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Grayscale, the second-largest digital asset manager after BlackRock, has removed Cardano (ADA) from its Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC). The development coincides with a steep decline in price after the asset dropped to its lowest price since late 2023 due to intense selling pressure that has seen ADA reach the most oversold level in history.

Cardano Removed From Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund

Data from Grayscale shows that ADA is no longer among the crypto assets offered under the GDLC product. Instead, the asset manager has replaced ADA with Binance Coin (BNB), now the fund’s third-largest asset with a 4.92% weighting.

Cardano was included in this fund in January 2025 after Grayscale dumped Avalanche. The tide has now shifted against ADA, following months of price weakness exacerbated by prevailing bearish sentiment across the crypto market. 

The other assets in the fund include Bitcoin and Ethereum, with weights of 74% and 13%, respectively. The fund also holds XRP (4.26%) and Solana (2.62%).

Despite the adjustments, the fund has continued to perform poorly, with its NAV per share falling below $30 for the first time since October 2024. The drop comes at a time when crypto market performance has disappointed traders, leading to significant losses. 

ADA Plunges to 2023 Lows, Hits Most Oversold Level in History

Cardano has fallen to its lowest price since 2023 despite bullish sentiment by its founder, Charles Hoskinson, who said he would dump his luxury assets to buy ADA. At press time, ADA was trading at $0.27, down 16% in one week.

In addition to price, open interest has dropped, with Coinglass data showing it is at a 14-month low due to the unwinding of long positions. This further highlights a bearish outlook for the token. 

Nevertheless, some analysts are bullish that the ADA price might recover after it reached its most oversold level in history. In most cases, extreme selling pressure leads to a price recovery when the market reaches exhaustion.

With crypto prices down and market sentiment turning negative, Cardano could continue to face bearish pressure in the near term until fresh demand emerges.

On-chain analysts warn that Bitcoin’s structure is fragile despite its short-term strength, with a critical support level now defining the market’s next major move.

According to on-chain analysis shared this week, Bitcoin must hold above $71,000 to avoid a deeper breakdown. A sustained loss of this level could trigger a capitulation phase similar to the 2022 downturn, with the next major support zone projected near $55,500.

Alphractal’s João Wedson notes that disbelief in such downside scenarios mirrors sentiment at previous cycle lows, when market participants consistently underestimated how far prices could fall.

These concerns emerge even as Bitcoin posted a 4.04% gain over the past 24 hours, outperforming its recent weekly trends and aligning with a broader crypto market rise of 2.85%.

The bounce reflects competing forces, including expanding institutional infrastructure from firms like Fidelity and BlackRock, alongside heightened geopolitical risks that are reshaping global risk appetite. However, whether Bitcoin can strengthen its haven narrative under rising tensions or continue to cede that role to gold remains an open question.

Meanwhile, on-chain indicators support the cautious outlook. Data tracking Bitcoin’s Supply in Loss percentage has begun trending upward again, a pattern that historically marks the early stages of bear markets.

In prior cycles in 2014, 2018, and 2022, this metric shifted higher well before prices found a definitive bottom, as losses gradually spread from short-term holders to longer-term participants.

While the current reading is well below historical capitulation levels, the directional change suggests the market may be transitioning into a bear market structure rather than a routine pullback within a broader uptrend.

Analysts emphasize that on-chain metrics often signal stress before it becomes visible in price action. Another closely watched indicator is Net Unrealized Profit and Loss. A move into negative territory could signal capitulation and the formation of a durable bottom, while a positive reading may extend the current consolidation phase.

For now, Bitcoin is at a crossroads, balancing short-term relief rallies against mounting evidence of structural vulnerability.

Market analyst says Ethereum is having an “iPhone moment” as it approaches the ERC-8004 mainnet launch.

Ethereum is approaching an “iPhone moment” as the ERC-8004 standard prepares for a mainnet launch, potentially making ETH a vital asset for AI applications.

According to market commentary, the upgrade marks a milestone in which Ethereum transitions from hosting smart contracts to serving as critical infrastructure for autonomous, AI-driven systems operating at scale.

Currently, many publicly listed software companies are struggling to justify AI integration and are facing disruption from commoditised intelligence. Ethereum is becoming a scarce asset on which AI applications fundamentally depend.

The relationship between Ethereum and AI is not additive but symbiotic. Ethereum offers decentralised, tamper-resistant settlement and coordination, while AI injects the network with autonomous, high-frequency applications that expand on-chain activity and utility.

ERC 8004, formally introduced in August 2025 and now nearing mainnet, is designed to solve trust between autonomous agents. The standard enables AI agents from different organizations to discover one another, assess trustworthiness through portable reputation, and cooperate safely without prior relationships.

ERC 8004 does this through three on-chain registries covering identity, reputation, and validation, effectively creating an unfakeable digital profile for machines.

This infrastructure enables machine-to-machine payments, coordination, and enforcement without intermediaries. AI agents can autonomously trade, manage risk, price assets, and execute complex workflows, driving higher transaction frequency and more sophisticated contract usage.

The Ethereum Foundation’s dAI team has positioned Ethereum as the preferred settlement layer for AI agents, with forecasts suggesting AI-driven activity could account for up to 20% of DeFi volume by the end of 2025 and sustain gas growth into 2026.

The implications extend to real-world assets, where AI can automate valuation, compliance, and monitoring, improving efficiency for institutional products that require auditable execution.

Analysts argue that this dynamic strengthens Ethereum’s economics by increasing fees and burn, reinforcing its role as the neutral settlement and trust layer for an open AI agent economy.

Ethereum whales are pulling the market in opposite directions as January drew to a close, highlighting a growing clash between accumulation and distribution amid sustained price pressure.

ETH has erased its early 2026 gains and is down nearly 20% year-to-date, trading at approximately $2,111 after a 5.18% daily surge. The asset has also declined by more than 10% over the past week, struggling to reclaim the $3,000 level.

On one side of the divide, large holders are slowly building long-term exposure, as an over-the-counter whale address identified as 0xFB7 recently purchased 20,000 ETH, valued at approximately $56.1 million. Over the past five days alone, the same address has accumulated roughly 70,013 ETH, valued at nearly $203.6 million.

This behavior mirrors a trend observed last week, when whales collectively added more than 350,000 ETH in a single day. Meanwhile, Ethereum exchange reserves continue to decline, suggesting reduced sell-side supply as whales move assets into longer-term storage.

Furthermore, the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial reduced its Bitcoin exposure by swapping 93.77 WBTC, valued at $8.08 million, for 2,868 ETH. Another large address rotated out of 120 BTC, valued at $10.68 million, into 3,623 ETH.

However, not all signals are constructive. An early Ethereum whale deposited 50,000 ETH worth $145.25 million into Gemini after nine years of inactivity. Despite still holding 85,000 ETH valued at nearly $244 million, large transfers to exchanges often raise concerns about potential selling pressure or profit realization after a 32-fold price increase since acquisition.

Despite this tug-of-war, Ethereum’s network fundamentals remain resilient. The seven-day average of active addresses has surged to a record 718,000, creating a bullish divergence between stagnant price action and accelerating network activity. Historically, similar patterns have preceded upward repricing as fundamentals catch up with valuation.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin wallets holding at least 1,000 BTC have accumulated over 104,000 coins recently, even as BTC trades near $70,891 amid broader macro caution.

Grayscale swaps Cardano (ADA) for Binance Coin (BNB) in its flagship CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF, signaling shifting trends in the crypto market amid its quarterly fund rebalance.

Earlier this month, Grayscale updated its GDLC ETF following the latest CoinDesk 5 Index review. 

With BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and BNB meeting inclusion criteria, Grayscale removed ADA and added BNB, signaling a strategic pivot toward assets with stronger market momentum.

Amid a competitive crypto market, Binance Coin (BNB) recently surged past XRP to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, now valued at $89.18 billion versus XRP’s $87.66 billion, highlighting its rising appeal to institutional investors.

Grayscale Swaps Cardano for BNB in GDLC ETF Shake-Up

Cardano’s removal from GDLC could spark short-term concerns for ADA-focused ETFs and investor interest. 

While ADA remains a major blockchain player, its exclusion from a prominent institutional product may influence perceptions and fund flows. Analysts note that the decision likely reflects market performance and shifting index criteria, rather than Cardano’s long-term fundamentals.

Grayscale’s move highlights the dynamic nature of crypto ETFs, where rebalances align portfolios with market trends. GDLC investors may now benefit from BNB’s momentum, while Cardano supporters might seek alternative ETFs or direct holdings to stay exposed to ADA.

Therefore, Grayscale’s latest reshuffle underscores the need for adaptability in crypto investing. With BNB and XRP gaining ground while Bitcoin and Ethereum remain steady, the CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF continues to signal institutional interest in digital assets.

XRP staged a powerful rebound on Friday, surging nearly 20% as intensified whale accumulation helped reverse a steep sell-off that rattled the broader cryptocurrency market earlier this week.

After briefly bottoming out below the $1.15 level less than 18 hours earlier, XRP rebounded aggressively, reclaiming the $1.50 mark swiftly. The sudden turnaround drew attention from analysts, many of whom point to heightened activity among large holders as a key driver behind the move.

Popular on-chain analytics firm Santiment highlighted a notable surge in on-chain activity during the rebound. According to its data, the XRP Ledger recorded 1,389 whale transactions worth $100,000 or more, marking the highest level of large-holder activity in the past four months.

At the same time, network participation spiked sharply. Santiment reported that the number of unique XRP addresses jumped to 78,727 over an eight-hour period, marking the largest single-day increase in six months.

Notably, such spikes in address activity and large-value transactions often coincide with accumulation phases and can signal the formation of a short-term market bottom.

“Crypto markets are rebounding, but XRP’s price has been on a particularly huge tear,” Santiment noted. “Panic sellers may have overlooked the massive activity on the XRP Ledger as speculation grew over whether XRP would fall below $1.00. The clear whale accumulation during this dip is a strong indicator of a potential price reversal.”

Technical analysts echoed the improving outlook. Market analyst Cryptowzrd reported that XRP closed the session with a strong bullish daily candlestick, setting a new daily high.

The XRP/BTC trading pair also showed signs of renewed strength, suggesting further upside relative to Bitcoin. Still, analysts cautioned that a brief pullback or consolidation could follow such a rapid recovery, allowing the market to stabilize before attempting another leg higher.

Meanwhile, analyst Javon Marks highlighted XRP’s bounce following a successful retest of prior resistance, an area that has historically preceded major upside moves. According to Marks, similar setups in the past have led to significant breakouts toward measured move targets.

The analyst reiterated his longer-term bullish outlook, referencing an earlier analysis that identified a “coil” pattern forming around $0.50 in April 2024. That structure ultimately preceded a rally toward nearly $4 in 2025, representing a gain of roughly 580%, before a corrective pullback toward the $2 region.

Based on trendline extensions and historical price behavior, Marks projects a minimum breakout target of $15-$20, implying potential upside of more than 600% from current levels.

At press time, XRP was trading at $1.46, reflecting a 10.85% gain over the past 24 hours.

Mining difficulty on the Bitcoin blockchain has dropped by the most since China’s 2021 ban on crypto mining.

Mining difficulty is an average measure of how many hash operations miners must perform to mine a block. According to data from the Bitcoin network explorer Mempool, the difficulty decreased by approximately 11.2%. That’s the most since the China mining ban five years ago, when the hashrate, the total computational power used to mine blocks, dived 50% to 58 exahashes per second (EH/s) and BTC was gyrating around $30,000.

China declared a sweeping ban on crypto mining and started implementing a crackdown on cryptocurrencies in May 2021, leading to multiple negative difficulty adjustments between May and July 2021, ranging between 12.6% and 27.9%, historic data from CoinWarz shows.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty stands at 125.86 trillion — down from 141.67T and took effect at block 935,429. This was also the 10th-largest negative percentage adjustment of all time.

The difficulty is recalibrated every 2,016 blocks to ensure that blocks continue to be mined at roughly 10-minute intervals. Prior to the latest difficulty adjustment, average block times hovered at approximately 11.4 minutes, slightly above the network’s 10-minute target.

The sharp downward adjustment came amid a broad crypto market rout. The price of Bitcoin recently fell by over 50% from its all-time peak of around $126,000 to $60,000 lows, spurred by massive spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows and a wider risk-off sentiment across stocks and commodities.

The drop in mining difficulty provides some relief for miners by slightly improving the chances that each unit of computing power will secure a block reward. However, whether that provides meaningful financial relief will largely depend on Bitcoin’s price trajectory in the coming period.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $69,661, up 0.88% over the past 24 hours. It’s now roughly 9.9% lower than it was a week ago, according to crypto price aggregator TradingView.

Former U.S. presidential candidate and Libertarian icon Ron Paul has stated that Bitcoin should be allowed to function as a currency in the USA and compete against the Dollar. The 90-year-old retired politician is known for his Libertarian credentials and his efforts to support free-market trade in the country, a concept that has been overshadowed by the era of massive corporations and governments subsidizing their success.

Why Libertarians Like Ron Paul Love Crypto?

The former 12-time US Congressman famously ran against the neoconservative Mitt Romney during the 2012 US Presidential election’s Republican primary, but couldn’t win the nomination. His seemingly radical ideas of Federal Reserve audits, borderless trade, and decentralization were ahead of their time and aligned with the ethos promoted by the cryptocurrency revolution.

The cryptocurrency revolution began in 2008, during the height of the financial crisis, and proposed an open-source monetary transfer mechanism that offered a vision of a borderless future. Many of the early adopters of Bitcoin included online privacy advocates, cypherpunks, and Libertarians. For the latter, crypto was a way to challenge the supremacy of the central banks and their hegemony. 

Rand Paul Continues Father’s Stance

Many with Libertarian tendencies look at the 2012 presidential election as a major missed opportunity to bring the USA back to its constitutional roots, instead of overstretched global roles. His son, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), has also continued his line on a number of political positions, including that on crypto. The senator said back in a 2021 Axios interview:

“Here is what I have started to believe now: that the government currencies have become so unreliable. They are also fiat currencies, backed by nothing. The dollar has been the most stable among currencies, which is why it is the reserve currency. I’ve now actually started to question whether or not cryptocurrency could actually become the world’s reserve currency as more and more people lose confidence in the government”.

However, Rand Paul and other Libertarian-leaning politicians don’t see eye-to-eye with the current US government setup and its efforts to promote crypto in the country. Senator Paul recently voted down a Trump-led proposal to allow stablecoin transactions in the country, calling them counterproductive to the cause.

Libertarian tendencies are on the rise in the USA, with even President Donald Trump famously delivering a speech through the platform before his re-election in 2024. However, the monetary status quo is likely to engage in some backlash against crypto in the future, and Libertarians are once again predicted to take crypto’s side.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is back in the spotlight as crypto analyst Floratap points to an unusual divergence pattern that could trigger a massive rally, potentially fueling a 5X price surge and one of SHIB’s biggest comebacks yet.

The analyst stated, “Shiba Inu above $0.000017 could fuel a run toward $0.0000263, with a bullish target of $0.000081, representing a 500% increase.

Presently, optimism is being fueled by a divergence between SHIB’s flat price action and strengthening momentum signals. 

Furthermore, the relative strength index (RSI) and volume trends indicate quiet accumulation, a sign that has historically preceded sharp crypto breakouts.

Nevertheless, Shiba Inu’s 5X surge to $0.000081 hinges on massive capital inflows and a sustained bullish wave across the broader crypto market, with the 2nd-largest meme coin recently having witnessed a remarkable 48,247% burn rate.

At the time of this writing, SHIB was trading at $0.00001231, according to CoinGecko data. 

Shiba Inu Bulls Eye Key Breakout Zone as Support Holds Firm

Market analyst Lingrid notes that SHIB is holding firmly above its key support, showing strong buyer defense. This resilience is preventing deeper losses and reinforcing a bullish technical outlook in the near term.

She added, “Price action suggests bulls are preparing to push higher as long as support holds. A breakout above the resistance zone could target the 0.00001350–0.00001400 area.”

Source: Lingrid

Therefore, Lingrid’s analysis shows Shiba Inu shifting from correction to accumulation, with the falling channel breakout signaling strength and current consolidation laying the groundwork for a potential rally.

With multiple bullish factors aligning, SHIB’s short-term trajectory now hinges on whether momentum can translate into a decisive breakout.

David Schwartz, the Chief Technology Officer at leading cross-border payments processing giant Ripple, has outlined his outlook for the future of XRPL. The Ripple official shared his outlined vision for XRPL, particularly his solution to some existing network issues needing rectification.

In an X post, Schwartz revealed the state of things with the XRP Ledger hub under his management and further highlighted a graph depicting the number of peer connections to the hub received from August 21st to August 25th.

The Ripple CTO explained that the upgrade has resulted in improved bandwidth measurements, and as demonstrated by the images he provided, the hub has shown solid operation over the week.

“After a week of solid operation my hub had a rough day. But it was for a very good reason — the switch it’s connected to received a massive upgrade and my bandwidth measurements are much better now.” He wrote.

https://twitter.com/joelkatz/status/1960442103781318699?s=46&t=qzsvHvtDB3yjTaoaylh-2g David Schwartz shares long-term network plans for XRPL

The CTO proceeded to share his long-term plans for XRPL, stating that he first intends to run production on the XRPL infrastructure. He noted that a software flaw caused server link disconnection as a key network issue plaguing the XRPL software, which could be rectified with data secured from the production hub.

Schwartz went on to disclose validators’ struggle with network connectivity, which he maintains could be strengthened. He breaks down the current situation and presents a solution, as his post reads;

“Third, I’ve noticed some issues around validators with network connectivity that is not as good as it could be. I think having one *really* good hub that can link several hundred nodes together, including most of the “important” nodes could make an actual difference in overall network reliability and stability.”

An early Ether (ETH) investor that has been dormant for over eight years, has awakened and made one of the largest staking deposits in recent history.

According to on-chain data spotlighted by Lookonchain, three addresses that snapped up 1 million Ether tokens during the initial coin offering (ICO) in 2015 transferred a combined amount of $645 million worth of funds on Thursday to a staking address.

The anonymous whale initially purchased the coins for $310,000 at $0.31 per coin. That stash is now valued around $4.3 billion. Prior to Thursday’s action, the three wallets had been inactive since February 2022, when they conducted non-ETH transactions.

After this week’s staking, two wallets still hold another 105,000 ETH, valued at $451 million.

An #Ethereum ICO participant who received 1,000,000 $ETH just woke up after 8 years of dormancy.He moved 150,000 $ETH($645M) to a new wallet for staking. He invested $310K in the ICO via 3 wallets and received 1,000,000 $ETH — now worth $4.3B.After staking 150,000 $ETH, he… pic.twitter.com/B5CBTBJ2O5

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 5, 2025

It’s the latest in a slew of reactivating ICO whale addresses. In August, one ICO whale moved $19 million worth of ETH to the Kraken crypto exchange, before selling another 1,060 ETH days later. Another ICO participant also sold 2,300 ETH last month.

Ether registered a new all-time high of $4,946.05 late last month and is up an impressive 70% over the last three months. The second-largest cryptocurrency was now changing hands at $4,329 as of publication time.

Investor optimism regarding Ether has surged in recent months following the passage of landmark crypto regulation that could benefit the network, and amid rapidly increasing institutional demand for the asset that has sparked huge inflows into spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

ETH Accumulation Heats Up

Meanwhile, retail whales and financial institutions have continued to aggressively amass Ethereum. They have purchased 218,750 ETH, worth $942.8 million, over the last two days alone, as spotted by Lookonchain.

Whales and institutions bought a massive 218,750 $ETH($942.8M) in the past 2 days.Bitmine bought 69,603 $ETH($300M) from BitGo and Galaxy Digital.5 newly created wallets bought 102,455 $ETH($441.6M) from FalconX. pic.twitter.com/ajkL0O3roc

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 5, 2025

Peter Thiel-backed Bitmine Immersion Tech, which has become the largest corporate holder of Ether, scooped up 69,603 ETH for approximately $300 million through BitGo and Galaxy Digital’s over-the-counter trades. Bitmine currently holds more than 1.75 million ETH, worth over $7.6 billion. Runner-up Ether treasury firm SharpLink Gaming announced earlier this week that it purchased 39,008 ETH, pushing its total stockpile to 837,230 ETH.

Additionally, five wallets that were recently created purchased 102,455 ETH, equivalent to $442 million, through FalconX.

Speculation around a possible Dogecoin (DOGE) exchange-traded fund (ETF) has gained traction, with market analysts giving these funds high odds of launching soon.

Just like it did earlier this summer with its Solana staking ETF, REX Shares and Osprey Funds might bring the first exchange-traded fund offering direct exposure to DOGE to US investors as soon as next week.

All Eyes On Rex’s Dogecoin ETF

According to Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, it may not be long before Americans see the first active memecoin-focused exchange-traded fund.

“Looks like Rex is going to launch a Doge ETF via the 40 Act a la $SSK next week based on below tweet combined w how they just filed an effective prospectus,” Balchunas wrote in a Thursday post on X, referencing investment manager REX Shares filing a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The REX-Osprey DOGE ETF would trade under the ticker DOJE. REX noted in the prospectus filing that “DOGE is a relatively new innovation and is subject to unique and substantial risks. The market for DOGE is subject to rapid price swings, changes, and uncertainty.”

The prospectus also mentions ETFs tied to Ripple’s XRP, BONK, TRUMP, as well as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL). “Doge looks like first one to go out, but the [prospectus] also includes on there are Trump, XRP, and Bonk so [possible] those too at some point, we’ll see,” the Bloomberg strategist added.

Dogecoin has rocketed over 121% over the last year, data from CoinGecko shows. However, the OG memecoin remains 50% down since reaching its 2024 peak of $0.467, and has slumped 70.4% from its $0.7316 all-time high set in May 2021.

REX Is Taking The ‘Regulatory End-Around’ Route

In the crypto ETF world, would-be issuers normally submit Form 19B-4 and S-1 registration statements with the SEC. The Investment Company Act of 1940, which is the same path REX Shares used to introduce its Solana staking exchange-traded fund, is a different approach altogether.

NovaDius Wealth president Nate Geraci previously called the legal workaround “a regulatory end-around.” Meanwhile, ETF Issuers pursuing the traditional route are still awaiting decisions from the U.S. SEC. Other issues like Grayscale, 21Shares, and Bitwise have also filed for spot ETFs with exposure to DOGE.

The filings came after Donald Trump’s second administration started earlier this year, with the new President appointing SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting SEC Chair. The regulator has since dropped a slew of lawsuits and probes into crypto-focused companies and has been showing a rather pro-crypto stance.

Ripple USD, an enterprise-focused stablecoin issued by XRP cryptocurrency issuer Ripple, is now available for institutions in Africa via new partnerships with three major African players, including Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card distributors.

In a Thursday press release, Ripple said the expansion seeks to give businesses across the continent access to a stable, digital dollar created for international payments, liquidity, and on-chain settlements.

Africa has long been a key crypto hub as local economies suffer from local currency volatility and capital controls. According to Ripple, Africans are forced to deal with costly cross-border settlements.

In Kenya specifically, the RLUSD stablecoin is also gaining popularity in climate risk insurance initiatives. In one pilot project, the stablecoin funds are released automatically when satellite data signals drought conditions. Another trial underpins rainfall insurance, with payouts triggered by extreme weather events. 

Ripple’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa, Reece Merrick, noted that the blockchain payments firm had been waiting for this specific moment “for a while.”

https://twitter.com/reece_merrick/status/1963484005036097715 Rapid Growth Since Debut

RLUSD, which went live in December 2024 on both XRP Ledger and Ethereum, is backed 1:1 by reserves including U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. government bonds, and other cash equivalents. The stablecoin currently has a market capitalization of approximately $709.5 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of $43 million as of publication time.

Ripple’s stablecoin move comes amid a wider boom across the stablecoin sector. The supply of USD-pegged stablecoins reached $282 billion as of Thursday, up from around $250 billion on Aug. 1.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority greenlighted RLUSD as a payment rail within the Dubai International Financial Centre in June, expanding the stablecoin’s footprint in the jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, Ripple has already applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust-bank charter, a license that would let it issue RLUSD under federal banking rules and hold customer deposits directly.

Cardano (ADA) emerged as the third-best-performing altcoin in August but has kicked off the new month in a bloodbath. Despite trading in red, the outlook for ADA for September is mainly positive, and one key player predicts a price surge above the $1 price mark.

In an X post, Ali_Charts, an analyst known for his bullish altcoin price prediction, has once again laid out the possibilities for the 10th most valued crypto asset by market cap.

The market player shared a technical chart created on August 31st, displaying a 4-hour candlestick chart data in which the analyst highlighted an ascending channel pattern. While the parallel trend lines define a bullish trend, the lower line acts as support where buying interest has historically emerged.

Per the analysts’ assertion, breaking above $0.88 is seen as critical to confirm a rally toward $1.20. If $ADA holds above the lower channel support and breaks $0.88 with strong volume, it supports a bullish outlook toward $1.20. However, a breakdown below the support could invalidate this, potentially driving the price to lower levels.

Cardano $ADA must break $0.88 to confirm a rally toward $1.20! pic.twitter.com/BpCLzSor4B

— Ali (@ali_charts) September 1, 2025

While technical analytical predictions for September are yet to roll in, fundamental factors seem to validate an even more bullish expectation. More specifically, the latest ETF filing from leading institutional player Grayscale is expected to drive ADA to a new high. 

Notably, Grayscale filed for an ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for new Cardano (ADA) and Polkadot (DOT) exchange-traded funds.

Should the proposal be approved, both tokens could experience significant inflows, potentially driving up the prices of DOT and ADA in the long term.

At report time, ADA is trading for $0.82, with gains from the last 24 hours reaching 0.88%. However, losses from the previous 7 days have surged past 4%, signaling a mild drop in buying pressure.

Solana Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) DeFi Development has increased its SOL holdings. The company announced that its stockpile of SOL tokens has now surpassed the 2 million milestone following its latest acquisition.

Long-Term SOL Staking Plans

Formerly known as Janover, the company stated that it now holds approximately 2,027,817 SOL on its balance sheet following the latest acquisition of 196,141 SOL at an average price of $202.76 per coin. At SOL’s current price of $206.63, the DeFi Development’s stack is worth more than $417 million.

The newly acquired tokens will be held for the long haul and staked with a range of validators, including its own Solana validators, to get a slice of the blockchain’s staking rewards.

The move reflects a growing trend of publicly listed companies adding cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets, mirroring the playbook of Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

Companies Mimic Strategy

While many companies, such as Metaplanet and Semler Scientific, are following Saylor’s lead with BTC-focused treasuries, others are exploring alternative digital assets, including Solana. DeFi Development was taken over by a group of former executives of digital asset platform Kraken. It announced a treasury strategy centered around Solana as part of its new direction in April.

The Florida-based company said its updated per-share exposure now stands at 0.0793 SOL. This metric measures the value of SOL treasuries based on their exposure to the firm’s share price.

Another Nasdaq-listed company, Upexi, also holds over 2 million SOL as part of its crypto treasury strategy.

$300 SOL Next?

SOL is the native token of the Solana blockchain. The network, once considered the “Ethereum killer,” has fast speeds thanks to its proof-of-history consensus mechanism. The Solana community recently voted in favour of the much-anticipated Alpenglow upgrade, which introduces a new consensus protocol designed to improve transaction finality and network efficiency dramatically.

Meanwhile, the first U.S.-listed Solana ETF launched in July, albeit it was futures-based. A handful of investment managers, including VanEck and Fidelity, have submitted paperwork for spot SOL vehicles with decisions due later this year. 

SOL was changing hands for $204.12 as of press time, according to CoinGecko data. Could Solana treasury building and ETF buying activate an explosive rally toward $300? Only time will tell.

Investors are betting the Fed will cut rates at its Sept. 16–17 meeting, and crypto traders see big implications for Ripple’s XRP. 

The CME FedWatch tool shows roughly an 87% probability of a 25‑basis‑point cut in mid-September. Federal Reserve officials have signaled a shift toward easing.

Governor Christopher Waller told investors he “fully expects” to support a 25bp cut at the September meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell echoed that labor‑market risks “may warrant proceeding carefully” with policy, a comment markets took as a clear sign of an upcoming cut. 

With inflation still above target, traders will watch Sept. 17 closely – that’s when the Fed is slated to announce its rate decision.

The Fed’s calendar shows a Sept. 16–17 gathering, with the policy rate decision due Sept. 17. Futures markets are pricing in a cut: CME’s tool shows the odds at about 85–90%.

Many Wall Street forecasts now assume the Fed will trim its target range from 4.25–4.50% down to 4.00–4.25%. In fact, several major banks (Barclays, Deutsche, BNP Paribas) recently flipped to expecting a 25bp cut on Sept. 17.

This shift comes after Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole remarks flagged rising labor‑market risks. Still, not everyone is convinced. 

Bank of America notes that without clear evidence of a slowdown, cutting now “would risk a policy error.” JPMorgan and Goldman, by contrast, remain aligned with the consensus that September’s meeting will deliver a quarter‑point cut.

Analyst sees cut sparking XRP rally

Crypto analysts say an easing in Fed policy could send XRP soaring. On social media, a chart-focused trader (handle @Steph_iscrypto) posted two comparative XRP/USD graphs.

One chart shows XRP’s price action after last September’s Fed cut – a rounded base followed by a massive ~488% run into the $2–$3 range.

Source: @Steph_iscrypto X

The second chart mirrors that pattern into 2025. The trader argues that if the Fed cuts 25bp on Sept. 17, XRP could “follow a path resembling its late 2024 rally,” meaning a very sharp advance.

In his words, the Fed decision “will be the trigger for a sharp upward move in XRP,” framing the cut as a catalyst for “another steep rally.”

Background data bolsters that view. Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek notes that the late‑2024 rate‑cut cycle (September–December) coincided with a roughly 57% gain in broad crypto prices over four months.

He now expects history may repeat in Q4 if borrowing costs fall. Likewise, the chartist’s overlay highlights that XRP’s base formation today echoes last year’s – suggesting the token is “primed to go parabolic” on another Fed cut.

Charts project XRP above $10 by 2026

The analyst’s annotated forecast is bullish. He extended the 2025 chart into 2026, showing XRP climbing above $8 into double‑digit territory by early 2026.

The key note on the chart reads that with a 25bp cut expected, XRP could advance “toward and above $10 in early 2026.” 

In other words, if Fed policy is eased as anticipated on Sept. 17, XRP’s price could replicate – and even exceed – its post‑cut surge from 2024.

For context, XRP’s all‑time high is just under $3.84 from 2018. These projections assume that the current technical and macro setups hold, and they align with other bullish scenarios being discussed in the crypto markets.

Branded ‘The Flippening’ by market observers, this new hypothetical is defined loosely as the point at which competing blockchain networks like Ethereum (ETH), Ripple-affiliated XRP, and Solana (SOL) could replace Bitcoin as the largest and best capitalized blockchain.

So, will the event come to pass? One popular Bitcoin OG has boldly asserted that prominent alternative cryptocurrencies are never going to surpass BTC and claim the ‘king of the cryptoverse’ title.

Why Bitcoin Will Conserve Its Premium Status

Pierre Rochard took to X on Friday to elaborate why he doesn’t believe in terms of market capitalization and overall valuation that Ether, SOL, or XRP will overtake Bitcoin.

https://twitter.com/BitcoinPierre/status/1963762545488994733

Rochard suggested that embracing the utility thesis of crypto will derail these altcoins. Case in point, the value of Ripple’s XRP is believed to increase if the token gains more popularity as a means of international payments. Ethereum, meanwhile, is the largest smart contract platform and DeFi, which largely lives on the second-largest blockchain, today holds vast amounts in total value locked.

On the contrary, Bitcoin’s price, as Rochard contends, does not depend on the number of people utilizing it for transactions. Instead, the foremost crypto’s monetary thesis comes from decentralization, censorship resistance, capped supply, as well as various network effects.  

The staunch Bitcoiner claims that any renowned company will be perfectly capable of establishing its own blockchain and capturing the use cases presented by altcoins.

Could Solana topple Bitcoin? It seems insane to even consider, given that SOL is currently the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. 

Notably, Solana has long been billed as the “Ethereum killer.” It currently boasts a market cap of just above $110 billion, while Ether stands at $519 billion, second in the rankings behind only Bitcoin. SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci predicted during the DigiAssets 2025 conference in June that “SOL will flip ETH.”

Ethereum (ETH) performed strongly this week, surging to a high of over $3000. 

Its rise comes as Bitcoin also hits its all-time high of $118,000, which is a sign that the crypto market is gaining strong momentum with time.

Notably, ETH has climbed back above the $3,000 mark for the first time since February, marking a strong recovery after a drop from $4,100 in December 2025 to a low of $1,387 in April.

This rebound comes at a time when global markets remain unsettled by renewed tariff disputes and growing political uncertainty tied to former President Trump’s influence on economic policy.

That said, Ethereum’s surge in price has raised various optimistic observations and predictions from analysts. In a post, Pentoshi, a popular crypto analyst, highlighted the shifting sentiment around Ethereum, noting that growing capital inflows, especially from public companies, could soon outweigh all ETH issued since the Merge.

With Ethereum’s market cap still a fraction of Bitcoin’s, the analyst suggested it won’t take much to trigger significant price moves. He urged the community to put aside bias and recognize the momentum building behind ETH, calling its rise “inevitable” in hindsight.

Meanwhile, Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of the BitMEX platform, predicted that ETH would hit $10,000 following the ongoing surge.

‘‘Arise Chikun, it’s time… ETH = $10,000 Yachtzee,’’ Arthur tweeted on Thursday, sharing the chart below

Hayes further pointed out that Ethereum is steadily gaining ground against Bitcoin, with the ETH/BTC trading pair slowly climbing from its historical lows. 

Elsewhere, market analyst XForceGlobal recently echoed similar views, predicting that Ethereum as an asset is on track to eventually reach the $10,000 milestone. He emphasized that growing institutional interest, improving fundamentals, and Ethereum’s evolving role in the blockchain ecosystem all support a long-term bullish outlook.

“The move up on the shorter timeframes was objectively. ETH is still looking to shoot for a new ATH’s this cycle and should end around $9,000- $10,000, give or take.” XForceGlobal tweeted. No macro scenario is providing a ‘good look’ and remains only ideal in nature using context; however, this remains as my primary idea for now, ‘

Meanwhile, analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted that Ethereum is approaching a critical resistance level around $3,500, with a potential breakout on the horizon if bullish momentum persists.

He pointed to the growing impact of Ethereum ETFs that include staking features as a possible catalyst, emphasizing that these products could significantly reduce the circulating supply. 

The further pundit suggested that recent regulatory shifts, such as the SEC’s more favorable stance toward proof-of-stake assets, combined with staking demand, may create the ideal conditions for Ethereum to break past this key barrier.

At press time, ETH is trading at $2,981.30, reflecting a 5.28% surge within the past 24 hours.

Ethereum’s ether (ETH) exhibited extraordinary bullish momentum during the past 24 hours as Bitcoin advanced past new historic highs. The second-biggest crypto by market cap soared above the $3,000 threshold for the first time since February as investors grew more optimistic about the widening embrace of digital asset products.

ETH was changing hands at $3,009 as of press time, a more than 8% gain since Thursday, at the same time. It topped $3,027.12 earlier in the day before pulling back slightly.

As Ether’s price leaped higher, $258.6 million worth of ETH shorts were liquidated over the past 24 hours, according to data tracked by CoinGlass. However, in contrast to BTC, the token is still 38.6% away from its all-time high of $4,878 set in November 2021.

Record Institutional Demand

Ethereum’s climb comes on the heels of the largest single day for the combined U.S.-listed spot ETH exchange-traded fund inflows at $383.1 million on Thursday, according to data from Farside Investors. BlackRock’s ETHA spot ETH ETF posted a record $300.9 million in net daily inflows yesterday.

“We have a *new* daily inflow record for iShares Ethereum ETF…$300+mil. 2nd best day for spot eth ETFs overall since July 2024 launch,” said Nate Geraci, the president of ETF Store (now known as NovaDius Wealth Management).

Meanwhile, the corporate crypto treasury strategy has expanded beyond Bitcoin to Ether as well, with public firms such as Sharplink Gaming and Bitmine Immersion Technology putting the asset on their corporate treasuries. SharpLink, in particular, now holds 205,634 ETH, following an acquisition of more tokens on Tuesday. The publicly-traded gaming tech company also said it’s raising more money to fund additional ETH purchases in the coming days.

“In less than one month, public companies will have bought enough ETH to offset all the ETH that’s been created since the merge,” prominent crypto investor Pentoshi observed in a post on X earlier this week. “It’s 1/9th the market cap of BTC, and takes far less capital to move. That capital is clearly coming.”

Hester Peirce, SEC Commissioner, commented that although blockchains are novel technologies, it does not exclude them from existing regulations. Peirce was addressing the question of tokenized stocks and the regulatory frameworks and practices that informed their use. The SEC Commissioner stressed the need for tokenized stocks to comply with existing regulations. Her comments, however, do not necessarily represent the SEC’s current practices. Tokenized stocks have erupted recently with various exchanges offering stablecoin versions of stocks, pegged at a one-to-one ratio to the current price. Peirce described the new tokenized stocks as models that represent securities. 

Tokenized equities allow traders to buy and sell stocks in a format that is akin to regular cryptocurrencies. The underlying company distributes tokens through an exchange. These tokenized assets follow similar practices to stablecoins, with many exchanges promising one-to-one correspondence with actual stocks. Traders can buy the tokenized stocks, but they are merely buying a representation of the actual stocks. Hester Peirce, SEC Commissioner, warned there could be new risks with these tokenized stocks. The pegged tokens, for example, could suffer a security breach and may disrupt the underlying representation of the original stock. However, for many traders, the benefits far outweigh the risks because they can conveniently buy and sell the tokens with their private crypto wallets. Peirce has been cautious about the new tokenized stocks. However, Paul Atkins, SEC Chair, said that the SEC should encourage innovation when discussing tokenized equities. Coinbase has said they are ready to embrace tokenized stocks as soon as the SEC gives it the go-ahead. 

Professional traders have been asking the SEC to permit them to trade tokenized securities on American and European markets. Peirce has been replying to these demands and, in part, has answered their questions, stating that tokenized securities are still securities and go by the same pre-existing laws. Robinhood Exchange penned a letter to the SEC outlining the benefits of tokenized stocks. Robinhood has a growing number of crypto traders who use its service. The SEC has replied favorably to the exchange and has plans further to add clarity about the status of tokenized equities.

Gary Gensler, former SEC Chair, maintained the position that businesses should come in and talk with the SEC if they are considering crypto products and services. Peirce seems to be making similar comments by stating that pre-existing regulations will govern tokenized securities. This position may not be consistent with the current Chair, Paul Atkins, who has a more favourable view towards cryptocurrencies and has stated that he wishes to introduce regulations that deregulate the market. The drastic changes that have occurred are the result of a new Trump administration promoting crypto businesses. However, exchanges like Robinhood wish to extend their tokenized stock market to Europe, which would require a thorough understanding of SEC regulations. Peirce stated that the agency was willing to change the rules for cryptocurrencies if the rules were outdated or not applicable to digital assets. 

Coinbase is one such company that wishes to deploy tokenized stocks on its platform. The current political climate is perfect for deploying such a complex fusion of traditional finance with blockchain innovations. There is a long list of benefits in trading tokenized stocks that exchanges are aware of. Hester Peirce, SEC Commissioner, is also the head of the crypto task force, which means her comments are especially relevant for crypto exchanges. Peirce has made various comments in the past that have been supportive of the crypto industry. Overall, Peirce supports the current administration’s goal of limiting regulations that impede financial innovation. Tokenized stocks, however, are being opposed by traditional institutions that believe the new technology should not be fast-tracked. There is a real fear that tokenized equities could be a disaster waiting to happen.