for those pioneering this transformation.
The event is designed for founders and product leads building on-chain fintech solutions alongside wallet teams, L1/L2 ecosystem developers, and Web3 banking infrastructure builders. It also brings together investors, early adopters in social finance and DeFi, institutional players exploring on-chain finance, media, and strategic contributors focused on this evolving sector. With 150–190 highly relevant guests expected, the event fosters an atmosphere centered on valuable connections and substantive discussions.
One unique aspect of deFINTECH is that it moves away from traditional conference formats. Instead of stages and panels, the event prioritizes meaningful dialogue, fosters early-stage collaboration, and encourages product-first conversations. The goal is to create an atmosphere where genuine connections are made and practical solutions for the future of on-chain finance are discussed. deFINTECH offers a focused environment for meaningful connections and strategic dialogue during the busy TOKEN2049 week. Attendance at the event is by invitation only.
What To Expect
Attendees can anticipate an afternoon centered around direct interaction and collaboration. The format includes focused roundtable discussions exploring the future of neo-banking and DeFi user experience. There will also be opportunities for live demos and product showcases presented in a casual, off-stage setting.
Attendees can also expect to participate in open networking with other participants, ensuring valuable interactions without superfluous presentations. deFINTECH cultivates a culture of co-creation, inviting attendees to actively take part in shaping the conversation rather than passively consuming content. The agenda features focused discussions, including insights from venture capital, partner spotlights, and collaborative talks, all interwoven with ample networking time.
The Venue: DAOS HUB Dubai
deFINTECH will be hosted at DAOS HUB Dubai, serving as the event’s official venue partner. Located in the heart of Dubai, DAOS HUB is a purpose-built ecosystem that provides a space where Web3 builders, contributors, and innovators can collaborate and grow. Its mission is to create an ideal environment for Web3 startups to thrive through network-native connections and curated access, making it a fitting backdrop for the event’s forward-looking conversations. The event runs from 2 PM to 6 PM on April 30, 2025.
“Web3 doesn’t need another conference. It needs a product room,” said Vlad Kamyshov, CEO of EVAA Protocol.“At deFINTECH, we stop pitching dreams and start building real tools — right inside Telegram, where our users already are. We believe stablecoin payments, Telegram-native wallets, and on-chain yield tools can reimagine banking—making it open, permissionless, and composable. This isn’t just a trend — it’s a movement. Our goal is to bring together the builders and visionaries shaping the next financial layer.”
For those actively working on Telegram-based payment rails, secure yield vaults for stablecoins, or compliance-friendly DeFi applications, deFINTECH offers a unique space to connect, collaborate, and contribute to the next wave of financial innovation.
Massive Bitcoin withdrawals worth hundreds of millions of USD from major exchanges have sparked significant interest in the crypto community.
However, if Bitcoin fails to break the $86,000 barrier, a price correction remains a real possibility, especially amid wavering investor confidence.
Bitcoin Whales Withdraw Hundreds of Millions in BTC
Data from the X account OnchainDataNerd on April 17, reveals that several large Bitcoin whales executed substantial withdrawals from top exchanges. Galaxy Digital withdrew 554 BTC, valued at approximately $76.74 million, from OKX and Binance.
Abraxas Capital pulled out 1,854 BTC, worth around $157.26 million, from Binance and Kraken.
Two other whales, identified by addresses 1MNqX and 1BERu, withdrew 545.5 BTC ($45.5 million) and 535.2 BTC ($45.44 million) from Coinbase, respectively. In a single day, over $280 million in Bitcoin was removed from exchanges.
Such withdrawals from Bitcoin whales, like those by Galaxy Digital and Abraxas Capital, often signal a strategy to move BTC into cold storage. This is typically viewed as a bullish sign, reducing selling pressure and reflecting expectations of future price increases.
Surge in First-Time Bitcoin Buyers
A report from Glassnode on X highlights a sharp rise in first-time Bitcoin buyers. This influx of new investors could drive short-term price gains. However, long-term holders (LTHs) have paused their accumulation, signaling caution amid heightened market volatility.
First-Time Buyers rose to a 30-day RSI of 97.9. Source: Glassnode
In a post on X, the analyst Ali used the TD Sequential technical indicator to forecast Bitcoin’s price trend. The TD Sequential flashed a buy signal on the Bitcoin weekly chart.
If Bitcoin consistently closes above $86,000, further price increases are likely. Currently, Bitcoin is hovering above $80,000, indicating growth potential. However, surpassing the critical $86,000 resistance level is essential to confirm the bullish trend.
Despite recent whale accumulation, not all signals are positive. Inflows into Bitcoin ETFs have dropped significantly. This decline suggests weakening investor confidence, which could exert downward pressure on prices without fresh catalysts.
Additionally, data from Lookonchain indicates that over $1.26 billion in Bitcoin was unstaked from Babylon. If this capital flows back to exchanges, selling pressure could intensify, making it harder for Bitcoin to breach key resistance levels.
A new report from Solidus Labs has revealed that 98.6% of tokens issued on Pump.fun, a popular token creation platform on Solana, are considered scams or involved in fraudulent trading.
Additionally, similar issues have been identified on Raydium, a major decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana.
Report Reveals Massive Scam Rate on Pump.fun
Solidus Labs, a company specializing in blockchain risk monitoring, released a detailed report on the state of certain platforms on the Solana blockchain. According to the report, Pump.fun has issued over 7 million tokens since its launch in January 2024.
However, only 97,000 of these tokens have maintained a liquidity of at least $1,000, which is less than 1.4% of the total tokens.
Pump & Dump tokens on Pump.fun. Source: Solidus Labs
More alarmingly, 98.6% of tokens issued on the platform have been identified as scams or show signs of fraudulent trading. One of the largest scams uncovered by Solidus Labs involved MToken, resulting in losses of up to $1.9 million.
“good (in different ways): railgun, farcaster, polymarket, signal. bad (in different ways): pump.fun, Terra/Luna, FTX. The differences in what the app does stem from differences in beliefs in developers’ heads about what they are here to accomplish,” shared Buterin
93% of Liquidity Pools on Raydium Show Signs of “Soft Rug Pull”
About 25% of these scams involved amounts less than $732. However, the median rug pull involved about $2,832, while the largest detected rug pull totaled $1.9 million.
Though the amounts look relatively small compared to multi-million-dollar scams, the sheer number of affected pools shows the prevalence of this issue.
A common thread between the two platforms is that both are built on the Solana blockchain. Solana is known for its high transaction speeds, processing thousands of transactions per second, and low costs, averaging just $0.00025 per transaction. Because of its technical advantages, Solana has become a prime target for criminals and scammers.
Despite these challenges, Solana remains a promising blockchain with many legitimate and interesting projects. Platforms like Raydium are vital in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem, with monthly trading volumes reaching billions of dollars.
