Crypto Markets Defy Gravity in Week 18—While Traders Hold Their Breath

Bitcoin flirts with $70K again as institutional inflows hit 2025 highs. Meanwhile, Ethereum L2s bleed out after another ’final’ scalability promise gets delayed—surprise.

DeFi’s TVL pumps 12% weekly, though insiders whisper about yield farmers just recycling the same stablecoins between protocols. Old money still can’t tell the difference.

The week’s sleeper hit? A memecoin called ’TradFiBoomer’ that somehow gained 400% before crashing back to pre-pump levels—proving yet again that crypto moves faster than your advisor’s outdated PowerPoint deck.

Ripple aims to acquire Circle

Ripple is one of the oldest crypto projects. The company, founded in 2012, aimed to enable low-cost, cross-border transactions. It was intended to differ from Bitcoin by offering a more scalable solution. The foundation of the network: the cryptocurrency XRP, formerly also called “Ripple.” However, in recent years, Ripple has struggled to establish XRP as a means of payment. Instead, the company now focuses on stablecoins. In October 2024, Ripple launched the RLUSD, which has a relatively small market value of 316 million USD. The distribution of its own stablecoin may have proven more challenging than Ripple originally anticipated. Through a monthly vesting of XRP tokens, however, the company has significant financial resources. According to the Q4 market report, Ripple held 4.4 billion XRP by the end of last year, with a current value of 9.7 billion USD. The company uses these funds for strategic acquisitions. Ripple has proposed an acquisition of the competing stablecoin provider Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), for 4 to 5 billion USD. However, the offer was rejected as too low.

Digital assets as a revenue driver for Revolut

Revolut, Europe’s most valuable fintech startup, reported a significant profit jump of over 1 billion pounds for 2024. A substantial part of the revenue is attributed to the booming digital asset business. The wealth management sector, which includes stock trading and especially cryptocurrencies, generated approximately 506 million pounds in revenue in 2024—nearly four times the amount from the previous year. This business segment helped Revolut achieve its first annual profit in 2021 when retail investors wanted to secure a share of the crypto boom. The conclusion is clear: Offering cryptocurrencies to customers leads to significant profits. Those who avoid the sector risk losing customers.

Mastercard supports stablecoins

Mastercard has also recognized this principle. The payment giant has been working for years on supporting stablecoins, cryptocurrencies with a 1:1 peg to the US dollar. Selected merchants can accept payments in stablecoins like USDC and instantly convert them into fiat currency. This is done through Circle’s fast, blockchain-based network. Customers benefit from a modern checkout experience that integrates digital assets directly. Merchants, on the other hand, enjoy lower transaction fees, real-time payment arrivals, and greater compatibility with global payment channels.

21Shares files for a SUI ETF

In addition: the wave of crypto-ETF applications to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues. Since the regime change at the agency, more than 70 new products are under review. In the next four weeks, the first altcoin ETFs could receive approval, as reported by CVJ.CH. Solana and XRP are among the most promising candidates. With the filing of an ETF for Sui, the long list of upcoming US funds adds another cryptocurrency. The launch of the “21Shares SUI ETF” is contingent upon the effectiveness of the Form S-1 and the approval of a Form 19b-4 filing by the SEC.