ZyCrypto

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes Bitcoin (BTC) could reach between $300,000 and $400,000 by 2030 if the cryptocurrency continues to follow the market cycles seen in previous years.
Armstrong made the comments during an interview on “The Wolf of All Streets” channel Sunday, where he discussed Bitcoin’s previous market cycles, the recent downturn, and the broader expansion of the crypto industry.
“My hope is that by 2030 we could see a $300,000 $400,000 Bitcoin,” Armstrong told host Scott Melker.
Notably, the Coinbase chief based his outlook partly on Bitcoin’s recurring four-year market cycles. He noted that the cryptocurrency has historically recorded major advances around its halving events, when the number of new BTC entering circulation is cut in half, followed by periods of significant corrections.
“We’ve just gone through one of those recently, and so nobody knows for sure, but if it follows similar patterns to the past, hopefully we’ve seen the bottom of this cycle around $60,000 or so on Bitcoin,” he added.
Last week Armstrong also expressed a similar view, telling Bloomberg he believed Bitcoin’s latest downcycle had reached its bottom after the cryptocurrency spent roughly a year in a decline.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s recent price action has supported the broader recovery narrative. The cryptocurrency fell toward $75,000 earlier in the week after the US Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act. The Federal Reserve also raised interest rates by 25 basis points, adding another potential pressure point for risk assets.
Despite those developments, Bitcoin staged a sharp rebound late in the week. On Friday, September 18, BTC climbed more than 5% from the previous session, breaking above $80,000 and reaching above $81,000.
The move was accompanied by heavy liquidations among traders betting on further declines. More than $500 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated over 24 hours, with short positions accounting for most forced closures. Bitcoin itself accounted for more than $240 million of those liquidations, according to CoinGlass data.
Moreover, Bitcoin benefited from renewed demand for US spot ETFs. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $160 million in inflows on Thursday, followed by about $434 million on Friday.
That said, for Armstrong, however, Bitcoin is only one part of a much larger crypto expansion. He pointed to stablecoins, perpetual futures, tokenized stocks and AI-related financial applications as areas that could continue developing regardless of Bitcoin’s short-term price.
“Stablecoins and perpetual futures and prediction markets and Agentic Finance are just growing really nicely regardless of what the price of Bitcoin is doing,” Armstrong said.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $83,525, down 0.86% in the past 24 hours.

XRP has recovered more than 50% in value during the last month and is extending its technical rebound, analysts report. The cryptocurrency is trading around $1.51 at press time, and technical indicators like open interest suggest the rally may be far from over.
“With an average monthly growth of almost 1.3% on Binance, XRP’s Open Interest has just recorded its strongest increase since August 2025. Two phenomena, often linked, explain this.“, tweeted popular analyst Dark Fost regarding the development.
Open interest measures the value of unsettled derivative contracts. Its rising value often indicates growing speculative interest in the underlying asset.
“On one hand, the bullish momentum has attracted more investors, who have taken both long and short positions on XRP. On the other, the price increase has mechanically raised the value of open positions”, the analyst continued.
Two Factors Fueling the Current Rally
Two major reasons behind the rise in open interest include a sudden influx of new contracts and the ballooning value of these contracts.
The third quarter of 2026 has seen a major renewal of investor interest in the crypto scene, much of which had been devastated by losses in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Now, open interest is at the highest level in over a year.
Is a Bull Rally Extension Confirmed?
While analysts like Dark Fost are quick to call it a convincing bullish indicator, traders should exercise caution, as the same situation unfolded last August when traders expected a major end to the fiscal year, only to be hit by the largest liquidations in crypto history in October and November.
The market already shows plenty of concerning indicators. The sellers have dominated the last few days, with Net Taker Volume on Binance now at negative $115 million, the lowest since December 2025. This suggests waning demand for XRP, especially at current relatively inflated prices.
The Future
The current environment is therefore incredibly complex, and investors are looking for a clear market signal. Bitcoin’s resistance around $90k and then $100k is likely to come into play in the coming weeks and determine the outcome. If the bulls can’t push the index past it, the market is likely to head toward a short-term decline again, with cryptocurrencies like XRP following.

After decades of navigating market booms and busts, veteran trader Peter Brandt has turned his attention to an unexpected crypto contender.
Brandt recently highlighted Stellar (XLM), a long-standing XRP rival, as a potential long-term dark horse, putting the token back in the spotlight as investors search for crypto assets with room to surprise.
Peter Brandt Spots Potential in Stellar’s XLM
Peter Brandt has singled out Stellar (XLM) as a crypto asset worth watching over the long haul, suggesting the token could emerge as an intriguing “long shot” opportunity over the coming years.
Brandt made his long-term XLM outlook clear in a recent post on X, writing, “If you want to bet on a long shot (next few years), $XLM is a good pick.”
Brandt accompanied his bullish XLM comment with a long-term monthly chart.
The chart tracks XLM’s price action back to the 2017–2018 crypto boom and highlights a massive descending trendline connecting major historical peaks across multiple market cycles, including the 2021 rally. Beneath the price, Brandt has drawn an upward-sloping support line, creating a huge contracting structure that has been developing for years.
For now, XLM remains well below the pattern’s descending upper boundary, leaving plenty of room between its current price action and the key resistance line.
Brandt’s chart also features a green horizontal level near $1.17605 on the right-hand side. He did not explicitly identify that level as a price target, so it should not be treated as a formal forecast. Still, its appearance on the chart suggests that significantly higher price levels are part of the multi-year setup he is monitoring. From around $0.23, a move to $1.176 would represent roughly 411% upside, taking XLM more than five times higher from its current level.
XLM Explodes Higher
Brandt’s comment comes as XLM notches solid gains on Tuesday, adding fresh momentum to his long-term “long shot” call.
The token is trading around $0.2313, up roughly 10.6% over the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows. That means the token surged roughly 11.3% from its session low of $0.2106 to its intraday peak near $0.2343, underscoring the sharp burst of buying momentum behind the move.
The rally has also coincided with several bullish developments across the Stellar ecosystem. On Sept. 22, stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK revealed that Stellar had been added to its payments platform.

Brad Garlinghouse has admitted that he’s not an XRP maximalist. On a podcast, the Ripple CEO denounced the portrayal of him as an XRP maximalist. He said he is a crypto pro who believes in the capabilities of several other digital currencies.
A crypto maximalist believes a particular cryptocurrency is superior to all other digital assets and protocols. For example, with Bitcoin, BTC maximalists (including Michael Saylor and others) invest exclusively in Bitcoin and reject diversification across other crypto assets.
I’m not an XRP maximalist, Garlinghouse said
Based on the podcast, the public generally sees Garlinghouse as an XRP maximalist who focuses on the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and tries to convert new people into the XRP community. However, in his conversation, the CEO distanced himself from such extremist enthusiasm. He said he doesn’t consider himself an ‘XRP maximalist’, as he believes in the potential of different cryptocurrencies across the broader digital asset landscape.
Garlinghouse is the CEO of Ripple Network, a blockchain company that specializes in fast, low-cost, efficient global financial transactions, with XRP functioning as a bridge between currencies that enables real-time cross-border settlements and payments.
While XRP and stablecoins address different parts of cross-border payments, their battle for supremacy emerged in Garlinghouse’s speech. The CEO admitted that XRP and stablecoins offer different ways to meet different payment needs, with user preferences determining which approach resonates most. The executive also suggested that XRP may be preferable for certain digital transactions, citing its strong growth in the financial industry. On the other hand, he hailed the role of stablecoins in some payment use cases.
Garlinghouse revealed top assets to watch
While speaking to the congregants, Garlinghouse urged crypto users to focus on some major crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, BNB, XRP, and Solana, showing confidence in their performance and capabilities. However, the CEO rejected the notion that Solana is the key rival to XRP, emphasizing that various digital assets are designed to serve different market roles and therefore have different strengths (capabilities).
Despite the growth of the crypto market, these five assets remain at the center of attention in the wider digital asset landscape. With thousands of listed cryptocurrencies, the five tokens are the most traded assets in the market, each offering different opportunities and risks.

Recent on-chain data shows a remarkable milestone: Stellar (XLM) has now secured the third spot among top cryptocurrencies by AUM in tokenized RWAs. According to data shared today by market analyst BSCN, Stellar has significantly increased asset holdings in the tokenization space. A massive $2.75 billion in real-world assets is currently tokenized on the network, making it the blockchain with the third-largest tokenized assets by AUM.
Currently, the total value of tokenized RWAs on public blockchains stands at $28.67 billion, up 79.8% since the beginning of the year, according to DeFiLlama metrics. This record highlights how fast tokenization is growing in the crypto industry – the process of converting traditional assets (like real estate, treasury bonds, gold, commodities, and several others) into digital tokens on a blockchain.
Stellar is becoming a hub for tokenization
Data shared today shows a unique narrative that is quietly developing around the Stellar network, becoming much bigger than the ordinary crypto craze. Based on the data, RWAs are significantly growing on the Stellar chain. Tokenized RWAs on the network have reached a staggering $2.75 billion in AUM, securing third place in the tokenization sector, surpassing Solana and Avalanche, and are even ahead of Aptos.
As the data shows, RWAs (from stablecoins, tokenized U.S. treasuries, equities, private credit, commodities, institutional-grade assets, and more) are moving massively on-chain, and Stellar is becoming a major hub for them. The network now holds the third-largest share of tokenized RWAs, behind BNB Chain and Ethereum, which hold the second and first positions, respectively.
Why Stellar is standing out among rivals
Stellar’s RWA market has grown more than four times since the start of the year, reaching $2.75 billion in value, according to the data. This growth shows rising activity across tokenized private credit, money-market funds, U.S. treasuries, and other traditional assets on the chain. This means the network is increasingly becoming a preferred ecosystem for powering regulated on-chain financial products.
The expansion is driven by the rising RWA trend, as financial institutions assess the capability of on-chain-based settlements and tokenized forms of traditional assets. As a result, Stellar is increasingly becoming a preferred platform because of its low-cost transactions, rapid settlements, and multichain interoperability. Its network, which specializes in financial services, cross-border payments, and asset issuance, has also set it apart from rivals and attracted real-world asset issuers and customers.

A major privacy blockchain shake-up could be brewing, and Input Output Global (IOG) founder Charles Hoskinson thinks Midnight could be at the center.
In a striking forecast, Hoskinson says Midnight, the privacy-focused blockchain that operates as a Cardano partner chain, could eventually outgrow Zcash. If that prediction plays out, Midnight could emerge as a major contender in the privacy-crypto space and reshape the competitive landscape for blockchain privacy.
Why Hoskinson Thinks Midnight Will Surpass Zcash
NIGHT is starting to turn heads. The native token powering Cardano’s privacy-focused Midnight sidechain has jumped from roughly $0.023 to $0.028 in just one week, delivering a gain of about 21%.
The sharp move has also caught the attention of Weiss Crypto, which suggested that NIGHT could rank among the strongest-performing crypto investments over the next 24 months, adding another layer of intrigue to the token’s recent rally.
Hoskinson welcomed Weiss Crypto’s bullish assessment, then highlighted several features he believes could give Midnight an edge over established privacy networks.
The Cardano founder posited that Midnight could eventually surpass Zcash, citing a range of potential growth catalysts. These include private agents, a decentralized finance (DeFi) kernel built to support major blockchains, selective disclosure, and a technology stack combining zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), trusted execution environments (TEEs), and multiparty computation (MPC). Together, these features could give Midnight a broader privacy toolkit and expand its potential use cases across the wider blockchain ecosystem.
Weiss has stepped up its game lately. Midnight will be bigger than ZCash: selective disclosure, Private Agents, Abstraction with a DeFi Kernel for all major chains, ZK + TEE + MPC, and Cardano's 24/7 uptime combined with the magic of Leios. LFG 2027 https://t.co/VbRHi6PrvG
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) September 28, 2026
His latest comments come as he continues to make the case for Midnight, highlighting why he believes the project could take a very different path from privacy heavyweights such as Zcash.
During a livestream earlier this year, the Cardano founder singled out the privacy-focused blockchain as one of Input Output’s most exciting projects of 2026, fueling speculation over just how big its ambitions could become.
He also pointed to the project’s unusually rapid rollout, arguing that Midnight is moving through the hurdles that typically slow down new crypto projects at a much faster pace.
“Usually it takes about two to three years for a token to go through all these trials and tribulations, but Midnight lives in fast mode,” he opined at the time.
Zcash’s Breakout Run Puts NIGHT’s Ambitions to the Test
Hoskinson did not clarify what he meant by “bigger,” leaving it open whether he meant market value, adoption, utility, or something else. For now, the numbers show a substantial gap. NIGHT has a market capitalization of roughly $432 million, ranking it around 122nd among cryptocurrencies, according to CoinGecko data.
Zcash, meanwhile, sits in a completely different league. ZEC’s market cap stands at approximately $26.50 billion, placing it among the top 10 crypto assets.
ZEC has delivered a staggering run. The privacy coin started 2025 at roughly $56 before exploding to around $750 later that year. The rally has only accelerated in 2026, with ZEC gaining more than 100% and smashing through $1,600 over the weekend to hit $1,674.
The contrast underscores just how ambitious Hoskinson’s prediction is, with Midnight currently representing only a fraction of Zcash’s market value.
Despite Zcash’s explosive market performance, Hoskinson remains bullish on Midnight’s long-term potential. His case rests on Midnight’s combination of privacy technology, programmable smart contracts, cross-chain DeFi functionality, and Cardano’s underlying infrastructure, which he believes could give the project a major advantage as it scales.

XRP’s value may depend on far more than price charts and market hype. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has offered a broader look at the forces that shape the token’s long-term value, highlighting the role of real-world utility, demand, and liquidity.
The remarks stem from a recently resurfaced appearance by Garlinghouse at Faena Rose, where he participated in a discussion titled “The Transformative Power of Crypto Assets.”
Legal Clarity Meets Supply and Demand
During the discussion, Garlinghouse was asked to explain the connection between XRP’s value and activity on the XRP Ledger, and why he considers XRP a non-security.
The Ripple CEO pointed to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 landmark ruling in the company’s legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Garlinghouse argued that the court’s decision underpins his position on XRP’s regulatory status.
“I can convince you it’s non-security because a federal judge said it’s a non-security,” Garlinghouse asserted.
He also offered a straightforward explanation for what drives XRP’s price: supply and demand. According to the Ripple chief, the value of any digital asset ultimately reflects the balance between how much market participants want it and how much is available.
For XRP, he noted that the token’s supply is fixed, meaning changes in demand can play a significant role in determining its market value.
Ripple’s North Star
Garlinghouse said Ripple is working to strengthen XRP on three fronts, with greater trust, broader use cases, and deeper liquidity at the center of its strategy.
“At Ripple, we talk about XRP as our North Star,” he opined. “We want to drive trust in XRP, utility in XRP, and the velocity, meaning liquidity, of XRP.”
According to Garlinghouse, liquidity matters because assets that can be bought and sold easily are more practical for institutions and other market participants.
He added that expanding XRP’s utility across payments and financial services could encourage greater institutional use, potentially increasing demand for the token.
“If I’m getting more institutions driving more transactions, and it’s more useful, people are going to want to hold it,” Garlinghouse posited.
The Ripple boss also highlighted liquidity as a key consideration during periods of financial stress. When an asset cannot be quickly bought or sold, investors may be less willing to hold it because of concerns about how easily they can convert it into another asset.
Garlinghouse also highlighted Ripple’s financial commitment to the wider XRP ecosystem. According to the CEO, Ripple has deployed over $1 billion into companies operating within the ecosystem, reflecting the company’s push to expand the token’s practical applications.
His broader argument is that as payments and other applications built around XRP continue to grow, network activity can increase alongside demand for the token.
In other words, Garlinghouse argues that XRP’s value cannot be measured simply by counting transactions on the ledger. Greater adoption among banks, financial institutions and businesses could create additional demand for XRP while making deep, reliable liquidity increasingly important.

The Ethereum blockchain is evolving from a traditional blockchain into a qualitatively different cryptographic world computer. In a recent piece that has since kept the cryptocurrency community on X debating Ethereum’s future, its founder, Vitalik Buterin, asserted that while it retains some core blockchain traits, by the year 2030 Ethereum will differ fundamentally from Bitcoin-style systems, or even early Ethereum, due to advances in cryptography, consensus, and architecture.
Essentially, Ethereum is transforming from a conventional blockchain into what Vitalik Buterin calls a “cryptographic world computer,” a system that blends on-chain security with advanced cryptography, privacy protections, and decentralized off-chain computing.
According to Buterin, the network is shifting away from traditional blockchain designs through upgrades that include SNARK-based verification, PeerDAS, refined proof-of-stake mechanics, multi-party block building, parallel processing, and enhanced privacy features.
Buterin suggested that the Hegota upgrade, expected next year, could mark the final “normal” hard fork that would still look familiar to someone familiar with Ethereum in 2015. Future changes, he said, will focus on recursive STARKs, automated formal verification and defenses against quantum computing threats.
The ultimate vision, Buterin explained, is a platform that retains blockchain-level security while incorporating cryptographic proofs, stronger privacy and the ability to perform computation off-chain in a decentralized manner.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
As he puts it, “The final outcome of this: much cheaper, scalable, and private high-security computation than anything that could be done with the previous era’s technology alone. The cryptographic world computer.”
Since publishing the article, Buterin has garnered massive support from leading cryptocurrency players, one such being Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of AAVE, who is quoted as saying the following:
“There are countless use cases where Ethereum verifiability would be useful beyond smart contract execution environments for finance to expand what we can actually do in DeFi while minimizing trust. Quite excited for the potential here.”

Zcash co-founder has unveiled an ambitious price target for the private cryptocurrency by the end of the current calendar year. Eli Ben-Sasson, the crypto pioneer, said he expected ZEC to reach as high as $5,000 within the remaining three months of 2026. The valuation target is big, considering the cryptocurrency is currently trading around $1,500-$1,600 at press time.
However, Ben-Sasson has hit the bullseye with several recent predictions. For example, he correctly predicted ZEC would be above $1,200 by September 25, 2026. The privacy-focused cryptocurrency is trading at a much higher level than even his own price target. That is why his prophecies are being taken much more seriously this time around.
ZEC recorded an all-time high (ATH) of $1680 in recent days, entering the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Its market capitalization peaked at $27 billion.
On-Chain Data Favors Strong Performance
The latest big-money prediction comes amid strong on-chain activity favoring the bulls. Large players, aka whales, have been swiftly buying up the digital asset from major exchanges like Binance, OKX, Kraken, and Gate and transferring it into their private wallets.
Tens of millions of dollars’ worth of tokens are leaving exchanges regularly, triggering a supply shock that has sent the price soaring.
However, big price moves also bring higher market volatility. ZEC has seen wild market movements over the last month or so, and traders are advised to invest with caution.
Privacy coins have historically struggled because of state-level bans. Monero (XMR) is another major private cryptocurrency that has resurged despite state action. The recent failure of the CLARITY ACT in the US Senate was sold as bearish news, but privacy coins have actually rocketed after the bill was blocked. They tend to thrive in unregulated markets.
Ben-Sasson, who currently heads StarkWare, has also highlighted the adoption of quantum-proofing standards by the Zcash core team. The team is positioning the privacy coin alongside BTC for a world where privacy is non-existent, and technology is rapidly encroaching on it.
The Future
Despite its strong recent performance, many question marks surround the ZEC boom. It has a history of violent upward price movements followed by significant price dumps that have wiped billions from the market. It has a particular long-term appeal, but privacy alone cannot propel it to extreme highs, especially in a long-term bearish setup.

Hunter Biden has defended his controversial $LAPTOP memecoin after the token collapsed dramatically shortly after launch, arguing that the project still has significant value and that its structure differs from other celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies.
Speaking during an interview on the ‘Soul Boom’ YouTube channel hosted by Rainn Wilson on Sunday, Biden rejected the suggestion that $LAPTOP had simply failed. He said the token still existed and put its fully diluted valuation (FDV) at around $252 million.
“So, number one, it hasn’t completely crashed and burned. So, it still exists,” Biden said. “It still has significant value that’s left in it.”
The comments came after $LAPTOP experienced an extraordinary spike and subsequent collapse during its launch. Biden said the token initially moved from a $50 million valuation to $23 billion following relatively small purchases, before briefly reaching a market capitalization of about $316 billion.
According to Biden, the extreme move was caused by insufficient liquidity provided by the market maker. He said the token subsequently fell 99.5% within minutes before settling into regular trading.
Moreover, Biden disputed the characterization of the project as a typical celebrity memecoin. He said insiders retained 30% of the token supply for liquidity, with restrictions preventing those tokens from being withdrawn for a period of time. He also said 20% of the supply was intended for distribution to the community, while a portion would support charitable causes.
Notably, the token was launched on Base September 9 with a total supply of 1 billion coins. The project was linked to Biden’s name and the laptop controversy surrounding him, while its tokenomics included allocations for founders, community distributions, and potential token burns under specified conditions.
Biden acknowledged that investors lost money during the chaotic launch. He said he intended to publish details of the wallets that traded the token so that the project’s activity could be examined transparently.
“I will literally show completely transparently every single wallet that traded on it to make it clear that no one that has any control over this coin has made any money in it. and anybody that lost money in it, I’m going to be able to identify and hopefully make right.” He stated.
He claimed that around 95% of the initial trading activity came from automated “snipers,” not human investors. Biden said he wanted to identify people who genuinely lost money and potentially make them whole.
That said, despite the collapse, Biden maintained that the project could still achieve its original objectives. He said he accepts responsibility for the decisions surrounding $LAPTOP and intends to disclose its trading activity through an independent third party.
“I’m absolutely certain that the coin itself still has the ability to do what I set out and the intention that I had for it,” Biden added.
At press time, LAPTOP was trading at $0.08215, down 1.73% over the past 24 hours and 99.98% below its all-time high of $401.

Bitcoin price predictions are rolling in as the market prepares to enter the 4th quarter. Market participants are largely bullish in the near term and long term. One such market player with an ultra-bullish Bitcoin prediction is Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity.
In a post shared with his 221,000 followers, the Fidelity executive said Bitcoin’s power-law mathematical models continue to indicate a fresh cyclical bull market is underway, after the cryptocurrency held support above the $60,000 level. The same analysis points to a long-term price target of $300,000 by 2029.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
As the post reads:
“Bitcoin’s power law math continues to suggest that a new cyclical bull market is underway after holding $60k, targeting $300k in 2029.”
His recent assertion follows his observation that Bitcoin is currently pressing against a critical technical resistance zone near $80,000, a level market participants are closely monitoring for signs of a sustained breakout.
A decisive move and close above this threshold would validate a double-bottom pattern on the charts, a classic bullish reversal formation that often signals the end of a prior downtrend. Should that confirmation occur, technical projections point to an upside target in the region of $100,000.
“Bitcoin is looking particularly interesting here as it challenges key resistance at $80k. If it breaks, it will confirm a double bottom targeting $100k.” He wrote.
As of late September 2026, Bitcoin is trading near $84,000. Reaching the $300,000 level by 2029 would therefore require the asset to multiply roughly 3.6 times from current prices, equivalent to an increase of about 257% over just over three years.
Up 3.32% over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin has remained above the $80,000 price mark. At the time of this report, Bitcoin is trading at a press-time price of $84,057.

XRP holders face a wildly contrasting market outlook. Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto warns that “the crash is coming,” with his chart mapping a potential downside path toward $0.15 while also highlighting $1.65 as a key level that could unlock targets of $7.50, $13, and even $30.
XRP Faces a $0.15 Crash Warning
According to Egrag’s analysis, XRP is hovering XRP near its 77-month exponential moving average (EMA), currently around $1.47, making that level a key line in the sand. A sustained break below that level could expose the token to a series of lower price zones on his chart, starting at $0.65, followed by $0.40 and $0.24, with $0.15 marking the deepest downside target.
“THE CRASH IS COMING. READY OR NOT,” Egrag asserted.
From the current $1.52 level, XRP would need to lose approximately 90.1% of its value to reach the analyst’s $0.15 downside target. However, the chart does not provide a specific timeframe for that move, leaving the timing of the projected levels uncertain.
The Road to $30: Here’s What Needs to Happen First
XRP at a whopping $30? Egrag’s chart leaves the door wide open, but the road there is anything but short. The massive target sits at the far end of his long-term bullish roadmap and would require XRP to explode roughly 2,620%, or more than 27x, from the key $1.47 level. That would turn the analyst’s already bullish outlook into a truly staggering XRP price appreciation.
XRP’s road to $30 starts with two make-or-break levels. First, the token must defend the $1.47 zone before bulls can turn their attention to a decisive breakout above $1.65, which sits near its 33-month moving average.
If XRP clears that hurdle, the chart opens up a much bigger upside roadmap. Egrag’s analysis puts $3 and $5.50 in the path before XRP potentially sets its sights on the headline-grabbing targets of $7.50, $13, and ultimately $30.
“Call it crazy. Call it impossible. I call it a matter of time,” Egrag expressed. This move, if realized, won’t just move XRP; it could change people’s lives.”
Notably, XRP’s most aggressive bulls have been turning up the volume, even as some of the catalysts previously cited to support their lofty forecasts have lost momentum.
Moreover, the lack of a historical breakout has done little to cool speculation about XRP’s long-term potential. As ZyCrypto recently reported, EasyA co-founder Dom Kwok maintains that the possibility of XRP hitting $1,000 has become increasingly compelling.

Bitcoin (BTC) could see stronger support than gold if investors unwind bearish positions in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, JPMorgan says.
Analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou highlighted the difference in positioning between Bitcoin and gold ETFs. Short interest in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) remains near its yearly high, while short interest in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) is below its historical average.
IBIT also has a higher put-to-call open interest ratio than GLD, indicating heavier demand for downside protection around the Bitcoin fund.
“This contrast suggests that Bitcoin still faces an overall more skeptical positioning backdrop than gold,” JPMorgan analysts wrote.
The bank believes this positioning could work in Bitcoin’s favor if hedging demand falls. Investors closing ETF short positions need to buy back the shares they borrowed, potentially creating additional buying pressure. A reduction in options hedges could also prompt market makers to adjust their positions.
Notably, both Bitcoin and gold ETFs attracted fresh inflows after the Federal Reserve’s July meeting as investors returned to the so-called debasement trade, which involves holding scarce assets as protection against inflation, currency weakness and rising government debt.
However, the trend has weakened since then. JPMorgan cited higher inflation-adjusted bond yields and the Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act among the factors weighing on Bitcoin demand.
Gold has also recovered more strongly from earlier ETF outflows. JPMorgan estimates that gold ETFs have recovered all of their 2026 outflows, while Bitcoin ETFs have regained only around half. That leaves Bitcoin with more room to recover if demand improves, the bank said.
The cryptocurrency’s positioning comes as on-chain indicators show some signs of stabilization.
CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost said earlier this week that short-term holders had kept their coins in profit for almost a month. He estimated that around $168 billion worth of short-term holder Bitcoin was in profit, compared with just over $100 billion in loss.
Elsewhere, large Bitcoin holders have also played a major role in the market this year.
On Thursday, analyst Woominkyu said wallets holding at least 100 BTC accumulated roughly 115,000 BTC from January through mid-September. The strongest accumulation came during Bitcoin’s August advance, when large holders continued adding as the price moved higher.
That buying has, however, slowed in September after Bitcoin failed to hold above $80,000, with the latest weekly data showing some selling. Woominkyu described the move as a pause rather than a sign that whales have abandoned the market, noting that they have given back only a portion of the Bitcoin accumulated this year.
“This is not a buy or sell call,” Woominkyu said, adding that the latest red bar represents “a change of pace, not proof the move is over.”
Meanwhile, Bitcoin remains below a key resistance area. Earlier this week, Glassnode analysts identified $83,000 to $86,000 as a significant zone, where long-term holder supply is concentrated and the estimated breakeven price level for BTC.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $84,086, down 0.50% in the past 24 hours.

Evernorth is raising $30 million through a convertible bond deal as the XRP-focused treasury company prepares to expand its cryptocurrency holdings.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosed Friday, the San Francisco-based treasury company said it signed a subscription agreement on September 11 to issue $30 million in convertible bonds.
Notably, Evernorth said it will use the funds to buy more XRP and support businesses connected to the XRP ecosystem.
As per the filing, South Korean financial firms NH Investment & Securities and Kyobo AIM Asset Management are involved in the transaction. A fund managed by Kyobo AIM will purchase the convertible bonds, while NH Investment & Securities will serve as custodian.
Shareholders of Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a publicly listed SPAC that Evernorth is merging with to get onto Nasdaq, will vote on the deal on September 30. If approved, the combined company is expected to list on Nasdaq under XRPN.
The move puts Evernorth among a growing number of companies building corporate treasuries around XRP. In August 2025, Nasdaq-listed VivoPower International announced a $100 million XRP treasury initiative, while Trident Digital Tech Holdings outlined plans for a treasury of up to $500 million.
Meanwhile, Evernorth’s fundraising comes as attention grows around Ripple’s possible Nasdaq listing. For now, Ripple remains a private company and has not filed an S-1 registration statement for a public offering.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse did, however, appear more open to an IPO in August, describing the company’s position as more neutral after years of maintaining that it was comfortable remaining private. At the time, Ripple was also pursuing a $750 million share buyback that valued the company at approximately $50 billion.
Moreover, the latest funding also comes days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act on September 15. The procedural vote fell short of the 60 votes required to move the legislation forward. The bill was designed to establish a clearer regulatory framework for digital assets, including rules around which cryptocurrencies could be treated as securities or commodities.
Garlinghouse said the setback would not change Ripple’s business or XRP’s legal position, pointing to the company’s court battle with the SEC.
“This one stings. Our team gave everything we had to get the Clarity Act across the finish line,” Garlinghouse wrote.
He added that Ripple’s business remained strong despite the failed vote, citing demand from traditional financial institutions and the wider digital asset industry.
That said, continued growth in corporate XRP treasuries could deepen institutional exposure to the asset and strengthen the wider XRP ecosystem. On the other hand, passage of the CLARITY Act could also bring more regulatory clarity, potentially strengthening the case for Ripple to pursue an IPO.

Bitcoin (BTC) traders are betting on a short-term rebound to make up for intraweek slips after it broke the $80,000 mark. New projections are fueling fresh upward on-chain trends coupled with positive regulatory changes in Russia and other jurisdictions.
Exchanges Record Massive Bitcoin Outflows
Over the last three days, centralized exchanges saw large exits totaling $2.52 billion. Traditionally, this flow signals improved market sentiment and a potential halt in liquidations.
Traders hold this view because assets on centralized exchanges are easier to sell, while holdings with other custodians show signs of longer-term support for those coins. As expected, the recent whale outflows rippled into retail markets with recent buys after a slow week.
On-chain data shows Binance saw $1.19 billion outflows on September 22, while Coinbase, Kraken and Bitfinex recorded $286 million, $55 million and $43 million respectively. The next day, Binance recorded a lower $178 million, and the total volume declined to $438 million.
Bulls flagged these 48-hour numbers as an indicator of a potential recovery, setting the stage for an overall rally. On September 24, Bitcoin holders on Binance moved $370 million in assets, while Bitfinex and Coinbase exits stood at $88 million and $53 million, respectively.
These figures, exceeding $2 billion, further triggered renewed whale scoops. Researchers at on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant wrote that persistent exchange withdrawals can reduce supply, which can signal bulls over months.
“The breadth matters because the move was not limited to Binance. Coinbase, Kraken and Bitfinex also showed negative readings across the period, pointing to a multi-exchange withdrawal pattern rather than a single-venue event. The outflows also persisted as Bitcoin retreated from roughly $87,400 toward $84,000, creating a price-flow divergence: BTC weakened while coins continued to leave major exchanges.”
Aside from centralized exchange flows, Bitcoin holders now target a run above the $90k mark, although the price currently trades under $84k. To rally over the projected level, institutional investors are expected to remain consistent over the next few weeks.
So far, spot Bitcoin ETF volumes have consistently tipped bullish sentiment, driven by steady inflows. These traditional funds bagged $2.8 billion in six days, taking year-to-date net flows to $787 million after a negative run early this year.

Leading cryptocurrency exchange platform Bitget suffered a major security breach this September, which market players are calling one of the largest cryptocurrency hacks this year. Its founder has since spoken up about the incident, saying the hack on the exchange may link back to North Korea.
Bitget detected unauthorized transfers from several of its hot wallets on September 24. The firm’s CEO, Gracie Chen, explained that the exchange traced IP addresses whose VPN activity closely matched patterns linked to a known North Korea-affiliated group, describing a DPRK connection as “very likely.”
Chen emphasized that the attackers never obtained private keys for any of Bitget’s hot, warm, or cold wallets. Instead, they compromised the exchange’s internal systems and moved the funds directly.
To ease users’ fears, the exchange said its user protection fund, which exceeds $464 million, is large enough to fully cover the losses.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Bitget exchange announced "unauthorized transfers" from its hot wallets for about $351M. You can see the spike in outflows of USDC, ETH, USDT and others. According to the exchange, "The incident falls within the coverage of Bitget’s User Protection Fund". pic.twitter.com/3Mslf0Goei
— Julio Moreno (@jjcmoreno) September 24, 2026
Meanwhile, in a more recent statement shared on X, BitGet’s founder provided a detailed update this morning during a livestream lasting more than three hours, outlining the latest developments in the exchange’s security incident roughly 12 hours after it was detected.
The unauthorized transfers affected multiple assets, including ETH, XRP (which saw the largest single-chain loss), BNB, AVAX, USDT, USDC, and others. The impacted networks were Ethereum, the XRP Ledger, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, BNB Smart Chain and Base. All of Bitget’s on-chain cold wallets remain secure and were not compromised.
The exchange said it has contacted the foundations of every affected blockchain. Some have already confirmed that they have frozen the relevant hacker wallet addresses. Bitget is pursuing every available recovery channel and will continue to release updates as new information becomes available.
According to the founder, analysis of IP behavior patterns and on-chain data shows the attack method closely matches known tactics used by North Korean-linked hacking groups. The company has reported the incident to relevant authorities and is fully cooperating with a global investigation.
Bitget emphasized that its decentralized Bitget Wallet operates independently of the exchange’s infrastructure and was completely unaffected. User assets held in Bitget Wallet remain secure.
The founder also reiterated that Bitget’s user protection fund exceeds $464 million and is held in publicly verifiable wallet addresses. In addition, the company’s proprietary assets surpass $1 billion. User funds remain backed 1:1, and both the protection fund and user asset data can be verified on-chain.
Regarding withdrawals, Bitget’s stated goal is to restore full access as quickly as possible. The exchange said it will announce a specific recovery time window only once it is confirmed and will not commit to timelines it cannot meet.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Bitcoin (BTC) traded fairly flat Thursday after a strong weekly rally that pushed the cryptocurrency just over $87,000 on Monday, lifting the value of Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings to within striking distance of $1 billion.
Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, worth about $997.8 million at current prices, according to blockchain intelligence data cited by Arkham. The position has gained roughly $122.6 million over the past week as Bitcoin climbed about 14%.
Notably, the increase has not come from a new Bitcoin purchase. Tesla’s BTC balance has remained unchanged at 11,509 coins for about four years, meaning the latest jump in the value of its holdings has come from Bitcoin’s price appreciation.
At its current valuation, Tesla’s Bitcoin stash is only about $5.1 million away from the $1 billion milestone. The company held about $872.3 million worth of BTC a week earlier, highlighting how quickly the value of a large cryptocurrency position can change during a market rally.
Moreover, Tesla’s 11,509 BTC represents roughly 0.055% of Bitcoin’s capped 21 million supply. The Elon Musk-led electric vehicle maker is also among the largest publicly listed companies with Bitcoin holdings globally. Data from BitcoinTreasuries ranks Tesla 11th among public companies by BTC holdings, placing it behind companies such as Strategy, Metaplanet, MARA Holdings, Strive, Trump Media and SpaceX.
Tesla initially entered the Bitcoin market in 2021, disclosing a $1.5 billion investment in the cryptocurrency. It briefly accepted Bitcoin as payment for vehicles before suspending the option later that year.
The automaker subsequently reduced its position, including a major sale in 2022 that generated about $936 million in proceeds, leaving the remaining 11,509 BTC.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s recent rally has nevertheless produced mixed signals from market indicators. Cryptoquant’s analyst Axel Adler Jr. said on Thursday the Bitcoin Regime Score indicator briefly reached +52 on September 19 and +64 on September 22 before falling back toward neutral territory following this week’s rally. The accompanying confidence measure also dropped to 22%, suggesting the model’s signals are currently less decisive.
“The Score does not currently confirm a sustained bullish regime. Another move above +30 would carry more weight if the Score stayed in bullish territory and the model’s signals became more aligned.” He wrote. “A drop below -30 would indicate that bearish signals have gained the upper hand.”
Elsewhere, Bloomberg strategist Mike McGlone has questioned whether Bitcoin’s earlier low near $60,000 marked the bottom of the current cycle.
“Has the crypto’s low-price cure been achieved near $60,000 in 2026? My bias leans to unlikely, and the graphic highlights top reasons: the record-setting stock market and too much competition for non-income-producing assets from the US Treasury 10-year yield’s move above 5% in 3Q,” McGlone stated.
In an earlier post, McGlone argued that the cryptocurrency could face another steep decline, with his analysis pointing to the possibility of a move toward $10,000.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $83,915, up 0.78% in the past 24 hours.

Ripple-promoted XRP may be gearing up for its next explosive move. A crypto YouTuber has sparked fresh excitement across the market, claiming that “something is brewing” for the payments-focused token while pointing to what they believe could be a crucial buying window. With traders watching XRP’s next major move closely, the latest prediction is fueling growing breakout speculation.
XRP RSI Pattern Sparks Déjà Vu From 2017 and 2021
In a recent video, Crypto Crew University said XRP’s monthly RSI is flashing a pattern reminiscent of the setups that preceded major rallies in 2017 and 2021, raising speculation that the cryptocurrency could be gearing up for another powerful surge.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a widely used momentum indicator that gauges the strength and speed of an asset’s recent price moves by comparing its average gains with its average losses.
Crypto Crew University sees echoes of XRP’s past market cycles in its latest price action. The analyst notes that XRP’s RSI hit its highest level since 2017 in 2025, preceding the token’s run to a $3.66 peak in July.
The RSI later slipped beneath its moving average, forming the same “pocket” the analyst is now monitoring. That downturn came as XRP plunged from roughly $3.60 to below $1 in the months that followed.
Now, the analyst is watching for XRP’s RSI to reclaim its moving average, which he views as the potential trigger for another explosive price move. Still, historical RSI setups don’t guarantee future performance, as market conditions can vary significantly from one cycle to another.
Perfect Time To Buy XRP
Rather than rushing into a position, the analyst says he is waiting for XRP’s RSI to reclaim its moving average. In his view, that crossover could provide the confirmation he needs before entering the market.
He cites June 2020 as one example. At the time, XRP was trading near $0.18 when its RSI moved back above the moving average. XRP subsequently climbed to nearly $2, based on his analysis.
The analyst also highlighted another historical setup in which XRP traded around $0.37 before eventually surging to approximately $3.30.
At press time, XRP is trading at $1.57, up 5.1% over the past 24 hours and 12.4% over the past week. The token climbed from $1.24 earlier this week to $1.62 before giving back some of those gains, according to CoinGecko. XRP displayed a similar burst of momentum in August, rallying from $0.98 to $1.70 before retreating. These sharp rallies followed by swift pullbacks have kept bulls increasingly focused on the possibility of further upside.

Stellar network continues to garner greater investor trust in public-chain performance. This comes as CME Group today announced it is expanding its cryptocurrency futures to add Stellar and others to its futures suite, available in flexible contract sizes.
Through its financial derivatives market, CME’s electronic trading platform allows global investors to trade futures and options on assets such as stocks, energy, agriculture, digital assets, and more. Through this approach, the platform acts as a gateway between digital assets and institutional derivatives markets, allowing customers to trade and manage risk.
CME expands to XLM, BCH, and UNI futures
User interest in the cryptocurrency associated with the Stellar network (XLM) is gaining higher traction, according to data shared today by market analyst Akshay. This is supported by CME’s announcement today that it will list XLM futures next month, indicating that the crypto asset is seeing growing global customer interest. According to reports, CME will officially launch futures contracts for Stellar (XLM), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Uniswap (UNI) on October 19.
This announcement marks another significant achievement for the crypto market beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. The development signals that institutional digital asset infrastructure is expanding beyond BTC and ETH trading into multi-altcoin connectivity. CME is a trusted avenue for institutional traders (including proprietary trading desks, asset managers, hedge funds, and several others) to gain exposure to digital assets without direct custody.
Adding XLM, BCH, and UNI officially implies that these digital assets are now recognized by traditional finance, tradable through regulated derivatives, and accessible to institutional capital.
Stellar and others on track for mass adoption
The addition of Stellar futures and others marks another crucial step in the continued enlargement of CME’s cryptocurrency futures offerings. This expansion will give market participants more ways to access these assets and deliver capital-efficient returns.
Listing Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, and Uniswap futures on such a dominant regulated exchange will strengthen their market structures by allowing global investors to gain exposure to the 16th, 17th, and 19th largest cryptocurrencies as they diversify into other leading crypto assets.
The new contracts further broaden CME’s crypto product offerings, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Chainlink, Cardano, Avalanche, and Sui futures.

Pepe is drawing significant interest from traders entering the meme coin market, attracted by renewed whale participation. That is according to a revelation disclosed by market analyst Whale Factor. The expert shared data showing that PEPE has surged 42.7% in the last seven days, a strong uptick driven by whales re-entering the market.
The data also showed that renewed activity among large holders (whales) has enabled the asset to break through major resistance levels. The meme coin, inspired by the Frog ‘internet meme ’, is back in the spotlight, capturing strong trading activity.
Giants awakened amid price drop
Since August 24 last month, PEPE has fallen sharply, hitting a low of $0.00000320 and remaining in a downtrend. The drastic drop over the past two weeks was followed by a sudden rise, signaling that whales have been taking advantage of the dip to accumulate tokens in large numbers. With continued whale accumulation, the asset has recovered notably, aligning with the broader crypto market and attracting enthusiasm from retail traders.
After the recent sharp price drop, whales began buying large quantities at a discount. As a result, the ongoing accumulation pumped the price up and created FOMO by attracting retail investors into the market.
Since September 16, PEPE has been in an uptrend, rising from a low of $0.00000333 and reaching $0.0000046 by September 22 this week on Tuesday. Today, it trades at $0.0000046, up 22.6% and 30.8% over the past seven days and two weeks, suggesting increased buying activity as buyers expand their holdings for future growth.
PEPE gearing up for its next uptrend
The current development in the Pepe market is interesting. It’s intriguing because as whales buy large amounts of tokens, they not only drive the price up, but also force weak hands to panic-buy. And therefore, based on the ongoing engagement, PEPE appears to be preparing for the next big leap.
The asset is laying the foundation for its next rally, as on-chain analysis shows renewed whale accumulation, a potential PEPE ETF greenlight, and a possible massive token buyback initiative has been talked about across social media in recent days. The ETF buzz refers to an application filed by Canary Capital back on April 25, which awaits possible regulatory approval. Also, a token buyback development is being linked to a community proposal, which awaits confirmation and a timeline to be communicated by the Pepe team.