The Ethereum Foundation brought together some of the world’s most influential financial players in New York City for an exclusive, invitation-only institutional forum on how traditional finance is engaging with ETH. This gathering signals a growing focus on bridging the gap between decentralized technologies and traditional finance, as major players increasingly explore blockchain integration. Institutional Participation Signals Growing Confidence In Ethereum The Ethereum Foundation hosted a high-level invite-only institutional forum in New York City, drawing participation from hundreds of banks, asset managers, and infrastructure providers representing a combined $250 trillion in assets under management (AUM). An investor known as Milk Road on X revealed that major players, including BlackRock, Western Union, Robinhood, Moody’s, Baillie Gifford, and Securitize, took part in panels as builders, actively working on solutions within the ETH ecosystem. Related Reading: Ethereum Foundation Launches Bold New Push To Accelerate DeFi Growth Before now, institutional adoption used to be a bumper sticker, a story investors told themselves to feel better about the asset they already held. This move is different because the firms managing a combined $250 trillion in assets sat in rooms and talked about what they’re actually building on ETH. In addition, the ETH Foundation used the event to unveil its post-quantum security strategy and launch a dedicated resource hub. Addressing such forward-looking challenges in a room filled with major financial institutions sends a signal. Milk Road noted that the ETH Foundation is positioning its infrastructure to evolve over decades, not just short-term market cycles. For those who have questioned whether major institutions would move beyond experimentation, the developments in New York offered a compelling counterpoint. Bitmine Launches Staking Model, ETH Network Activity Surges Tom Lee, alongside Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), has officially launched MAVAN, the made-in-America Validator Network. According to Tom Lee Tracker, MAVAN is set to become the largest Ethereum staking platform globally, with approximately 3,142,643 ETH already staked, valued at around $6.8 billion based on an estimated price of $2,148 per ETH. Related Reading: Ethereum Sees Increased Whale Activity Following Optimistic Remarks From Tom Lee The scale of growth is accelerating, with over 101,776 ETH, worth around $219 million, staked in the past week alone. At full deployment, the network is projected to generate nearly $300 million in annualized staking rewards. Beyond ETH, MAVAN is also expected to expand into additional proof-of-stake chains and broader blockchain infrastructure. Activity on the Ethereum network is surging, with daily transactions rising at an explosive pace. Crypto investor known as CW on X has stated that despite the price weakness, the network activity still remains at an all-time high level. Such a growth is not a signal of a bear market, as the price has dropped, but some investors are working very hard under the surface. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
Crypto analyst Javon Marks has provided a bullish outlook for the XRP price, predicting that it could rally to $14, frontrunning Bitcoin in the process. He alluded to a historical trend in which XRP outperformed BTC, which is why the analyst is confident that such price action can play out again. Analyst Predicts XRP Price To Rise To $14, Frontrunning Bitcoin In an X post, Javon Marks stated that the XRP price is set to outpace Bitcoin by over 600% this time around, which could spark a rally to over $14 for the altcoin. He noted that when XRP previously outran Bitcoin by over 240%, its price rose by over 570%. As such, he is confident that this can play out again. Related Reading: XRP Price On The Verge Of Another Crash, But There’s Still Hope The analyst’s accompanying chart shows that this XRP price rally could happen between now and mid-2027, with the altcoin outperforming Bitcoin during this period. Marks, however, failed to mention what could trigger such a price rally for the altcoin, considering that it has mirrored the flagship crypto so far in this market cycle. The XRP price notably has a year-to-date (YTD) loss of just over 7% while Bitcoin has a YTD loss of just under 2%. However, XRP is seeing renewed bullish momentum thanks to the spot ETFs, which launched between last month and this month. The XRP ETFs recently hit $1 billion in assets under management (AuM), becoming the fastest crypto asset to hit this milestone since Ethereum. As Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted, this highlights the demand for these crypto products, which could serve as a catalyst for a higher XRP price. Meanwhile, the XRP Ledger could soon see increased adoption following the release of the v3.0.0 upgrade, which could, in turn, boost XRP’s utility. XRP Still At “Decision Point” Crypto analyst CasiTrades noted that the XRP price is still at a decision point. She explained that until XRP breaks above the $2.41 resistance and pushes toward $2.65, the bullish scenario isn’t confirmed. On the other hand, the analyst stated that if the price drops back below $2.04 support, the more bearish path opens toward $1.73 and potentially $1.64, which is the .618 macro support. Related Reading: Betting Big On XRP: Billion-Dollar Asset Manager Confirms What Smart Money Has Been Doing CasiTrades reiterated that nothing has been confirmed for the XRP price as both scenarios are still fully in play. She indicated that this $2.04 is the best price level for traders to enter a position, as it positions them for either scenario. The analyst explained that if the price holds and runs upward, then these market participants are in before the confirmation. Meanwhile, if the price breaks down, they can place a stop just below support or at break-even. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.01, down over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
XRP’s price has continued to chop, trading sideways, which has impacted the price of the U.S. spot ETFs that provide exposure to the altcoin. Canary Capital’s XRP fund has crashed 20% since its launch, although this fund remains the largest by assets under management (AuM). XRP’s Sideways Price Action Leads To Spot ETF Crash The XRP price has continued to trade within a tight range, just above the psychological $2 level, sparking bearish sentiment among investors. The altcoin is down over 10% in the last month, around the time the first spot XRP ETF, Canary’s fund, launched. This bearish price action has notably contributed to a price crash for Canary’s XRPC fund. Related Reading: XRP ETFs Are About To Hit $1 Billion – Here’s How Much Is Flowing In Daily TradingView data shows that Canary’s XRP ETF is down 20% since its launch on November 13. XRPC also dropped almost 10% last week amid choppy price action. Canary’s fund has also likely crashed due to increased competition from three other spot funds that launched after it. This has led to a slowdown in its inflows since these funds launched. Meanwhile, these funds track the spot XRP price, which also explains Canary’s XRPC crash. XRP has mirrored Bitcoin’s price action amid concerns that the crypto market may already be in a bear market. XRP whales also look to be bearish at the moment, as Santiment data shows a drop in whale transactions from a recent high recorded in November. However, despite this bearish sentiment, with the crypto market currently in a state of fear, the XRP ETFs have continued to record daily net inflows. SoSo Value data show that these funds have been on a 16-day net inflow streak since Canary’s XRP fund launched on November 13, and they have yet to record a net outflow day. Canary’s XRP ETF, which has suffered a 20% price crash, is currently the largest spot XRP fund with $364 million in assets under management. Grayscale’s GXRP is second with $211 million, while Bitwise and Franklin Templeton are third and fourth. As a group, these XRP funds are about to hit $1 billion in assets under management, with $861 million in total net assets. Some Positives For The Altcoin Santiment data show that XRP exchange outflows have outweighed inflows in recent times. This is a positive as it indicates that more investors are accumulating than selling. Exchange outflows typically represent moves for long-term holding, especially in anticipation of higher prices. Related Reading: Pundit Predicts That XRP Is About To Make Investors Extremely Rich In an X post, Santiment mentioned that the XRP Ledger is seeing a fascinating trend of whale and shark wallets shrinking in number but continuing to grow in coins held. The on-chain analytics platform noted that there are 20.6% fewer 100 million XRP wallets, but that these wallets, as a group, still own a 7-year high 48 billion coins. As such, the existing 100 million XRP wallets are doubling down on their accumulation efforts and making up for the shrinking number of wallets. At the time of writing, the altcoin’s price is trading at around $2.07, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com