- Bitcoin has risen 5.85% over the past week to US$103,603, while remaining relatively stable after its initial surge from US$97k to US$104k.
- Most cryptocurrencies followed Bitcoin’s pattern of growth followed by stagnation, with Ethereum and Solana experiencing modest 3% declines in the past day.
- XRP has seen renewed interest from South Korean traders, with trading volumes exceeding those of Bitcoin and Ethereum on the country’s largest exchange, reaching US$1.2 billion daily.
- Dom Harz of BOB argues Bitcoin’s importance now extends beyond price to institutional adoption and utility, noting its market cap exceeds silver and Google as DeFi TVL doubles and institutions accumulate Bitcoin.
After a bullish phase last week when Bitcoin (BTC) went from US$97k (AU$150k) to US$104k (AU$161k) within days, it has since remained in a relatively narrow band. At the time of writing, BTC is up 5.85 per cent in the past week and dropped slightly in the past 24 hours, by 0.37 per cent, to currently US$103,603 (AU$160,715).
Most other cryptos followed this trend – up last week and stalling this week. Some, like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), fell by around 3 per cent over the past day.
XRP more closely followed BTC’s path, down only by 0.5 per cent, currently trading at US$2.54 (AU$3.94). There has been speculation that BlackRock may be announcing an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) soon, but nothing has materialised.
Related: Wellgistics Health Taps XRP’s Speed and Low Fees to Revolutionise Healthcare Payments
South Korean Traders Rekindle Love for XRP
And while some say it’s inevitable that BlackRock offers an XRP ETF, last year, BlackRock’s CIO for ETF and Index Investments said that only Bitcoin and Ethereum meet their criteria for ETFs.
It’s not known if this has changed since Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have basically ended their legal dispute. This, and news about CME Group’s Futures XRP ETF starting trading soon, has led to increased interest for the third-largest crypto asset (excluding stablecoins).
South Korean traders, in particular, have been loading up on XRP, with trading volumes exceeding those of Bitcoin and Ethereum on the nation’s largest exchange, Upbit – with a daily volume of US$1.2 billion.
Other large local crypto exchanges, like Korbit, Bithumb and Coinone, also show large XRP trading volumes. The coin is popular in South Korea and so the resurge in interest doesn’t come as a surprise.
Bitcoin’s Way Points Upward, Says Analyst
Meanwhile – and back on Bitcoin – Dom Harz, Co-Founder of hybrid Layer-2 BOB, argues that the OG coin’s next phase isn’t solely about the price, but “institutional adoption, technical innovation, and utility”.
Fixating on short-term gains, he warns, misses the bigger picture:
Bitcoin’s trajectory is undeniably upward. With a market cap now larger than silver and Google, it’s the sixth most valuable tradable asset in the world. With this, follows opportunity.
Dom Harz, Co-Founder BOBHarz notes that with DeFi TVL having doubled in a month, and BTC’s price and adoption surging, the network is evolving from pure speculation into a robust financial infrastructure:
And it’s not just retail paying attention. JP Morgan recently highlighted DeFi’s potential to reshape institutional finance, opening up new opportunities to earn yield on the $72b worth of Bitcoin currently held by institutions. Institutions are piling into Bitcoin; the capital and conviction are here, and the tech is right behind them.
Dom Harz, Co-Founder BOBRead also: JPMorgan’s First Public Blockchain Treasury Trade Uses Ondo & Chainlink
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