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Ether, XRP Down 5% as Crypto’s Painful Week Continues; APT Jumps 10% Amid Aptos ETF Registration in Delaware
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Ether (ETH) continued its multi-day slide on Thursday with a 7% drop in the past 24 hours as the prolonged crypto sell-off showed no signs of a pause.
Bitcoin (BTC) was trading between $89,000 to $82,500 in U.S. trading hours on Wednesday, staging a slight recovery in early Asian hours to just over $86,000. The broader market tracked by CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking the largest tokens, fell over 3%.
Major tokens XRP, BNB Chain’s BNB, Cardano’s ADA and dogecoin (DOGE) slumped as much as 4% — with bullish bets on futures tracking majors recording over $600 million in liquidations.
Litecoin’s LTC and Aptos’ APT were among the few tokens in green, rising over 10% each. APT rose as a “BITWISE APTOS ETF” was registered in Delaware, USA, in addition to rumors of a Litecoin ETF. However, traders remain muted on prospects of a prolonged rally in LTC.
“Its unlikely that institutional investors would have long-term conviction in the Bitcoin clone, as it offers no yield, utility, or organic demand outside of ETF approval speculation,” Ben Yorke, WOO VP of Ecosystem, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message.
“Would likely be a ‘sell the news’ event, as investors would look to rotate into more topical trends and future ETF rumors,” Yorke added.
Losses in crypto markets mirrored those in U.S. equities after lesser-than-expected earnings from technology stalwart Nvidia failed to wow investors.
Separately, a New York Fed research indicated President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs on imports from China impact the American economy higher than expected — with data showing an apparent discrepancy in U.S. imports from China based on reported figures from both countries.
Market watchers await macroeconomic cues for a bitcoin rally, meanwhile.
“The Fed is not a player at this juncture as rate cuts are likely to be muted against sticky inflation, while the aggressive US administration will continue to put geopolitical tensions at the forefront,” Chris Yu, Co-Founder and CEO of SignalPlus, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message.
“Crypto-friendly policies and frameworks will likely take some time before they materialize into tangible frameworks, while a fall in implied BTC volatility with falling prices is a negative sign that speculators have started to throw in the towel on higher prices in the near term,” Yu added.
[CoinDesk]
Ripple Labs is working to expand the XRP Ledger’s decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities with a clear roadmap for 2025. A key part of this roadmap is the addition of decentralized identity (DID) and credential-based verification, allowing for permissioned exchanges and decentralized markets that meet regulatory standards. This is designed to enable financial institutions to participate securely in the decentralized space while ensuring compliance with regulations like AML and KYC.
Ripple is also focusing on tokenization through the XRP Ledger, enabling tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) to be traded on the blockchain. Multi-purpose tokens (MPTs) are being developed to represent various financial products, such as bonds or structured assets, and provide more flexibility than traditional tokens. The platform’s goal is to bridge traditional finance and blockchain, offering a way to tokenize and trade assets with ease.
A significant part of Ripple’s strategy includes the development of a permissioned decentralized exchange (DEX), where tokenized RWAs can be traded. This exchange will utilize XRP Ledger’s decentralized identifiers to integrate compliance checks into smart contracts, ensuring all participants meet regulatory requirements. Along with a credit-based DeFi lending protocol, these initiatives aim to position the XRP Ledger (XRPL) as a secure, scalable platform for institutional use in decentralized markets.
Ripple’s plans also include expanding XRPL’s programmability. The introduction of "Extensions" will allow developers to create customized features like automated market makers (AMMs) or escrows without the need for full smart contracts. Additionally, Ripple is launching an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain in Q2 2025, enabling developers to build decentralized applications (DApps) on XRPL using Solidity, thereby increasing compatibility with Ethereum’s ecosystem.
The goal is to tap into the $30 trillion market of tokenized RWAs, which could significantly increase XRPL’s value. Currently, XRPL has a total value locked (TVL) of about $80 million, far behind Ethereum's $50 billion, which shows its growth potential. Despite this, the network's total market cap surpassed $128 billion after XRP’s price surged by 300% following Donald Trump’s election victory. His administration’s stance on blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation could also further benefit XRPL, as Ripple hopes the regulatory environment becomes more favorable.
Ripple has made strides in this direction, including the successful launch of its decentralized exchange (DEX), which saw over $1 billion in swaps since its launch in 2024. This, along with the broader expansion into tokenization and DeFi lending, demonstrates Ripple’s commitment to making XRP Ledger a key player in the future of decentralized finance. Despite competition from other blockchain platforms, these initiatives are crucial for Ripple to continue growing and maintain its relevance in the evolving financial landscape.
Donald Trump’s supporters have lost more than $12bn (£9.5bn) in a month after the value of the president’s cryptocurrency collapsed.
$Trump, a so-called “meme coin” unveiled on Jan 17, three days before Mr Trump’s inauguration, has lost more than 80pc of its value since its peak on Jan 19.
This has led to its overall worth falling from a peak of $15bn to $2.7bn on Thursday, as it suffered amid a wider crypto rout.
The paper value of the coins owned by Mr Trump himself has also fallen by $50bn.
While Mr Trump’s own losses have not been crystallised, investors are on the hook after spending heavily to back the Trump coin in the run-up to his inauguration, partly as a show of support but also as a gamble that the token would rise in value.
However, interest in the project has since dwindled, accompanied by a wider market crash.
Bitcoin has lost a fifth of its value since hitting an all-time high on the day of Mr Trump’s inauguration.
An official Melania Trump meme coin promoted by the First Lady has fared even worse, dropping 94pc since Jan 20.
Mr Trump has vowed to be the first “crypto president”, recently appointing venture capitalist David Sacks as the White House’s “crypto tsar”.
However, investors have expressed disappointment at the supposed lack of momentum, highlighting Mr Trump’s failure to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
US Democrats have sought to target Mr Trump’s crypto ventures by announcing plans to put forward laws that would prevent senior government officials and their families from launching meme coins.
Sam Liccardo, a Democratic Congressman, said he planned to put forward the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (Meme) Act on Thursday.
He told ABC News: “The Trumps’ issuance of meme coins financially exploits the public for personal gain, and raises the spectre of insider trading and foreign influence over the Executive Branch.”
The proposed law would apply to the president, vice president, members of Congress and White House officials, as well as their family members.
Online influencers have launched a series of meme coins in recent months seeking to capitalise on their often short-lived fame, and many often collapse after an initial spike in value.
While supporters of mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are seen by their supporters as a potential way to change payments and finance, meme coins have little use. Instead, they are seen as a way of showing support for certain personalities or a form of gambling.
[The Telegraph]
With well-grounded fears of a trade war swirling and causing volatility in the traditional financial sector as well as in cryptocurrencies, you don't have to be a particularly skittish investor to be concerned about your portfolio at the moment. Even quality assets like XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) are showing some shakiness.
But between those two, if a full-on trade war actually does break out as a result of the Trump administration's policies, which one has a better chance of holding up, or perhaps even climbing? Let's analyze the argument for each, starting with XRP.
The setup looks bearish here
For XRP to gain in value, at least two things need to happen. First, banks and financial institutions need to buy and hold the coin, and they need to believe that doing so will help them avoid currency exchange fees as well as international money transfer fees; they need to see that using the crypto is a better option than legacy money-transfer technologies.
Second, those banks need to transact with one another regularly across international borders, thereby generating usage fees, which are paid back to the XRP network.
If there is a trade war, the incentives for the first scenario to continue occurring will remain the same, and there could be some positive effects for XRP. The actual size of each transfer may even increase, if parties need to include the costs of tariffs in their transfers. That won't necessarily generate much more in fees, though, as XRP only charges a fraction of a penny per transaction.
The problem here is that extensive tariffs may reduce the volume of goods exchanged as a result of buyers facing higher prices. With fewer goods exchanged, fewer international money transfers need to happen. And that means XRP will almost certainly generate less in fees if there's a trade war.
There's no rule that says the price of the coin needs to drop if that happens. But if trading volumes drop, it isn't good news for investors, which detracts from the argument for buying XRP if the trade situation worsens.
Is this coin a real safe harbor?
Bitcoin's price hasn't changed much at all over the last three months, which suggests that the market is ambivalent about its value holding up in a trade war.
And it's hard to articulate precisely how the coin's value would decrease if the barriers to trade became higher for the U.S., aside from a generalized retreat from risk assets that it might cause as investors give in to fear. It isn't used extensively as a medium of exchange for trade payments, or for much else. Nor would its core value-generation mechanisms -- scarcity and mining difficulty -- change whatsoever.
It's faintly possible to conceive of a deep recession in the U.S. driven by a trade war causing investors to dump their coins to help pay their daily expenses. But that isn't very likely, at least not at the moment.
What's more likely is that rising costs stemming from worse trade terms would reduce the capital that institutional investors would be willing to allocate to Bitcoin.
It's also entirely possible that investors would be more interested in buying the crypto as a result of any inflationary pressure caused by a trade war. If inflation becomes a major concern again, it might even send the coin significantly higher, since it's considered a hedge. Still, compared to harder assets like gold or other commodities, it's not clear that this coin will preserve its value very well in truly turbulent economic times.
Nonetheless, compared to XRP, Bitcoin has fewer risk surfaces if the trade situation continues to deteriorate for the U.S. So, if there's a big dip prompted by panic, it's probably smarter to be buying it than selling it. Investors should also keep in mind that trade wars end eventually, and that there isn't really anything about a trade war that detracts from the investment thesis for this coin.
[The Motely Fool]
Reality star Leo Dasilva has stated that he will start preparing his children for his death.
In a tweet, Leo expressed intention to start preparing his kids once they reach a certain level of understanding.
“As soon as my kids get to a certain level of understanding, I will start preparing them for my death,” he wrote.
[TheNation]
Security aides attached to Mojisola Meranda, speaker of the Lagos state house of assembly, have been withdrawn.
TheCable understands that her security detail was withdrawn on Thursday morning.
A high ranking official in the Lagos assembly confirmed the development to TheCable.
“Yes, it’s true. Let people know that this woman did not impose herself in the Lagos house of assembly. She was elected by 33 of the 40-member house. That is to me an overwhelming majority,” the source said.
“We should ask ourselves: Is it because she’s a woman? Women are also asking the same question. How long do we continue in this tradition?”
The Lagos legislature has been embroiled in crisis since Mudashiru Obasa was removed as speaker on January 13.
Meranda was immediately voted in to replace him — becoming the first female speaker of the Lagos legislature.
On February 17, the house passed a vote of confidence in Meranda who subsequently adjourned plenary indefinitely, as rumours swirled that pressure was mounting on her to resign.
Obasa has repeatedly challenged the process that culminated in his impeachment, arguing that due procedure was not followed and insisting that he remains the legitimate speaker of the house.
[TheCable]
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has raised concerns that organised foreign fraud syndicates are establishing criminal cells in Nigerian cities and recruiting young Nigerians into cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud.
A statement on Wednesday by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, revealed that Olukoyede made these remarks while receiving participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course from the National Institute for Security Studies, led by its Director of Studies, Hyginus Ngele.
“Another dimension that is not given attention is the discovery, recently, that organised foreign fraud syndicates are establishing cells in Nigerian cities and recruiting young Nigerians into serious organized cybercrimes, including cryptocurrency fraud,” Olukoyede said.
He further disclosed that recent EFCC intelligence suggests that foreign fraudsters are also illegally importing arms into Nigeria using cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
“In the special operations we carried out in Lagos recently, we arrested 194 foreigners in the heart of Victoria Island. Among them were Chinese, Filipinos, Eastern Europeans, Tunisians, and others, all in a single building. Some lacked valid visas, and most of their financial activities were conducted through cryptocurrency,” he revealed.
Additionally, Olukoyede noted that some of the arrested foreigners were ex-convicts in their home countries who had escaped prosecution and sought refuge in Nigeria and other African nations.
Olukoyede questioned how bandits and insurgents have sustained their activities over the years, highlighting the uncontrolled flow of small arms and light weapons across Nigerian borders.
He also pointed out the role of non-state actors in the illegal exploitation of minerals, which compounds security threats in the country.
He called for coordinated national and continental efforts to combat the activities of foreign fraud syndicates and internet criminals, stressing the link between money laundering and national security threats.
“All security, intelligence, and law enforcement organizations in Nigeria and Africa must close ranks in dealing with this challenge,” he said.
He also expressed concern that for nearly two decades, Nigeria has been plagued by insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and farmer-herder clashes, blaming part of the crisis on non-state actors.
“At the level of the EFCC, we have always been suspicious of the activities of non-state actors in areas facing security challenges. In the North-East, for instance, the activities of local and international NGOs have come under scrutiny. This led to their mandatory registration with SCUML (Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering) and a directive to notify the EFCC on cash movements within the region,” he added.
Speaking earlier, NISS Commandant, Joseph Odama, represented by Hyginus Ngele, commended Olukoyede’s leadership, praising the EFCC’s achievements in combating corruption, money laundering, and financial crimes.
He further noted that the EFCC has played a critical role in exposing the networks through which some NGOs and other entities fund hostile non-state actors, fueling instability in Nigeria and Africa
The National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, on Wednesday said he inherited N8.9 billion debt from his predecessor when he took over office.
The former Kano State governor disclosed this in Abuja while speaking at the ongoing National Executive Committee meeting of the APC.
He noted that the expenses were incurred during pre-election legal battles, election cases, and appeals for legislative, governorship, and presidential elections.
Ganduje said, “The current NWC inherited debts and legal liabilities to the total tune of N8,987,874,663, arising from various legal engagements.”
However, he noted that Prof. Abdul Kareem Kana (SAN), the National Legal Adviser, has been working to reduce the debt burden.
“We still passionately appeal to the National Executive Committee to intervene accordingly,” he pleaded.
The meeting was attended by President Bola Tinubu; Vice President Kashim Shettima; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; state governors; NWC members; and other party chieftains.
On August 3, 2023, the APC’s NEC elected Ganduje as the party’s National Chairman.
The party’s NEC also elected former Senate spokesman Ajibola Basiru from Osun State as National Secretary.
The two party officials were elected today at the 12th NEC meeting of the party held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
Addressing party leaders after his emergence, Ganduje thanked the President and promised that internal democracy would prevail in the party during his tenure.
The ex-Kano governor pledged to ensure a scientific register of party members and pay the utmost attention to election management and conflict resolution.
More...
Lightchain AI, priced at $0.006 in its presale, is gaining attention for its AI-driven approach to blockchain scalability and efficiency.
If readers missed the chance to invest in Solana (SOL) when it was priced at just $1, now might be the perfect time to consider another rapidly growing blockchain project.
Lightchain AI, priced at just $0.006 in its presale, has already raised over $16.8 million, and its potential for explosive growth is undeniable.
Solana’s success and what it means for Lightchain AI
Solana’s impressive rise was fueled by its ability to scale quickly, handle high transaction volumes, and offer a cheaper alternative to Ethereum’s expensive gas fees. Early investors in Solana saw incredible returns as its new chain setup allowed it to dominate the decentralized app (dApp) and decentralized finance (DeFi) spaces.
Lightchain AI, much like Solana, is designed to overcome scalability and speed challenges faced by many blockchain networks. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI), Lightchain AI enhances blockchain efficiency, speeds up transaction processing, and enables cross-chain interoperability, solutions the crypto ecosystem desperately needs as adoption grows.
Lightchain AI: The next big leap in blockchain solutions
Solana is known for its speed and low fees, but Lightchain AI takes blockchain technology a step further with its AI-driven approach. Unlike Solana’s proof-of-history (PoH) mechanism, Lightchain AI integrates artificial intelligence into its consensus model to enable smarter decision-making, enhanced security, and automated optimizations.
The architecture of Lightchain AI is designed to boost blockchain efficiency, providing cutting-edge features like sharding and Layer 2 solutions for high-speed, high-throughput AI tasks. With its AI-powered design, Lightchain AI is setting a new standard for innovation in the blockchain space.
Early investment opportunity
With Lightchain AI’s presale still underway, investors can purchase tokens at an incredibly low price of $0.006. As the project continues to build momentum and its ecosystem expands, the value of the token could experience exponential growth, similar to what Solana saw in its early days.
Just as early Solana investors saw their investments skyrocket as the network gained adoption, Lightchain AI presents a unique chance for investors to get in on the ground floor. If the project follows a similar trajectory, those who invest now could see significant returns as the project grows and its AI-driven blockchain solutions gain traction.
[Crypto News]
Bitcoin (BTC) neared $89,000 in Asian morning hours after a 24-hour low of $86,200, slightly improving market sentiment with major tokens showing signs of a recovery.
XRP and BNB Chain’s BNB led a gradual majors rebound Wednesday as traders continue to reel from Tuesday’s carnage — one that saw overall capitalization drop as much as 10% and at least $1.2 billion in losses on bullish bets.
XRP rose 3%, while BNB and Solana’s SOL added 5%. Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano’s ADA showed a slight 1.2% gain, while Tron’s TRX was down 5% in the past 24 hours. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20) was down 2%.
The move higher was in line with a CoinDesk analysis on Tuesday, as a five-month low in a sentiment index and a large-scale liquidation event indicated assets were likely oversold and could see relief in the short term.
Gold fell 1.3% on Tuesday after a profit-taking bout following a record rally where it touched a new high Monday, but rose higher in Asian morning hours Wednesday.
Macro Outlook
Reasons for Tuesday’s panic ranged from money flowing out of bitcoin ETFs, with over $1 billion pulled out in the last two weeks, to a stronger yen, a perceived safe-haven currency whose growth tends to pull down riskier bets.
Expectations for easier U.S. Federal Monetary policy have surged, however, with prediction markets putting chances of a May rate cut to 30% over the past week, and the chances of two rate cuts by June have more than tripled to 15%.
These hopes come after a gauge of U.S. consumer confidence marked its deepest fall since August 2021, decreasing 7 points in February to 98.3 in its third straight decline. U.S economic data and policies tend to impact prices of risk assets such as bitcoin, as crypto traders bet on expectations of retail participation as idle cash frees up.
Traders Remain Cautious
Hopes of an altcoin rally remain muted among traders, with fresh dollar inflows expected to flow exclusively to BTC.
BTC finally broke out of its range, dipping below 90k for the first time in a month and now hovering just below that level, triggering over USD 200mm in liquidations over the past few hours.
Market sentiment remains under pressure following Trump’s decision to implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico and curb Chinese investment. Front-end gamma was covering as BTC broke lower, with 1M implied volatility now back around 50v, while skews interestingly remain largely unchanged.
“Zooming out, equities, fixed income, and gold have largely shrugged off the data points previously blamed for broader market weakness, with BTC remaining flat,” Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a broadcast message late Tuesday. “Rising BTC dominance and sliding altcoin prices suggest that alt bulls may already be fully long, with any new dollar inflows going exclusively into BTC.”
“We remain cautious. Recent BTC demand has been driven primarily by institutions like MicroStrategy financed through equity-linked note issuances. With crypto-related issuance accounting for roughly 19% of total issuance over the last 14 months, the market for such financing may be nearing saturation — potentially dampening institutional demand if spot continues to stay muted,” it added.
Players like Strategy (previously MicroStrategy) have been the main drivers of BTC demand in the past weeks and months, funding their purchases by raising their stock. But here’s the catch: companies might struggle to justify more purchases since the hype isn’t increasing prices. Less institutional buying could cool off BTC demand and lead to big investors pulling back, affecting the market further.
[CoinDesk]
Dogecoin has fallen below $0.20 for the first time in months, marking a significant drop of over 11% in the past 24 hours. The meme coin is currently trading at $0.201, down 43% over the past month and 72% from its peak of $0.73 in 2021. This sharp decline reflects the broader struggles in the crypto market, with other major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, seeing significant losses of 8.3% and 10.1% respectively. The meme coin sector is not immune to this downturn, with many coins seeing even larger drops.
Solana-based meme coins like Bonk and President Trump's official token (TRUMP) have also dropped by over 14% in the past week. Similarly, the Ethereum-based Pepe coin has been hit hard, continuing the trend of losses in the meme coin market. Meanwhile, Fartcoin, once a token that reached a $2.4 billion market cap, has seen its value plummet by nearly 90%. Currently trading at just $0.29, Fartcoin is no longer part of the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
The broader crypto market has been in turmoil, with Bitcoin dropping as low as $87,115 and Ethereum experiencing a similar downward trajectory. As of writing, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has dropped 8.8%, falling below the $3 trillion mark. Analysts attribute these losses to various factors, including speculation and uncertainty about future regulations, such as the potential creation of a U.S. national Bitcoin reserve.
Amid the downturn, some tokens have managed to perform better. Popcat and Peanut the Squirrel have seen slight increases, up 1% and 5% respectively. Still, the overall trend remains negative, with significant liquidations occurring. Dogecoin contracts have seen $32.37 million in liquidations, while Trump token contracts have faced $11.39 million in losses.
In light of these recent events, investors are becoming increasingly wary of the volatility inherent in the crypto market, particularly within the meme coin space. The market's unpredictable nature continues to create uncertainty for investors, as seen in the ongoing downturn affecting some of the most well-known digital assets.
Despite the difficult climate, the cryptocurrency market remains dynamic, with fluctuations continuing to shape the sector. The continued volatility underscores the risk involved in digital asset investments and highlights the need for caution in the face of shifting market conditions.
[Coin Market Cap]
On Monday, Apple unveiled plans to invest more than $500 billion in business operations in the U.S., including across fields like artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and engineering.
Although crypto was notably absent in Apple's announcement, some in the industry speculated about a potential move into digital assets: “This level of investment could be the precursor to Apple’s entry into the digital asset space, which may be the product of a more favorable regulatory environment under the Trump administration,” Angus O’Callaghan, XDC Network's Head of Trading and Markets, told TheStreet Crypto.
"Apple has the user reach and technical knowledge to seamlessly enter the digital assets space,” added O’Callaghan.
Apple has not released any details about a possible entry into crypto.
In 2021, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted he privately invested in crypto, but that the company was far from considering digital assets as part of its corporate strategy: “I think it’s reasonable to own [cryptocurrency] as part of a diversified portfolio,”
Cook said at the 2021 DealBook Online Summit. “I don’t think people buy Apple stock to get exposure to crypto,” he added, clarifying that the company was not integrating digital assets into the Apple payment ecosystem. “It’s not something we have immediate plans to do."
Last year, Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor, whose company Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy) functions as a proxy for the world's leading digital asset, advised Apple to purchase $100 billion in Bitcoin. The advice went unheeded by the company, with Cook continuing to maintain only personal holdings in crypto.
Meanwhile, Saylor's Bitcoin investment pitch to rival companies like Microsoft also failed, as Microsoft shareholders voted against investing in the digital asset last year.
Following Monday's news, some industry observers also raised other questions about Apple's U.S. investment strategy, suggesting that it may be a broader, calculated effort to align with the America-first aims of the Trump administration, which has castigated American firms promoting innovation abroad rather than domestically.
Apple shares are currently trading at $247.66.
[TheStreet ]