The prospect of spot Bitcoin ETFs has long been a dream for investors and traders alike. Amidst this anticipation, recent reports from esteemed data analytics platforms have set the crypto community abuzz, predicting a staggering $1 trillion market cap for crypto majors like Bitcoin, XRP, Ether, Solana, Cardano, and Shiba Inu if spot ETFs receive the green light.

A report, crafted by the experts at CryptoQuant delves into the historical context that has shaped Bitcoin’s market trajectory. The first wave of institutional adoption witnessed during Bitcoin’s historic bull run in 2021 saw institutions adding BTC to their balance sheets. According to CryptoQuant researchers, the next significant wave of adoption is already underway, marked by major Asset Under Management [AUM] entities making Bitcoin accessible to their clients through spot ETFs.

The only hurdle on this promising path seems to be approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC], an obstacle that has kept the crypto community on edge. However, recent favourable court rulings in the GBTC and XRP lawsuits against the regulator have injected a newfound optimism into the market.

Investors owning between 100K XRP and 1B XRP now hold 45.8% of the coin’s total supply.

XRP price exceeds $0.70, outshining other cryptocurrencies with significant holding by large investors and a recent spike in social media discussions.
XRP’s performance, with over a 25% gain, eclipses Bitcoin’s 2% rise, reflecting a standout rally in the crypto market.
Analyst predictions suggest further growth for XRP, with ambitious price targets up to $18.22, supported by optimistic technical analyses.

XRP Whales on the Move
Ripple’s coin – XRP – has been crypto’s rock star in the past few weeks, with its price recently spiking above the coveted level of $0.70. The asset’s rally coincides with an increased activity coming from large investors.

As revealed by Santiment, wallets holding between 100K and 1 billion coins currently control almost 46% of the token’s total supply (the highest mark since the beginning of the year). Besides that, November 5 witnessed the largest spike in XRP discussion rate since mid-July.

Numerous analysts believe that XRP’s uptrend could continue in the near future, with some envisioning impressive new heights. The X (Twitter) user Dark Defender recently suggested that the assets could skyrocket to $5.85 and even surpass $18 should it overcome some important “short-term” #BinanceSquareXRP $XRP

South Korea has banned short-selling until at least June 2024. According to multiple reports, the reason for the ban is to appease retail investors by curbing unfair trading practices and also to prepare for the upcoming election.

Following the ban, shares in South Korea rose Monday morning, with the country’s benchmark Kospi gaining 4%, while LG Energy Solution, a battery company, jumped by over 20%. Similarly, Posco Future M, a battery materials company, rose by 28%, while the technology-focused Kosdaq index gained 6%.

According to reports, the ban would last until June 2024 and applies to all stocks listed in South Korea. Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of South Korea’s Financial Service Commission (FSC), said on Sunday that despite previous regulatory improvements, concerns remain high over fair price formation in the domestic stock market due to repeated illegal naked short selling by global institutional investors.

Joo-hyun noted that the commission will use the period of the ban to improve regulations on short selling, as well as investigate the activities of global institutional investors who engage in “naked” short selling.

“We will apply a zero-tolerance approach to illegal naked short-selling practices, and perpetrators will be strictly punished and face criminal prosecution,” he said.

With the recent ban, the FSC has reversed its 2021 decision to lift short-selling restrictions on the Kospi 200 and Kosdaq 150 stocks. Those restrictions were imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic to shore up the stock market.

An Hyung-jin, Chief Executive of Billionfold Asset Management, said the recent decision by the FSC came as a surprise. According to him, most people expected the regulator to lift the ban on short selling altogether as part of Seoul’s longstanding campaign to be upgraded by leading index providers to developed market status.

Kospi’s rise reflects a slight recovery for the stock, which fell almost 15% between August and October due to persistent high-interest rates in the US. #SouthKorea

#BinanceSquareTalks

The native token of the Tron blockchain, TRX, has recently recorded substantial gains in its price performance. Amid trading at $0.09778, its four-week gain sits significantly over 13.53% positive growth. In parallel, CoinMarketCap data shows TRX’s 24-hour volume is up over 26%.

Meanwhile, this notable uptick in TRX’s performance coincides with a significant development from major crypto market movers. Early today, the well-known tracker of influential crypto investors, Whale Alert, captured an extraordinary amount of TRX tokens moving out of the largest crypto trading platform, Binance.

In particular, Whale Alert documented that 1,999,000,000 TRX tokens left Binance for an untagged destination. At the time of the transaction, nearly two billion TRX tokens were valued at $194,212,058 approximately. $TRX

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty had once highlighted XRP’s unique positioning in the US following Ripple’s notable victories against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His statement has more backing now as Americans seem to have taken more interest in the crypto token since then.

Americans More Interested In XRP Than Ethereum
According to recent data from Google Trends, residents in 48 out of the 50 states in the country seem to be more interested in the XRP token over the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum. Nevada, Delaware, Montana, Louisiana, and Arizona form part of the regions where the interest in XRP is at the most.

Related Reading: Ethereum Scam Allegations Grow: Crypto Pundit Describes The Rise And Fall Of ETH
It is believed that some of this interest could have come on the back of the token gaining regularity clarity in the country when Judge Analisa Torres declared that XRP wasn’t a security in itself. The token had taken a hit when the SEC initially filed a lawsuit against Ripple back in 2020, as many crypto exchanges in the country moved to delist the crypto token.

Such a move undoubtedly affected the token’s market share in the country as only a few exchanges, like Uphold, opted against delisting the crypto token despite the legal encumbrance that was on it as a result of the SEC’s case against Ripple. However, following Judge Torres’ ruling, many exchanges have relisted XRP, paving the way for many residents in the country to invest in it.

Institutional Interest To Increase
It is also expected that institutional interest in XRP in the US will pick up since the major reason why many financial firms chose not to partner with Ripple was because of its legal battle with the SEC. With the case all but over, there could be more partnerships between Ripple and American firms very soon. $XRP

What happened: On Sunday a total of 4,136.17 Eth
worth $7,838,323, based on the current value of Ethereum at time of publication ($1,895.07), was burned from Ethereum transactions. Burning is when a coin or token is sent to an unusable wallet to remove it from circulation.

Why it matters: On August 5th, 2021, the Ethereum blockchain implemented an important upgrade known as EIP-1159. This Ethereum improvement proposal changed the fee model drastically. Now each transaction includes a variable base fee that adjusts according to the current demand for block space. This base fee is burned, or permanently removed from circulation, lowering the supply of Ether forever. $ETH

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is considering allowing retail investors to buy spot crypto Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Bloomberg reports.

Hong Kong Explores Spot Crypto ETFs for Retail Investors

SFC CEO Julia Leung stated that they are open to innovations that leverage technology for improved efficiency and customer experience, and said, “We are happy to try this as long as new risks are addressed. Our approach is consistent regardless of the asset.”

Hong Kong's regulatory stance on individual access to digital assets has evolved over the year.

Initially, in January, the SFC tightened regulations by reserving access to crypto spot ETFs for professional investors with a portfolio of at least HKD8 million ($1 million).

But in October, the SFC revised its rulebook to enable a broader range of investors to participate in spot crypto and ETF investment.

Jeremy Hogan, a prominent attorney in the XRP community, recently engaged in an exchange on X (formerly Twitter) about the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple case, offering insights into the potential financial repercussions for the fintech company. This discussion came in response to fellow pro-XRP attorney John E. Deaton’s comment: “The people who’ve argued that the SEC got a 50-50 victory in the Ripple case are 100% wrong. It was more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favor. If Ripple ends up paying $20M or less it’s a 99.9% legal victory.”

Employing his characteristic humor, Hogan likened his legal musings to resolving a marital disagreement, saying, “I was in a small argument with my wife last night, which means, I am thinking about ‘damages’ this morning.” He then shifted to discuss the legal aspects surrounding Ripple, noting, “The law allows the SEC to seek ‘disgorgement,’ penalties, and interest.” He clarified that disgorgement involves removing profits from rule violators like Ripple, and the court identified about $770 million in inappropriate XRP sales to institutional investors.

Here’s How Ripple Can Slash The SEC Fine
Hogan delved into several key arguments that could play in Ripple’s favor. Referring to the SEC v. Liu case, he pointed out, “Disgorgement is an equitable remedy which means that it should be ‘fair.’ And fair in this context means that it should be the violators NET profits, not GROSS.” This implies Ripple might reduce its liabilities significantly by deducting business expenses from the total sales.

Ripple has secured a strategic partnership with the National Bank of Georgia. This collaboration explores the practical applications of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) within the nation. Significantly, Ripple’s CBDC Platform will be the cornerstone for this initiative, marking a milestone in blockchain utilization in both public and private sectors.

The partnership emerged following a rigorous selection process conducted by the National Bank of Georgia. An expert committee, encompassing both internal and external specialists, was tasked with the pivotal decision. After a competitive two-stage evaluation — involving a detailed Project Execution Plan and technology demonstrations — Ripple emerged as the partner of choice. While the names of competing firms remain undisclosed, the emphasis was placed on Ripple’s technical prowess and the proficiency of its team. $XRP

#$BTC

On November 3, BTC Digital, a China-based company, announced a significant expansion of its Bitcoin mining operations by acquiring 220 new Bitcoin mining units.

This strategic move has boosted their total machine count to 2,174, with a formidable computing power of over 230 petahashes per second (PH/s).

These newly acquired mining units are expected to be fully operational by the end of the month.

The acquisition was executed through agreements with “two unaffiliated third parties,” involving the procurement of Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro units.

In exchange for these mining units, BTC Digital issued 276,572 shares of its ordinary company stock, with a total valuation of $968,800.

It’s worth noting that BTC Digital underwent a name change in August, transitioning from Meten EdtechX Education Group to better align with its current business operations.

BTC Digital is described on the Nasdaq-listed company’s website as a prominent provider of general English language training services in China.

The company boasts a network of learning centers across the nation and offers both online and metaverse-based training programs. #BTC $

A Uniswap V3 user endured a costly blunder. The individual, presumably confusing the Curve DAO Token (CRV) for USD, initiated a liquidity pool transaction with severe consequences. The action, unfolding in a rapid 12-second window, resulted in a staggering loss exceeding $700,000. #uniswap

160.38 million Hashflow (HFT) tokens, equivalent to $41 million, will be unlocked on November 7. This represents approximately 74.20% of the circulating supply. Early investors will also unlock 62.5 million HFT tokens worth $16.02 million.

The HFT token is part of the Hashflow project, which raised $30.95 million from three rounds of token sales, selling 25% of the token supply in batches at $0.02, $0.1, and $0.4.

Analysts says after months of trading within consolidation, Cardano (ADA) price has broken free, portraying a bullish trend across major timeframes. Currently, there is no cloud of weakness in sight, although a pullback is always plausible.

This unfolding scenario ignites a discussion among investors and analysts on whether the price of ADA could reach $0.42 this week.

#ADA/USDT

China to start using digital yuan for cross-border

China’s ambition in reshaping global finance takes a leap forward as it gears up to integrate the digital yuan into cross-border transactions. This move, poised to bolster the nation’s financial influence, transcends the traditional monetary systems and paves the way for a groundbreaking change in international trade and payments.

cryptopolitan.com

The XRP community has been buzzing with speculation that Google might have started running an XRP Ledger (XRPL) node. As of now, it is just a rumor, but if it comes true, will it impact XRP price, or is it the start of a new era? This notion was first raised by Edward Farina, Head of Social Adoption at XRP Healthcare, who shared a screenshot displaying a list of computers running XRPL nodes, one of which was associated with Google’s IP address and revealed Google LLC as the Internet Service Provider.
🚀 XRP #xrp