like bitcoin continues to slowly trade near $75,000, several other crypto projects are showing notable developments.
Among them is XRP (XRP), the payments-focused token used by fintech company Ripple to facilitate cross-border transactions. US-listed XRP spot ETFs attracted more than $17 million in inflows on Wednesday, the most since February 2, according to data source SoSoValue. While this is lower than flows seen in bitcoin ETFs, it points to a revival in demand for XRP after a prolonged period of subdued activity marked by little to no uptake.
The news flow has also been encouraging. Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance to pilot South Korea’s first real-time tokenized government bond settlement system on blockchain.
Furthermore, the XRP derivatives market is issuing bullish signals with open interest (OI) increasing along with positive funding rates and a cumulative volume delta. OI jumped to 1.89 billion XRP, a level last seen in late March, according to data from Coinglass.
The other development worth mentioning is the stablecoin-focused Layer 1 blockchain Plasma, which has become the world’s seventh-largest blockchain by total value locked (TVL), a measure of the dollar value of assets on the network.
At the time of writing, TVL stood at $2 billion, up 27% from last week and more than 80% in the past 30 days, according to DeFiLlama. The driver behind the growth is unclear, but could be related to growing optimism around the CLARITY Act that is about to be passed in the US, as noted by JPMorgan.
The law is a US bill that seeks to clarify how digital assets, including stablecoins, are regulated and which agencies oversee them.
Additionally, Plasma is among a select group of networks, along with Ethereum and Arbitrum, chosen to support Tether’s new self-custody wallet, Tether Wallet, announced earlier this week.
Lastly, there are the meme-inspired token. Bollinger Bands, volatility indicators that plot two standard deviations above and below the token price, are currently at their tightest level since February 2024, generally indicating a period of low volatility that is likely to end with major price swings.
As for market leader bitcoin, the combination of on-chain profit-taking, uneven spot demand and cautious options suggests a continued range near $75,000. Stay alert!
Read more: For an analysis of current activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today. For a complete list of this week’s events, check out CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
What is trend?
Today’s sign
The chart shows the daily price swings of dogecoin (DOGE) in candlestick format. Overlaid on the chart are the Bollinger bands, which have compressed to their tightest level in more than two years.
The squeeze signals a prolonged period of low volatility, characterized by muted price action, with neither buyers nor sellers able to establish a clear trend. These situations are ultimately resolved in a decisive breakup. This often leads to outsize movement and a surge in volatility.
Please note that this does not provide any signal about the direction. An expansion in volatility could easily result in a sharp rally or a sharp decline.
The key takeaway is magnitude. Once dogecoin finally breaks out of this low volatility regime, the resulting move is likely to be significant and rapid. For now, however, the market remains in a holding pattern.
