Indice Altcoin Season

Crypto markets stumbled with BTC losing the $100,000 level on Tuesday U.S. morning as two stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data prints threw cold water on digital assets' bright early-year momentum. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLTS job openings for Novemberunexpectedly rose to 8.1 million from 7.8 million the previous month, easily topping analyst estimates for a decline to 7.7 million. Released at the same time, the ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index, a monthly gauge of the level of economic activity in the services sector, came in at 54.1 for December, overshooting expectations for 53.3 and nicely ahead of November's 52.1. The Prices Paid subindex came in red-hot at 64.4, compared to the expected 57.5 and 58.2 in the previous month. While neither report generally tends to be much of a market mover, combined they further shook up an already jittery bond market, sending the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield higher by another five basis points to 4.68% and within a few ticks of multi-year highs. The move took U.S. stocks lower, with the Nasdaq now off by more than 1% in late morning action and the SP 500 lower by 0.4%. BTC, which traded just below $101,000 through European afternoon hours, dipped to $97,800 following the data, giving up yesterday's gains and down 4% over the past 24 hours. Altcoin majors declined even more with Ethereum's ether (ETH) and Solana's SOL losing 6%-7%, while Avalanche's AVAX and Chainlink's LINK tumbled 8%-9%. The swift decline in prices liquidated nearly $300 million long positions across derivatives markets betting on rising prices, according to CoinGlass, marking the first large leverage flush of the year. The strong data also has investors further rolling back their expectations of rate cuts in 2025. While market participants had already written off any chance of a rate cut at the Fed's January meeting, they now see just a 37% chance of an easing move at the central bank's March meeting, down from nearly 50% just a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Looking out even further, the odds of a rate cut in May are also now well below 50%. Scanning all of 2025, Ballinger Group's Kyle Chapman noted investors are now only pricing in roughly only one 25 basis point rate cut for the entire year. Source: CoinDesk Futures Market Updates A short-lived $100K BTC ride led to over $300M in long liquidations. Bitcoin Futures Updates Total BTC Open Interest: $62.97B (-3.46%) BTC Volume (24H): $120.33B (+42.92%) BTC Liquidations (24H): $98.75M (Long)/$12.89M (Short) Long/Short Ratio: 48.57%/51.43% Funding Rate: 0.0081% Ether Futures Updates Total ETH Open Interest: $30.58B (-4.85%) ETH Volume (24H): $67.32B (+90.85%) ETH Liquidations (24H): $122.44M (Long)/$14.56M (Short) Long/Short Ratio: 47.43%/52.57% Funding Rate: 0.0041% Top 3 OI Surges COOKIE: $9.76M (+2,098.82%) ALCH: $15.12M (+341.06%) G: $20.13M (+250.26%)

Bitcoin briefly surged to $102,500 on Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump reaffirmed his pro-crypto stance, pledging to embrace digital assets and create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. This optimism coincided with the European Central Bank (ECB) cutting interest rates by 25 basis points and signaling potential further reductions. However, a bond market sell-off dampened risk appetite, causing Bitcoin to retreat below $100,000, settling at $99,800 by late afternoon. While Bitcoin faced pressure, altcoins outperformed. Avalanche’s AVAX and Chainlink’s LINK gained 9% and 13%, respectively. AVAX’s rally followed a $250 million token investment led by major crypto firms, while LINK saw demand from Trump-associated DeFi project World Liberty Financial, which added $1 million worth of tokens. Ethereum (ETH) also edged higher, up 1.5% for the day, buoyed by strong spot ETF inflows and increased blockchain activity, positioning it to target a new high above $5,000. Broader markets mirrored Bitcoin’s decline, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closing lower, and gold dropping 1.8% to $2,706 per ounce. The bond market turmoil contributed to these sell-offs, with rising yields in Germany and the U.S. amplifying investor caution. Source: CoinDesk Futures Market Updates In the past 24 hours, ETH futures experienced more significant growth in both open interest (+3.70%) and trading volume (+19.45%) compared to BTC futures, which saw smaller increases of +0.95% and +1.87%, respectively. BTC futures exhibited a slight preference for long positions (50.24%/49.76%), whereas ETH futures showed a marginal tilt toward short positions (49.80%/50.20%). Liquidations were higher for BTC longs ($42.46M) than ETH longs ($26.37M), though ETH short liquidations ($19.41M) surpassed BTC’s ($15.47M). The funding rate for BTC futures (0.0103%) remained marginally higher than ETH’s (0.0090%), reflecting greater bullish sentiment for BTC. Overall, ETH futures showed more dynamic activity, with increased volume and liquidations across both positions. BTC Futures Updates Total BTC Open Interest: $62.57B (+0.95%) BTC Volume (24H): $89.58B (+1.87%) BTC Liquidations (24H): $42.46M (Long)/$15.47M (Short) Long/Short Ratio: 50.24%/49.76% Funding Rate: 0.0103% Ether Futures Updates Total ETH Open Interest: $27.22B (+3.70%) ETH Volume (24H): $53.74B (+19.45%) ETH Liquidations (24H): $26.37M (Long)/$19.41M (Short) Long/Short Ratio: 49.80%/50.20% Funding Rate: 0.0090% Top 3 OI Surges COW: $46.74M (+178.84%) FTN: $4.54M (+86.51%) XVG: $61.79M (+79.29%)

Altcoin season is here! In just under a month, XRP has erased the losses of the past three and a half years, surging by over 400% to reach levels not seen since 2018. This November, it wasn't Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), or even the frenzy of meme coins that took center stage, but Ripple (XRP) stood out on its own, with a sharp and significant price rise that sent the market into a frenzy. Source: Bitget Now it's time to take a closer look at why XRP's price rose so quickly and what might come next for XRP. Factors Contributing to XRP's Surge XRP's rapid price rise is mainly due to positive news and growing enthusiasm from investors. Here are the three key reasons: 1 - Progress in the SEC Lawsuit The prolonged lawsuit between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has long been a major drag on XRP’s price. However, in November 2024, there was a surprising twist. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered the SEC to submit its lawsuit brief by January 15, 2025. Shortly after, Judge Phyllis Hamilton approved a final ruling on the resolved Ripple class-action lawsuit and paused other pending lawsuits, allowing trials to begin by January 21, 2025. On top of that, current SEC Chair Gary Gensler hinted that he might resign around the time of Trump's return to power, which further boosted XRP's price. These updates showed that Ripple might have a legal advantage, which boosted investor confidence. 2 - Expansion of Institutional Partnerships Ripple has also been expanding its industry partnerships. In October, Ripple appointed Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA, and Bullish as trading partners for its upcoming Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin, with liquidity support from B2C2 and Keyrock. Additionally, MoonPay, a crypto payments company, partnered with Ripple to let users buy, store, and manage XRP through their MoonPay accounts. In late November, Ripple also announced partnerships with Archax and UK asset manager ABRDN PLC, with plans to launch the first tokenized money market fund on the XRP Ledger. 3 - Stablecoin Launch As a crypto payments company, Ripple is planning to expand into the stablecoin market. In mid-November, Ripple announced the launch of Ripple USD (RLUSD), a stablecoin focused on corporate use cases. RLUSD aims to provide stability, efficiency, and transparency, enhancing Ripple's cross-border payment solutions and meeting the increasing demand for USD-based transactions, with a potential launch in December. Moreover, multiple sources have suggested that an XRP ETF could be next in line after Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. At the end of November, Fox Business reported that global ETF provider WisdomTree registered an XRP ETF in Delaware, and the company confirmed the filing. WisdomTree currently manages over $100 billion in assets. Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, also mentioned that Bitwise, Canary, and 21 Shares have already submitted applications for XRP ETFs, with more issuers expected to join. The Future of XRP From a technical perspective, XRP faces significant short-term selling pressure, especially since its recent price trend closely resembles the parabolic movement seen in 2017. Back then, XRP/USD broke out of a years-long symmetrical triangle, surging from below $0.01 to nearly $3.55, its all-time high. In 2024, after consolidating within a similar triangle for over three years, XRP seems to be making a comparable breakout. XRP/USD Monthly Price Chart. Source: TradingView Even though XRP faces technical resistance in the short term, its market cap briefly returned to pre-SEC lawsuit levels. The market seems optimistic as this six-year legal saga, which started in 2018, is nearing its conclusion. The future for Ripple and XRP looks increasingly positive. Earlier, Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, suggested that Ripple should prepare for an IPO once the SEC issue is resolved. SBI Holdings has been working with Ripple since 2017 to promote global payment innovation. Kitao, who joined Ripple's board in 2019, has been a key supporter of Ripple and XRP, predicting it would become a global standard for digital currencies due to its efficiency, low costs, and scalability. Although Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse previously dismissed similar suggestions, an IPO could still be a possibility for Ripple's future. As the regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies continues to improve, more "crypto concept stocks" may enter the U.S. markets, potentially driving another growth wave for Ripple and XRP. Trade XRP on Bitget today! Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only. This article does not constitute an endorsement of any of the products and services discussed or investment, financial, or trading advice. Qualified professionals should be consulted prior to making financial decisions.