Michael Saylor, founder and former CEO of MicroStrategy giant (and currently its chairman) has taken to the X social media network (previously known as Twitter) to share a key Bitcoin message with his audience.

This is yet another his daily Bitcoin tweet accompanied by an AI-generated image but today he indeed posted a “key” BTC tweet. It says – “Bitcoin is the key.”

#Bitcoin is the Key. pic.twitter.com/Rf8zP93iV2

— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) April 27, 2024

Many of his followers eagerly responded to that, providing supportive comments, and confirming that for them the world’s pioneer cryptocurrency is indeed the key to future wealth. This tweet also widely resonates with a popular crypto statement about storing Bitcoin and other crypto, meaning private keys to wallets. It goes as “not your keys, not your coins.”

Saylor published his daily Bitcoin content simultaneously with BTC dropping by nearly 2% over the past 24 hours. As of this writing, it is changing hands at $62,890, having lost approximately $2,000 in value since Friday.

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On Friday, Saylor posted a curious tweet about the mysterious Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, thus raising an active discussion in the comments. He tweeted that Satoshi “created a way, gave it away, and walked away.” He posted that tweet on the day when the enigmatic software engineer left his last Bitcoin message exactly 13 years ago before he chose to go under the public radar.

What he did was sign his cryptographic key before leaving his brainchild in the hands of the developers and disappearing, it seems, forever.

Despite the pale performance of the MATIC price, early Q2, 2024, was very fruitful for Polygon (MATIC) in terms of on-chain records and integrations.

Robinhood Wallet enables cross-chain swaps on Polygon (MATIC)

Robinhood Wallet, a mainstream multi-blockchain trading application, now supports cross-chain swaps on Polygon's proof-of-stake (PoS) network. Such statement was shared by Polygon's team today, April 27, 2024.

Robinhood Wallet has enabled crosschain swaps on Polygon PoS for tokens supported by @0xProject and @lifiprotocol.👉🏼 enabling onchain access to over 23 million users on @RobinhoodApp pic.twitter.com/JbUGxUdiVT

— Polygon | Aggregated (@0xPolygon) April 26, 2024

The integration became possible thanks to 0x Project and LI.FI. infrastructure protocols integration. Cross-chain swaps are now available for all tokens supported by the two platforms.

Polygon (MATIC) representatives stressed that on-chain access to the swap module is now unlocked for over 23 million Robinhood app users.

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As covered by U.Today previously, Robinhood was among the first applications to list all spot Bitcoin ETFs for trading.

Also, in December 2023, it expanded cryptocurrency trading services to the countries of EU. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) became available for European crypto enthusiasts.

Polygon (MATIC) becomes go-to blockchain for stablecoins and NFTs in April

For Polygon (MATIC), the announcement by Robinhood became yet another milestone in its array of Q2, 2024 accomplishments.

In the last 30 days, Polygon (MATIC) became the leading Ethereum Virtual Machine blockchain in terms of NFT-associated transactions.

.@0xPolygon is the leading EVM chain by number of NFT transactions.Transactions counted here are those that involve NFT transfers only, where they counted the number of distinct hashes in the ERC721 and ERC1155 tables.This highlights that @0xPolygon's NFT ecosystem is the… pic.twitter.com/4Jvkd15hJv

— Polygon Stats (@polygonstats) April 25, 2024

Also, as per a recent report, Polygon (MATIC) registered 1.9 million on-chain stablecoin users, while its closest competitors, Ethereum (ETH) and Arbitrum (ARB), only onboarded 1.4 million stablecoin users each.

After a slight bounce back, the cryptocurrency market is bearish again, according to CoinStats.

BTC chart by CoinStatsBTC/USD

The rate of Bitcoin has dropped by 2.13% over the last day.

Image by TradingView

On the hourly chart, the price of BTC is more bearish than bullish as it is falling after a failed attempt to fix above the interim zone of $63,000.

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If the situation does not change by the end of the day, there is a chance to see a test of the support by tomorrow.

Image by TradingView

A similar picture is on the daily time frame. If the bar closes below the support level of $63,136, one can expect an ongoing decline to the $62,000 area shortly.

Image by TradingView

From the midterm point of view, there are no reversal signals yet, which means it is too early to think about a bounce back. Moreover, if buyers lose the $60,000 zone, the accumulated energy might be enough for a dump to the $55,000 zone.

Bitcoin is trading at $62,979 at press time.

XRP, the seventh largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, saw a flurry of activity as a staggering 74 million tokens were mysteriously transferred to various wallets in a series of transactions.

The significant transfers of XRP tokens, which might suggest whale buying, have sparked speculation and intrigue within the XRP community and the broader cryptocurrency market.

XRP has seen volatility in the last 24 hours, with its price falling amid a broader market downturn. At the time of writing, XRP was down 1.14% in the last 24 hours to $0.516, after dipping to intraday lows of $0.5077.

In what might coincide with a strategic move by crypto whales to buy the dip, millions of XRP tokens have been moved within the last 24 hours to various unknown wallets from crypto exchanges such as Binance and Bitvavo.

Whale Alert, a cryptocurrency data tracker, reveals three transactions totaling more than 74 million XRP.

🚨 24,118,600 #XRP (12,461,230 USD) transferred from #Bitvavo to unknown wallethttps://t.co/b7HvBXzXaL

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 27, 2024

In two separate transactions, 24,059,884 XRP worth $12,390,804 and 26,336,059 XRP worth $13,563,030 were transferred from Binance to unknown wallets. The third transaction involved 24,118,600 XRP worth $12,461,230 being transferred from the Bitvavo exchange to an unknown wallet.

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This series of transactions has raised questions about the motives and intentions behind the movement, as well as the fact that the identities of the receiving wallets remain unknown.

Not ruling out funds' reshuffling, the transactions could be related to whales or large holders seeking to capitalize on market trends. Keep in mind that withdrawals from cryptocurrency exchanges may indicate buying.

According to on-chain data from Santiment, XRP may be undervalued, with a profit ratio of 77% now. The low percentage of supply in profit, when compared to other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, may indicate undervaluation.

The increase in whale activity may represent a belief that XRP is undervalued and that investors are taking advantage of the opportunity to accumulate coins at lower prices.

Visa, a global leader in payment technology, has recently shone a spotlight on the growing prominence of Solana (SOL) in the stablecoin market.

According to Visa Stablecoin Dashboard, Solana has witnessed a surge in stablecoin transactions, particularly USDC (USD Coin), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

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Solana surpasses other blockchains

Per the reports, Solana’s stablecoin transactions surpassed other blockchains like Tron, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and others.

The blockchain’s total stablecoin transactions exceed 69 million over the past 30 days. Compared to its closest rival, Binance Smart Chain saw a total of 47.2 million transactions. Ethereum fared even more poorly as the stablecoin transactions came in at only 2.3 million for the past 30 days.

new @visa dashboard shows that @solana has significantly more stablecoin transactions than any other blockchain pic.twitter.com/swCM8C2DGy

— Mike Dudas (@mdudas) April 26, 2024

It appears that larger investors are currently favoring Solana's network, as the choice of protocol boils down to the specific needs and strategies of stablecoin users.

Looking at the future of Solana, a continued rise will depend on the market sentiment post-halving, project developments and the capacity of buyers to drive and sustain higher prices.

Solana congestion challenges get major fix

Just recently, Solana announced the release of a major congestion fix on its mainnet. According to the platform, a new version upgrade dubbed v1.17.31 has been released and is available for MainnetBeta validators.

Solana has confirmed that the new upgrade will address its congestion issues directly. Before this release, many developers and validator clients had released major updates on the testnet as a concerted effort was invested in helping address network woes across the board.

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With this fix, many halted projects have expressed plans to proceed with launching, with plans to go live as network stability is now guaranteed.

Notably, the new release of the Solana congestion fix sent the price of SOL up by 9.24% to $154.43 over the past week. While this growth trails a broader market recovery, the return of normalcy and the trust that the resolution of congestion woes will bring should help in boosting the growth of the coin in the long term.

It looks like the euphoria around meme coins might be finally gone. Out of the 10 worst performing categories on CoinGecko, five are associated with meme cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the most painful losses are associated with small-caps.

Base, Solana meme coin ecosystems bleeding: Double-digit losses registered in 24 hours

In the last 24 hours, amid the general crypto market apathy, meme-associated coins are yet again suffering the most. Two ecosystems demonstrated the worst performance metrics. Meme coins on Base, a Coinbase L2 for Ethereum (ETH), lost over 18% of value overnight.

Image by CoinGecko

The aggregated capitalization of 38 largest Base meme coins dropped to $142 million. Brett (BRETT) meme coin's price plummeted by over 40%.

Solana's (SOL) meme coin segment erased 12.6% of its value. The net market capitalization of Solana-based meme cryptocurrencies barely exceeds $1.67 billion.

Also, cat-themed meme coins and BRC-20 assets (some tokens in this category are also associated with memes) are amid the worst performers.

While cat coins' value plunged by 8.8%, BRC-20 cryptocurrencies lost 8.7% of the total value.

$8.5 million worth of DOGE, WIF, BONK positions liquidated, mostly longs

This dropdown in the meme coin sphere triggered eight-digit liquidations on futures markets. Dogecoin (DOGE), Dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk (BONK) and Pepe (PEPE) are the worst sufferers here.

With $150 million in total liquidated in the last 24 hours, three largest meme coins are responsible for $8.5 million in equivalent lost.

Over 80% of this sum should be attributed to long positions.

The total crypto market capitalization is down by 2%, data says.

Prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez has observed a significant decline in Bitcoin whale activity since March 14, sparking speculation about its potential impact on BTC price. Martinez's analysis, supported by accompanying charts, reveals a notable drop in transactions involving sums exceeding $100,000, following Bitcoin's surge to a new high of $73,750 per BTC.

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Data from Martinez's charts highlights that over the past 24 hours, transactions above $100,000 amounted to 2,896, with those surpassing $1 million totaling 521. Prior to Bitcoin's peak, whale activity exhibited a proportional increase, peaking at around 4,500 daily transactions valued at a million dollars or more, and approximately 24,500 transactions exceeding $100,000.

Source: Ali Martinez

Martinez suggests that the absence of substantial whale activity could be contributing to Bitcoin's recent price stagnation, as the cryptocurrency struggles to maintain momentum amid diminishing volatility. The analyst's observations raise questions about the role of large-scale investors in driving market dynamics, particularly in light of their reduced participation.

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The decline in whale activity presents a divergence from previous patterns, where heightened transaction volumes by major players often coincided with significant price movements. Martinez's assessment hints at the possibility of a resurgence in whale transactions serving as a catalyst for renewed bullish sentiment in the Bitcoin market.

As investors and crypto enthusiasts keep a close watch on Bitcoin's movements, all eyes are now on whether the reemergence of whale activity will indeed serve as the catalyst for a bullish trend in the crypto market.

Dog-themed cryptocurrency Shiba Inu (SHIB) faces a critical juncture as its price dips, testing the resolve of its bullish momentum. Shiba Inu saw a price rise in the past week, with its price surging to highs near $0.000028 before facing a correction.

At the time of writing, SHIB was down 4.94% in the last 24 hours to $0.00002432, extending its drop from April 25 highs of $0.0000265 into the second day. Since Tuesday, April 23, when the price started declining, SHIB might be on track to mark four out of five days of losses.

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Shiba Inu's price dip comes amid a broader market correction, with Bitcoin falling to its lowest level in about a week. The market downturn has raised concerns among bulls, who are closely monitoring SHIB's ability to hold critical support levels and regain its upward momentum.

69 trillion SHIB range at stake

At the heart of the current price action is a critical 69 trillion SHIB price range, which bulls are currently defending fiercely against bearish pressure.

Global In/Out of the Money, Courtesy: IntoTheBlock

According to IntoTheBlock data, 69.84 trillion SHIB were bought by 65,650 addresses in the range of $0.000024 and $0.000027 at an average price of $0.000027. Holding this key level could signal strength among SHIB bulls, potentially setting the stage for a rebound or even a rally.

On the flip side, bears might argue that the current price level could be unsustainable if the market fails to regain momentum. A sustained break could trigger a sell-off, pushing the SHIB price down further.

The outcome of this critical price test will likely hinge on a variety of factors, including investor sentiment and the overall trajectory of the cryptocurrency market. With volatility remaining elevated and uncertainty lingering, Shiba Inu bulls might need to demonstrate resilience to overcome the current headwinds and regain bullish momentum.

In the event of further price drops, the next support might be envisaged between $0.000019 and $0.000024, where 49.42 trillion SHIB were bought by 75,770 addresses at an average price of $0.000022.

On the other hand, if the SHIB price rebounds, bulls face the next resistance in the range of $0.000027 and $0.000030 where 38 trillion SHIB are being held by 90,800 addresses.

The weekend has started bearish for the market, according to CoinMarketCap.

Top coins by CoinMarketCapXRP/USD

The price of XRP has declined by 2.13% since yesterday.

Image by TradingView

On the hourly chart, the rate of XRP is in the middle of the local channel between the support of $0.5080 and the resistance of $0.5265.

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The volume keeps falling, which means any sharp ups or downs are unlikely to happen by the end of the day.

Image by TradingView

On the daily time frame, traders should pay attention to the bar closure. If it happens near or below the support level of $0.5137, the drop is likely to continue to the next vital zone of $0.50 soon.

Image by TradingView

From the technical point of view, the weekly bar is about to close bearish. If bulls cannot seize the initiative, there is a possibility to see a test of the $0.45-$0.50 area at the beginning of the next month.

XRP is trading at $0.5148 at press time.

In a recent ruling, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) made a decision against exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are exposed to Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies.

DTCC plans to change collateral policy

The financial services company that provides clearing and settlement services for the capital markets players stated that it would not provide collateral nor extend loans to ETFs that fall into the previously described category.

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Consequently, the corporation has earmarked April 30 as the day to implement changes to its collateral value for these special securities during its annual line-of-credit facility renewal.

DTCC sees this as an avenue to revolutionize position values in the collateral monitor. For spot Bitcoin ETFs like BlackRock's IBIT, Fidelity Investment's FBTC and other crypto ETPs, this would result in a 100% reduction in their collateral value.

Cryptocurrency enthusiast K.O. Kryptowaluty believes that this new development applies to only inter-entity settlement within the line of credit system. He further explained that the use of crypto ETFs for lending and as collateral in brokerage activities will continue without any consequences.

However, he pointed out that it is highly dependent on individual brokers’ risk tolerance.

DTCC's collateral policy affects ETF investors

Noteworthy, this move is likely to spark some speculations and concerns from spot Bitcoin ETF investors who are wondering what the future holds for them. These investors are likely to think that their investments are no longer valuable. Such perception could trigger a massive sell-off, causing the AUM of the ETFs and their underlying cryptocurrency to drop significantly.

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According to Autism Capital, DTCC's announcement could potentially translate to less liquidity but also more risks for spot crypto ETF investors.

🚨BREAKING: The DTCC says that starting next Tuesday ETFs that have Bitcoin or any other cryptos will have ZERO collateral value for loans. This could potentially mean less liquidity + more risk for investors but it could also reduce any wall st leverage shenanigans. UH OH? pic.twitter.com/2J7pZcthOw

— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) April 27, 2024

Looking on the bright side, such a decision may equally contribute to mitigating the negative interference of Wall Street companies in the growing crypto ETF niche. Only time will tell how it turns out for investors and other parties involved.

Thirteen years ago, Bitcoin pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto sent what is believed to be their final email, a message that has since become a piece of crypto folklore.

Satoshi Nakamoto's disappearance in 2011 remains one of the most perplexing mysteries in the cryptocurrency world. After laying the groundwork for Bitcoin's development and overseeing its early growth, Nakamoto abruptly ceased all communications and vanished.

The final email, dated April 26, 2011, was believed to have been sent by Satoshi Nakamoto to a fellow Bitcoin developer, marking the last known communication from the Bitcoin creator before disappearing from public view.

The last email Satoshi Nakamoto ever sent, 13 years ago ✨ pic.twitter.com/g5h50JLlZ0

— Rizzo (@pete_rizzo_) April 26, 2024

Nakamoto began the email by expressing his wish not to be talked about as a mysterious, shadowy figure.

In the historic communication with the subject "alert key," Nakamoto signaled a wish to move on, adding, "I've moved on to other things and will probably be unavailable," and leaving Bitcoin's destiny to the community and its developers.

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Satoshi Nakamoto entrusted the "CAlert" key and broadcast code in the same email, stating that there are "few long-term users who are always around all the time."

While the content of the email may appear casual to observers, its significance lies in its status as one of Nakamoto's final communications before disappearing from the cryptocurrency scene.

The email not only marked the end of Nakamoto's direct involvement with Bitcoin but also served as a symbolic passing of the torch to those who would carry on the vision.

While several speculations and explanations have been suggested over the years, Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity remains unknown, contributing to the allure and mystery surrounding Bitcoin's creation.

Despite the overall increase in cryptocurrency market capitalization, many large-caps posted dramatic losses since Jan. 1, 2024. One of three tokens in the top 100 is in the red, Colin Wu's review says.

Starknet (STRK), ORDI (ORDI), MultiversX (EGLD): Worst performers in top 100

Amid the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, 37 tokens saw their capitalization metrics declining year-to-date. Meanwhile, the two largest cryptos, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), posted amazing gains, Chinese cryptocurrency journalist Colin Wu says on X.

We counted 37 tokens among the top 100 tokens by market value that have fallen in price this year. During the same period, BTC +48.9% and ETH +36.4. Among them, STRK -50% ORDI -45% EGLD -41% MINA -38% BSV -37% ARB -31% INJ -28% MATIC -27% had the largest decline. pic.twitter.com/c9GrB1GIx2

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 27, 2024

The three worst sufferers, namely Starknet (STRK), ORDI (ORDI) and MultiversX (EGLD) lost between 40% and 50%. STRK, the core native cryptocurrency of Starknet, an Ethereum L2, saw 50.33% of its value erased.

Other second-layer solutions for Ethereum (ETH) also posted dramatic losses: Optimism's OP lost 38%, Arbitrum's ARB is 31.5% down, while Polygon (MATIC) registered a 27.6% dropdown.

Out of all "losers," Chainlink's main token LINK and Internet Computer (ICP) look the strongest with sub-1% losses.

Total crypto market cap added 40% in 2024

In 2024, fueled by the long-anticipated approval of spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S., cryptocurrency prices entered a new phase of growth.

As such, the net valuation of cryptocurrency tokens spiked from $1.773 billion to $2.467 billion. The metric peaked on March 13 at $2.891 billion.

Bitcoin (BTC) dominance, the ratio of the BTC market cap to the cumulative market cap of cryptocurrencies, was surging during the whole period. After adding over 6.2%, BTC.D exceeded a three-year high and peaked at 57% in mid-April, TradingView data says.

Crypto enthusiasts are closely monitoring the potential price movements of Shiba Inu (SHIB) as historical data suggests a notable shift in May. According to insights from CryptoRank, there is a possibility of substantial volatility in SHIB's value, with a potential doubling indicated by past performance.

Data indicates that May has historically been a month of considerable fluctuation for SHIB. The average profitability stands at 99.3%, hinting at the prospect of a substantial increase in value. At the current price of $0.0000243, this could translate to a minimum price of $0.000048 per token.

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However, investors are urged to exercise caution. While the average profitability paints an optimistic picture, the broader indicator of median profitability presents a more subdued outlook. With only three May periods in SHIB's history, the token has experienced both significant growth and decline. While May 2021 saw a remarkable 355.4% increase, subsequent years witnessed declines ranging from 15.4% to 42.1%.

SHIB's Monthly Returns by CryptoRank

As investors weigh the potential outcomes, it is essential to consider the inherent volatility of the cryptocurrency market. Past performance offers insights but is not a definitive predictor of future movements.

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There are many ways to look at this data. On the one hand, for the last two years SHIB has demonstrated extremely negative dynamics in the fifth month of the year. On the other hand, the history of the Shiba Inu price has also had an extremely epic rise in May 2021.

Whatever the case, not much is known for sure in the crypto market, but it will be more interesting to see what path the price of the Shiba Inu token will take in May.

Cardano (ADA), the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, might be worth keeping an eye on, with a metric suggesting that it might be significantly undervalued.

A key indicator pointing to ADA's undervaluation is the "percentage of supply in profit" metric. The percentage of supply in profit is calculated by comparing the acquisition price of each unit of crypto against its current price and then evaluating what ratio of supply is currently in profit.

When an asset has a high supply-to-profit ratio, it usually indicates that the majority of holders purchased the asset at lower prices. These ratios can skyrocket during bull markets, for instance, from October 2023 to March 2024, and a surge is frequently correlated with overbought indicators. However, the supply-in-profit percentage indicator is best used with other metrics, such as whale accumulation and MVRV.

On-chain analytics firm Santiment, in a recent tweet, shared the supply-in-profit percentages for major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Cardano, Dogecoin and Chainlink as 89.9%, 84%, 77%, 51.9%, 76.7% and 78.2%, respectively.

🤑 The percentage of supply in profit is calculated by comparing the acquisition price of each unit of #crypto against its current price, followed by determining what ratio of the supply is currently in profit.Typically, when an asset is seeing a high ratio of supply in profit,… pic.twitter.com/oRzTABgznh

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 26, 2024

Santiment recommends keeping an eye on cryptocurrencies with lower-end supply in profits, as they can often indicate undervaluation compared to the rest of the markets. This might apply to Cardano, which is demonstrating a lower supply in percentage compared to other major cryptocurrencies.

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The supply-in-profit percentage presented suggests that 51.9% of circulating ADA is "in profit." This could indicate an impending price comeback for Cardano.

At the time of writing, Cardano was down 3% in the last 24 hours to $0.453 and down 6.52% in the last seven days. Cardano is also well off its all-time high, down 85.38% from the ATH of $3.10 attained Sept. 2, 2021.

Recent analysis from on-chain analytics firm IntoTheBlock indicates that ADA "stands out" among other Layer 1 networks, with only 35% of holders in profit. Whether this is an opportunity or a warning sign remains unknown.

Recent analytics report shows that the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin has left behind its rivals from the top 10 list — the original meme coin DOGE and Cardano’s native PoS token ADA.

The report shows that Bitcoin whales and smaller investors have been much more active recently than those of Dogecoin and Cardano.

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Bitcoin beats DOGE and ADA by wallet activity

On-chain data aggregator Santiment has published a report about the recent activity of wallet owners who hold Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Cardano.

The tweet says that the number of non-empty Bitcoin wallets has been increasing at a rapid pace despite the high volatility, which has been causing “choppy prices.” As for leading altcoins, such as Dogecoin and Cardano, DOGE wallets grew earlier this year but have now flattened their rising curve.

As for Cardano’s ADA, Santiment says that it is “one of the few networks to see active wallets drop.”

📊 The total amount of non-empty #Bitcoin wallets are rapidly growing despite choppy prices. #Altcoin wallets for assets like #Dogecoin have flattened after enormous rises earlier this year. #Cardano is one of the few networks to see active wallets drop. https://t.co/itg9qMes7c pic.twitter.com/yrOlEQw3jy

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 27, 2024

Despite that data, another on-chain data company, cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez, using Santiment data, has reported that over the past two weeks, a substantial drop in Bitcoin whales’ activity has been detected.

He suggested that a notable increase in Bitcoin whale transactions could contribute to boosting the Bitcoin price from the current $62,964 level.

The entire cryptocurrency market saw selling pressure as Bitcoin's price fell to its lowest point in over a week. Bitcoin, the first and largest cryptocurrency by market cap, extended its declines from highs of $65,287 on April 25 into the second day, reaching intraday lows of $62,389.

The Bitcoin sell-off spurred a wave of selling in the crypto market, exacerbating the downward pressure on alternative cryptocurrencies known as "altcoins."

At the time of writing, BTC had dropped 2.28% in the previous 24 hours to $62,839. Several cryptocurrencies were also trading in red, with losses ranging from 2% to 15%. Solana (SOL) and Shiba Inu fell about 6% in the last 24 hours, while Solana meme coins Dogwifhat and Bonk suffered worse losses, falling 11.80% and 13.45%, respectively.

The price downturn caught some investors off guard, leading to a cascade of liquidations across various cryptocurrency exchanges.

According to CoinGlass data, over $157.29 million worth of crypto assets were liquidated within the last 24 hours, with Bitcoin accounting for $42.22 million of that total.

The downturn in the cryptocurrency market coincided with the release of higher-than-expected inflation data, raising investor concerns about the global economy's outlook.

According to CNBC, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy, grew 2.8% year on year in March, matching February and slightly exceeding expectations.

The Fed targets 2% inflation, which the core PCE has exceeded for the past three years. The Fed focuses on the PCE in particular because it compensates for changes in consumer behavior.

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The report comes on the heels of bad inflation news from Thursday, and the Fed might probably keep interest rates unchanged until at least the summer, unless the data changes significantly.

With inflation still rising two years after it peaked at the highest level in more than 40 years, central bank policymakers are closely monitoring the data as they consider the next steps in monetary policy.

The digital currency ecosystem has slipped back into its bearish state once again with XRP being one of the most impacted. At the time of writing, XRP is changing hands for $0.5149, down by 2.12% in the past 24 hours, per CoinMarketCap data. The price shifted from the 24-hour high of $0.5294 and traded as low as $0.5104 before rebounding to its current level.

XRP 1D Chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

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As seen in the price trends, brighter days might be ahead for XRP. Though there are still some unique headwinds impacting the price boom, the digital currency might have hit its floor price. Overall, XRP is on track for a big bullish rebound as some key catalysts align within its ecosystem.

For XRP, it has a relatively underperforming price trend, with entities like Forbes calling out its downtrend. As such, utility remains a key catalyst that can reshape sentiment. Notably, the visible embrace by XRP whales is one key trend that can recertify the coin as one that top investors are favoring. Whale transactions, especially if directed toward buy-ups, have a way of reigniting market-wide confidence.

The escrow impact by Ripple Labs also needs to be closely watched alongside the embrace of the coin by top institutional investors.

Ripple’s pivotal role

The close association of Ripple Labs with XRP is capable of making or marring XRP’s growth. The blockchain payments firm has unveiled its plans to launch its stablecoin, one that will compete with the dominant options in the industry like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).

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While the operational modalities of the Ripple stablecoin have not been revealed, if XRP is made to feature in the minting and redemption, business can introduce a unique utility that will increase the demand for the coin in the long term.

Many analysts are also generally bullish on XRP with different projections on its price target. In the near term, XRP’s immediate target lies at the $0.6 price market.

Renowned trader Peter Brandt recently published an insightful analysis titled "Does history make a case that Bitcoin has topped?"

In his new essay, the veteran trader delves into the concept of exponential decay, suggesting that Bitcoin's bull market cycles have gradually lost momentum over time.

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Brandt highlights four significant bull cycles in the history of Bitcoin, with the current surge marking the fifth. He notes a concerning trend: Each successive cycle has seen a diminishing exponential advance, indicating a loss of about 80% of the momentum from previous cycles.

Source: Peter Brandt

Applying this trend to the current cycle, the expert projects a potential peak of around $72,723, a figure already reached in recent trading. While acknowledging the historical impact of halving events on the Bitcoin price, Brandt emphasizes the sobering reality of exponential decay, suggesting a 25% chance that BTC may have already reached its peak for this cycle.

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In the event of a market top, he speculates on potential price retracements, foreseeing a decline to the middle of $30,000 per BTC or even revisiting lows from 2021. Despite the bearish implications, he views such a correction as potentially bullish in the long term, drawing parallels to similar chart patterns observed in the gold market.

Source: Peter Brandt

Brandt concludes his analysis by acknowledging the weight of the data, stating, "Do I believe the analysis just presented? I don’t want to, but the data speak for itself."

Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz has revisited his very first tweet, which he published as he joined Twitter 15 years ago.

The XRP community snowed Schwartz under with supportive and praising comments.

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First tweet made upon setting up Twitter handle

David Schwartz took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account to present to the XRP community his very first tweet published in 2009.

The Ripple CTO specified that he had posted that tweet approximately two months after he had created his account on the young social media platform Twitter created by Jack Dorsey for microblogging. In October 2022, Elon Musk purchased this platform for $44 billion and later rebranded it as X, adding longer posts and live video streams, along with options for monetization for content creators.

The very first tweet published by Schwartz set the trend for his jesting and playful manner of commenting on events or just engaging with his community — “The passive voice will be used by me!” the tweet said.

This was my first tweet, made about two months after I joined exactly 15 years ago. https://t.co/2VZZ0ly8Rv

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) April 27, 2024

Schwartz reveals what can make him quit Ripple

In a tweet published in mid-April, the Ripple Chief Technology Officer Schwartz published a lengthy tweet, in which he revealed what could make him quit Ripple. He has been working for the company all these years because it has been fun. As soon as the fun is gone, he stated, he would give this job up and pick another project for his time and effort.

He also emphasized that he could, in theory, quit even now since he does not need to continue working for Ripple — he holds a lot of the company’s stock, about 2%. However, according to his earlier tweet, Schwartz is not a billionaire, and he believes that choosing Ripple shares rather than XRP was a big mistake. Ripple co-founders Chris Larsen, Arthur Britto and Jed McCaleb chose to receive 20 billion XRP between the three of them.

Later, in 2020, the SEC sued Ripple and Larsen for selling XRP as unregistered securities to institutional investors. Three years later, the lawsuit against Larsen (and CEO Garlinghouse as well) was dropped, but the legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs continues.

Popular wallet tracker Shibburn has published an update on the key Shiba Inu metric it keeps an eye on. Along with a substantial rise in the SHIB burn rate, a large amount of meme coins have been transferred out of the circulating supply.

This happened after the SHIB team announced a major Shibarium upgrade scheduled in less than a week.

SHIB burn rate surges

According to Shibburn, within the past 24 hours, the SHIB community has tenaciously disposed of 45,168,738 Shiba Inu meme coins. This has allowed the overall daily SHIB burn rate to stage an increase of 88.32%.

The three largest burns on this list have been the transactions that carried 35,852,170, 6,261,928 and 1,000,000 SHIB to unspendable blockchain addresses.

By now, overall, the SHIB community has succeeded in burning 410,726,100,388,767 SHIB, with the total circulating supply still being 582,881,498,855,693 SHIB. The 419 trillion meme coins have been permanently locked in the SHIB burn wallet, which is the blockchain address holding the largest ever amount of SHIB, according to a recent report by the Arkham Intelligence platform.

Image via Shibburn

Aside from that, 6,392,400,755,539 SHIB are currently locked in staking DeFi platforms and exchanges, meaning that they are “temporarily burned” since they are not circulating in the market.

Since January this year, the SHIB team has been testing a new burn mechanism, an automated one, on Puppynet — the Shibarium testnet. The developers referred to it as a new epoch in SHIB burns. However, since that January announcement, no more news about that has been shared.

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SHIB devs announce upcoming hard fork

Earlier this week, the official X account of the Shiba Inu token announced that on May 2, a hard fork of the Shibarium chain has been scheduled. This major upgrade will drastically increase the speed of new blocks production and the transaction fees will become predictable, which will make them more or less equal for all users.

The hard fork will also reveal a new level of possibilities for Shibarium users and will greatly simplify all engagement with this Layer-2 blockchain. More good news is that recently, the SHIB team has raised a whopping $12 million for developing a Layer-3 blockchain on top of Shibarium to increase security and privacy for its users, their data and transactions they make on it.