This Friday marks Gary Gensler's last full day as the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

XRP has become the focal point of the crypto market after experiencing a massive price surge and surpassing the $3 mark. For many investors seeking wealth, the previously stagnant cryptocurrency presented an opportunity to buy low in the hopes of a price increase.

Cryptocurrency markets are surging on the last trading day before the presidential inauguration. Cryptocurrency Price Gains +/- Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $105,607.81 +5.6% Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $3,426.67 +2.8% Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $216.86 +1.7% XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $3.24 -4% Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.4148 +7.6% Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.00002403 +7.5% Notable Statistics: IntoTheBlock data shows large transaction volume increasing by 6.4% and daily active addresses falling by 2.9%.

ETH price fell by 11% over the past 30 days but bullish sentiment and other data point toward a rally to $4,000.

Ethereum developers have set March 2025 as the target for deploying the Pectra upgrade. The timeline was finalized during the Execution Layer Meeting on January 16.

"If you think XRP is going to $100 this cycle, you might have an undiagnosed mental disability," one finance expert claimed.

XRP surged past $3.39, with bullish metrics hinting at a potential $15 milestone.

After a prolonged period of consolidation, cryptocurrency activity has picked up this week, with global crypto market capitalization rising by 2% during that period.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart has reflected on the remarkable success of spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ETFs and the potential problems in altcoin ETF approvals in 2025. What Happened: In a recent Blockworks Macro episode, Seyffart pointed out four Bitcoin ETFs now rank in the top 20 ETF launches of all time, with iShares' (NASDAQ:IBIT) leading the way.

The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

XRP has enjoyed a rally beyond the $3.2 mark as on-chain data shows the cryptocurrency is among the altcoins witnessing the largest whale activity spikes. XRP Whale Transaction Count Has Exploded Recently In a new post on X, the on-chain analytics firm Santiment has shared the list of altcoins that have seen the largest jumps in Whale Transaction Count during the past week.

Donald Trump's inauguration, which is slated for 20th January, might just be crypto's top catalyst in the short term. Indeed, expectations of crypto-friendly policies during his final term have the likes of Ripple and Cardano recording a stellar performance. Besides, with this positive sentiment, more investors are looking for opportunities beyond the crypto majors.

According to data provided by cryptocurrency analytics platform IntoTheBlock, Ethereum (ETH) whales now control 43% of the cryptocurrency's total circulating supply after another accumulation spree.

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Bitcoin's chance of hitting a new all-time high has increased, buoyed by expectations of the adoption of a US Bitcoin reserve.

Solana price could see significant gains if XRP achieves an ambitious $20 trillion market capitalization. The investors and the analysts are keenly observing this interaction between these two top altcoins by means of reviewing how the possible spikes in the price of XRP can affect other cryptos including Solana.

Ethereum's (ETH) dominance has seen a sharp decline this year, driven by broader market consolidation that has kept the altcoin's price below $3,800 since January.

President-elect Donald Trump is set to move back into the White House on Monday after he officially assumes office, kicking off a flurry of speculation about immediate crypto-relation action, such as support for a U.S. crypto reserve. Benzinga talked to cryptocurrency experts, who are divided on the likelihood of immediate executive orders, but largely bullish on the near-term market outlook.

Ethereum Foundation developers have set early to mid-March of 2025 for the mainnet fork of the Pectra upgrade, setting the stage for the next phase of Ethereum development. The developers agreed on this tentative date at the Execution Layer meeting held on January 16.

Crypto hedge fund Wintermute predicts a potential Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) ETF launch in 2025 alongside other potentially revolutionary developments like the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the United States. This forecast is part of a broader analysis that forecasts a series of pivotal changes in the digital asset market in 2025, including maturation of the options market and increased institutional participation.

Ethereum trades above the $3,400 price level with no significant price change. The developer team plans to deploy the Pectra upgrade in March 2025.

As Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20, reports suggest his administration is considering adding U.S.-based cryptocurrencies like XRP, Solana, and USDC to a proposed national strategic reserve.

According to cryptocurrency analytics platform CryptoQuant, Ethereum's transaction fees have been consistently more expensive than those of Bitcoin over the past few months.

After months of stringent internal stress testing of devnets and testnets, Ethereum (ETH) developers agreed to transition toward implementing Pectra on mainnet this March. The largest upgrade in Ethereum's (ETH) history since migration to proof of stake, Pectra is expected to make Ethereum (ETH) dramatically faster and cheaper.

Developers will do a run through of Pectra on Ethereum's test networks, Sepolia and Holesky, throughout February before its March release.

Ripple's XRP outperformed most altcoins in 2024 after registering an over 300% price gain. This performance saw it emerge as the third-largest crypto asset by market capitalization.

XRP, the crypto asset stewarded by blockchain payments firm Ripple, is chalking out its fastest ascent in seven years. XRP's upsurge comes on the back of soaring open interest in derivatives markets amid the SEC's latest filing to appeal a court ruling in its partially unsuccessful lawsuit against Ripple.

A ripple in the Ripple ecosystem caught attention this week as Ripple USD (RLUSD) temporarily broke its 1:1 peg with the U.S. dollar. The stablecoin, designed to maintain a consistent value, experienced an unexpected surge, briefly trading at $1.04 - a 4% increase that raised eyebrows across the XRP community.

Ethereum (ETH) is in a weird place at the moment. While it is the second largest cryptocurrency in the world by market cap, it has underperformed its main rival, Bitcoin (BTC), over the course of the current bull run, by a pretty significant margin.

Diese Nachricht kam völlig unerwartet, doch für die Kursentwicklung von Ripple (XRP) und Solana (SOL) könnte sie wirklich alles verändern.

The XRP price has rallied to its all-time high (ATH) of $3.4, sparking bullish sentiment in the XRP community. This price surge is due to bullish fundamentals, including Donald Trump's receptiveness to a crypto reserve that would include the coin.

TL;DR StakeStone implements Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) for ETH staking on layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism. CCIP offers level 5 security, with an independent risk management system that ensures cross-chain operations. The integration expands the Chainlink ecosystem, enabling a safer and more efficient staking experience for users.

XRP, Ripple's native token, has been making headlines with a remarkable surge in its price. After a solid 45% gain in the past week, the digital asset has been drawing significant attention from both traders and investors.

One essential part of the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem is the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which functions as the operational hub for the deployment and execution of smart contracts.

With Paul Atkins now taking over as SEC Chair, speculation is swirling about a potential shift in how the SEC handles crypto. There's growing hope that with a more pro-crypto Congress and President, the SEC might ease up on non-fraud cases, potentially dropping some ongoing lawsuits or speeding up settlements for smaller cases.

XRP currently trades at $3.25, with a commanding market capitalization of $186 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $18.96 billion. The intraday price range, spanning $3.19 to $3.40, showcases notable market activity within this bandwidth. XRP On the hourly chart, XRP reveals a transient consolidation phase, with prices fluctuating near the $3.20 level.

Ethereum (ETH), the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, experienced a significant 8.80% gain yesterday, January 16, 2025. However, the price has since retraced nearly 5%, dropping from $3,450 to around the $3,260 level today, January 17, 2025.

Ethereum's Pectra upgrade is set for March 2025, while strong institutional inflows highlight the network's continued dominance.

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XRP futures open interest has surged since Monday to hit an all-time high, signaling heightened market anticipation.

Despite the SEC's latest appeal, the XRP Army is still in a good mood.

Ethereum is rebounding from a key corrective phase, with Elliott Wave counts suggesting the initiation of a bullish continuation. Fibonacci levels and key supports will determine its next directional movement.

Merely days before his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump is at the centre of another controversy; but this time it involves Ripple and XRP. The New York Times reported that when Ripple executives met with Trump on January 8, they “advised” him to add XRP alongside Bitcoin in the proposed federal crypto reserve.

Ethereum developers are preparing to introduce the network's next upgrade, Pectra, in March 2025. This timeline was discussed during the latest Execution Layer Meeting on Jan. 16, where key milestones leading to the mainnet activation were outlined.

TL;DR Sepolia and Holesky testnets will receive critical upgrades in February to test the Pectra update. The mainnet launch is scheduled for March 2025, provided the tests are successful. The upgrade includes key improvements such as account abstraction, increased staking limits, and optimized deposit and withdrawal mechanisms.

Ripple's price is on the verge of making a new record high, as the asset has been rallying consistently over the past few months on both the USDT and BTC pairs.

The crypto world is reeling from the recent collapse of Ethereum, and investors are on the lookout for the next crypto to explode and deliver huge returns. Amid such volatility, now might be the perfect time to discover some hidden gems poised for massive growth.