XRP Hits 7-Year High Amid Exciting Sentiment, FTX Plans Payments: Finance Revisited
Cryptocurrency investors are optimistic ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, which is expected to bring more regulatory transparency to the industry.
The XRP (XRP) token rose to its highest level since 2018, unscathed by the latest legal appeal by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as it gets more industry-friendly regulations.
On the positive side, the bankrupt FTX exchange is preparing to pay out more than $1.2 billion to its users after Trump's inauguration, which is seen as a major liquidity event for the crypto market.
XRP reached a seven-year high as optimism outweighed SEC appeal concerns
XRP rose to its highest level since January 2018, overcoming concerns raised by the latest legal appeal filed by the SEC.
The price of XRP (XRP) rose to a seven-year high on January 15 to trade at $3.09 at 8:45 am UTC. XRP is up more than 32% on the weekly chart, CoinMarketCap data shows. .
XRP/USDT, all time chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
The rally comes even as the SEC filed an appeal on January 15 against a July 2023 ruling by District Judge Analisa Torres that barred the sale of XRP to retail investors as unregistered securities. The SEC requires those retail sales to be classified.
Despite the SEC's appeal, the market has opted for partial legal victories secured by Ripple Labs in the long-running case, said Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research.
These semi-legal victories, combined with investor optimism for more crypto regulatory transparency, are the main drivers of XRP's price rally, the analyst told Cointelegraph.
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FTX will begin distributing $1.2 billion to creditors after Trump's inauguration
FTX is preparing to pay out more than $1.2 billion to former users of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange.
FTX, once the world's second largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX), is about to start refunding users who have been unable to access their funds for more than two years.
Exchange users who owe up to $50,000 worth of digital assets have until January 20 to meet their repayment requirements.
FTX, part of the FTX Customer Ad-Hoc Committee, which is part of the largest group of 1,500 FTX lenders, will begin refunding claims up to $50,000 after January 20.
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Hyperliquid's $7.5 billion airdrop tokens have changed from central token listings
The decentralized launch of the HyperLiquid (HYPE) token could usher in a “new era” for onchain fair launch cryptocurrencies following some disappointing token launch events on centralized exchanges.
After posting the most valuable airdrop in crypto history, the decentralized distribution of the Hyperliquid token gained attention, excluding venture capital (VC) firms and early investors.
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph on the sidelines of the Emergence Prague 2024 event, Vitaly Dervod, founder and CEO of Composability Labs, said:
“The launch of the HYPE token marks the beginning of a new era between centralized exchanges and onchain […] Because HYPE was introduced at layer 1 itself in the protocol's command book.
Composability Labs' Vitali Dervoed, interview with Cointelegraph's Zoltan Vardai. Source: Cointelegraph/Zoltan Vardai
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AI token market will reach 60 billion dollars by 2025 – Bitget CEO
Tokens associated with artificial intelligence agents They are set to grow to a total market capitalization of up to $60 billion by 2025, Gracie Chen, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, told Cointelegraph.
Initial use cases for AI agents include crypto transactions such as trading and wallet management, Chen said. In addition, crypto exchanges will begin launching AI agents to automate operations and improve customer service, she added.
“The technology is insufficient for large-scale investments due to the need for human control,” warned Chen, adding that investors should choose signals backed by practical solutions. [such as] that replace a programmer or automate tasks.
Agentic AI tokens command a total market capitalization of approximately $15 billion and a daily trading volume of $875 million, Chen said.
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AI agents market size up 222% in Q4 2024, led by Solana
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the market capitalization of artificial intelligence agents increased by 222%, from $4.8 billion in October to $15.5 billion in December.
On January 14, CoinGecko published the “2024 Annual Crypto Industry Report” shortly after the launch of Goat Maximus (GOAT) coin on Solana in October.
AI agents are autonomous software programs that use artificial intelligence to perform tasks, often as key components of decentralized finance (DeFi) or blockchain ecosystems. These agents can range from automated trading bots to decision-making systems that interact with smart contracts.
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Overview of the DeFi market
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green.
Of the 100, Solana-based memecoin Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) was the biggest gainer of the week, rising more than 58%, followed by the XDC Network (XDC) token, which rose more than 49% on the weekly chart.
Total value is locked in DeFi. Source: Defillama
Thanks for reading this week's roundup of the most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and lessons about this dynamic and evolving space.
