TL;DR
- Bitcoin’s price surged from $51,000 to nearly $64,000 in two days, with significant volatility and expert predictions of a major bull run influenced by the upcoming halving event.
- Ripple is dealing with an SEC legal battle and has partnered with the Axelar Foundation to improve the XRP Ledger’s interoperability and facilitate asset tokenization.
- Shiba Inu experienced a sharp increase in trading volume and burn rate, with significant advancements in its layer-2 solution, Shibarium, aimed at improving transaction efficiency.
BTC’s Impressive Rally
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has been going through the roof in the past several days, with some industry participants wondering whether a new all-time high is just around the corner. The asset started its exponential rise on February 26, when it was worth approximately $51,000. Just two days later, though, the valuation surged by 25% to almost $64,000 (per CoinGecko’s data).
In the following hours, BTC retraced back to $60,000 and then pumped again to its current level of approximately $63,000. The massive volatility affected thousands of traders. As CryptoPotato reported, the total amount of liquidations in the past 24 hours soared to around $640 million.
According to some experts, the latest price spike could be the beginning of a massive BTC bull run that might last in the following months. The upcoming halving (slated for April 2024) supports that thesis. The event, which reduces the rate at which new BTC is mined, has historically been a precursor of major rally for the primary cryptocurrency.
The American hedge fund manager – Mark Yusko – and the famous American filmmaker – Max Keiser – are among those who recently outlined bullish predictions. The former set a price tag of $150,000 that could be reached two months after the halving. Keiser was much more optimistic, envisioning an explosion to $21 million per coin (should BTC mimic the performance of Berkshire Hathaway’s class A shares).
Ripple v. SEC Developments
The latest update surrounding Ripple is related to its lengthy legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earlier this week, the agency requested an extension to its deadline to file its brief with respect to remedies to March 22. Initially, it had to comply with court rules by March 13.
According to the letter, the regulator also asked if Ripple’s opposition brief could be filed by April 22 (instead of April 12). The latter supposedly agreed to the proposed terms.
Besides the developments on the legal front, Ripple teamed up with the Axelar Foundation to boost interoperability within the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The Web3 platform will use its partnership to expand the adoption of blockchain technology by facilitating the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs).
Shiba Inu (SHIB) Metrics Go Wild
The popular meme coin took center stage yesterday (February 28), witnessing a considerable increase in numerous important indicators related to its ecosystem. For one, Shiba Inu’s trading volume on a daily scale surpassed that of leading altcoins such as Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), Polygon (MATIC), and more.
The asset’s burn rate skyrocketed by almost 2,000%, whereas total blocks on the layer-2 blockchain solution Shibarium reached the 1.4 million mark.
SHIB’s price also soared throughout the past 24 hours, exploding by a whopping 25%, propelled by general market sentiment and a recent announcement. As CryptoPotato reported yesterday, the team announced the implementation of a new tool for enhancing user privacy known as Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE).
The latter went live last summer and aims to elevate SHIB above its rivals by improving speed and lowering transaction fees. Those willing to learn more about the feature could take a look at our dedicated video below:
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