XTZ Surges 44% as Etherlink Expansion, DeFi Growth, and Rio Upgrade Ignite Bullish Momentum

Tezos (XTZ) has experienced a significant price surge in the last 24 hours, with the XTZUSDT pair on Binance rising 44.06% from an open of 0.6984 to a current price of 1.0061. This upward movement is primarily attributed to the expansion of Tezos’ Etherlink Layer 2 solution, increased institutional interest, and the recent onboarding of DeFi aggregator Oku to Etherlink. Additional factors include the activation of the "Rio" protocol upgrade, which enhanced staking flexibility and Layer 2 incentives, as well as Exaion, a subsidiary of EDF Group, becoming a validator for Etherlink. The total value locked in Tezos’ DeFi ecosystem has rebounded, and trading activity has intensified, reflecting renewed market confidence.

Currently, XTZUSDT is trading at 1.0061 on Binance, with a 24-hour price range between approximately 0.63 and 1.17, and trading volume reaching up to $368.27 million, indicating strong bullish momentum and heightened trader participation.