Growing Use of Bitcoin Treasuries
Alyse Killeen, GP and managing partner of Stillmark, discusses why more companies are adding Bitcoin treasuries, as Trump Media raises over $2 billion for the strategy. Killeen joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow on 'Bloomberg Technology.' (Source: Bloomberg)
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Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Should You Buy the Dip on XRP?
After soaring to a 52-week high in January, XRP is now down 35%. The most important near-term catalyst for XRP is imminent SEC approval of new spot ETFs. XRP has seen a significant decline in transaction activity over the past two months, raising questions about its future growth potential. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › Heading into 2025, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) was the hottest crypto on the planet. But after hitting a 52-week high of $3.39 in January, XRP has fizzled out. It's now down 35% from its 2025 peak, and investors are understandably concerned. Is now the time to buy the dip on XRP? Or is your money better spent elsewhere? Let's take a closer look. Heading into November, XRP had basically flatlined at the $0.50 price level. However, after the presidential election, it suddenly surged, eventually reaching a multi-year high. This makes sense, of course, because XRP was the one cryptocurrency destined to get the biggest bounce from a pro-crypto Trump presidency. Up until November, dark regulatory clouds were hanging over Ripple, the company behind the XRP token. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claimed that XRP was a "security" and not a "commodity." This asset class is subject to stricter regulations regarding trading, ownership, and reporting requirements. However, as soon as Trump was elected, XRP skyrocketed. The logic was simple: a Trump presidency would likely lead to a shakeup at the SEC, which would then help lift all the regulatory clouds hanging over Ripple and XRP. And that's exactly what happened. The problem is that this development has been replaced by a new narrative around global trade and tariffs. All of last year's pro-crypto euphoria has already been priced into XRP, and investors are looking for a new narrative to drive XRP higher. The most likely new catalyst is SEC approval of spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Already, there are several spot XRP ETF applications in the pipeline, including ones from Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN) and WisdomTree (NYSE: WT). The thinking here is that a new pro-crypto approach at the SEC will give it the freedom to sign off on at least one of these ETF applications. The timing has been pushed back to the fourth quarter (Q4), but prediction markets are giving this a 93% chance of happening by the end of 2025. It's almost just a matter of "when," not "if." If the success of the spot Bitcoin ETFs is any guide, then these new spot XRP ETFs could result in a tsunami of new investor money flooding into XRP, helping to push up its price. As further proof of just how mainstream XRP has become, some publicly traded companies are now thinking about adding XRP as a treasury asset to their balance sheets. This is a strategy that was first popularized with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), and now it looks like the same strategy could be coming for XRP as well. One example is sustainable energy producer VivoPower International (NASDAQ: VVPR), which plans to buy $100 million of XRP for its treasury. And a Chinese company recently filed with the SEC to buy $300 million of XRP for its treasury. It remains to be seen if other companies will follow their lead, but XRP bulls are understandably enthusiastic about this development. The coin was never meant to serve as a long-term value storage system, but XRP investors aren't complaining about this new idea. That's the good news. The bad news, unfortunately, is that usage of the XRP token has fallen off a cliff over the past two months. As demand for XRP falls, it means that there will likely be downward pressure on its price. Keep in mind: XRP is essentially a bridge currency. That means it's primarily used to facilitate cross-border payments and transfer value between different fiat currencies. Typically, users convert one fiat currency into XRP, send it across the XRP blockchain to a user in another country, who then converts it into another fiat currency. It might sound complex, but it's cheaper and more efficient than using traditional finance tools. However, now that global trade has been turned upside down, the growing consensus is that XRP may no longer be as needed as it once was. After all, who's sending money across borders these days? That could help to explain why the fall in demand for XRP has been so dramatic over the past two months. This time period lines up perfectly with the announcement of the Liberation Day tariffs on April 2. Moreover, there appears to be another factor at work here, and that's the emergence of stablecoins as yet another way to send cross-border payments. Stablecoins are now a $250 billion industry, and it's clear that they are here to stay. In fact, Ripple recently launched a stablecoin of its own. While it was originally intended to help stoke demand for XRP, this stablecoin could end up cannibalizing some of the transaction activity of XRP, further reducing demand for the token. And that, of course, is going to further keep a lid on future price gains for XRP. In fact, a growing number of investors are now warning that XRP could drop below the $2 mark soon. The decision of whether or not to buy XRP is more complicated than you might think. While there are definitely near-term catalysts waiting to send XRP higher, it all comes amid a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty. Thus, before you decide to buy XRP, you need to be comfortable with the current situation involving global trade and tariffs. Even though XRP has enormous upside potential going forward, it may continue to trade sideways until the tariff situation is resolved once and for all. Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $869,841!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends WisdomTree. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy the Dip on XRP? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Politico
23 minutes ago
- Politico
Trump, Xi speak for first time since Inauguration Day
President Donald Trump said he spoke Thursday with China's leader, Xi Jinping, breaking the monthslong silence between the two leaders. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that U.S. and Chinese leaders will meet again 'shortly.' U.S. representatives will include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The president described it as a 'very good phone call' and said that Xi invited him to visit China. This is the first call between the two world leaders since Trump's second term began. It comes at a key point for China-U.S. relations as the two countries try to deescalate a trade war Trump started this spring by levying 145 percent tariffs on China, which the Chinese retaliated against, halting trade between the two countries.
CNN
25 minutes ago
- CNN
Analysis: Trump is increasingly hostile to China. He's playing with fire
Despite widespread concerns that the trade war is dragging down America's economy, President Donald Trump has notched quite a few wins on his economic belt in recent weeks. Inflation keeps falling. Jobs remain plentiful. And there's growing evidence the economy could be booming this quarter. That's why Trump's increasingly hostile rhetoric about China over the past week was particularly concerning ahead of his call Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump's economy is cookin' – for now. But the economic Jenga tower the Trump administration has constructed is precariously balanced on a host of economic caveats and unproven theories. Renewed trade tensions with the world's second-largest economy threatens to knock the tower to the ground. May 12 represented a major turning point for the global trade war. Delegates from China and the United States announced they would significantly roll back their historically high tariffs on one another. Markets were elated. Wall Street banks curtailed their recession forecasts. And moribund consumer confidence rebounded significantly. That's a significant change from April, when tensions ran so high that trade between the United States and China came to an effective halt. The 145% tariffs on most Chinese imported goods made the math impossible for American businesses to buy virtually anything from China, America's second-largest trading partner. No one wants to return to that. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, America's chief negotiator in the détente with China, said previous tariff levels were 'unsustainable.' That's why he said the countries put in place mechanisms to prevent a re-escalation. But Trump and his administration in recent weeks have grown increasingly hostile toward China, accusing the country of breaking the promises it made in mid-May. China has similarly said the United States has failed to live up to its obligations under the agreement. Trump and Xi held a long-awaited phone call Thursday, a person familiar with the matter said. The White House did not immediately confirm the call, which was also reported by Chinese state media. If the call fails to result in another de-escalation, tensions could boil over, and tariffs could rise again. So could recession forecasts. And the good vibes that have powered a rebound in sentiment and a massive market rally could disappear in a flash. Although virtually no economic reports are entirely good or bad, and with the obvious caveat that monthly economic data are inherently backward looking, US data have been surprisingly resilient lately. Annual consumer prices grew just 2.3% in April, according to the Consumer Price Index, and inflation that month fell to 2.1%, according to the separate Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. The PCE report is particularly noteworthy, because the Federal Reserve favors that report when it considers whether to change interest rates. Over time, the Fed targets 2% inflation, so America is, at long last, nearing that long-term target after a yearslong bout with historic price hikes. Trump, citing America's low inflation rate, has been bullying Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates to boost the economy – even summoning Powell to the White House last week to give him a talking to. As Powell has noted, economic data is looking strong. Jobs data, although weakening, has steadied in recent months. The unemployment rate is hovering at just over 4%, and employers have added a solid number of jobs each month. The number of available jobs in America unexpectedly increased in April, a potential indicator that the labor market remains robust. And a positive effect of trade tensions could at least temporarily benefit America's economy. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, shifted into reverse in the first quarter as businesses stockpiled goods in anticipation of tariffs. This quarter, imports from foreign countries – particularly China – have fallen dramatically. In April, the US trade deficit shrank by its steepest monthly pace on records, which go back to 1992. That should give America a big, albeit momentary, boost. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tool currently predicts the US economy will grow at an adjusted annualized rate of 4.6% this quarter, a huge number that would more than make up for the -0.2% rate in the first quarter. But Trump's ramping up of restrictions and public scrutiny of China risks putting sugar in the gas tank just as the engine started humming again. Trump on Wednesday said in a Truth Social post that Chinese leader Xi Jinping was 'extremely hard to make a deal with.' Trade talks have stalled, Bessent said, apparently frustrating Trump. Last week, Trump posted on social media that China 'TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.' Trump said that he made a 'fast deal' with China to 'save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation.' He added: 'So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!' The Trump administration had expected China to lift restrictions on rare earth materials that are critical components for a wide range of electronics, but China has so far refused, causing intense displeasure inside the Trump administration and prompting a recent series of measures to be imposed on the country three administration officials told CNN last week. For example, the White House warned US companies against using AI chips made by China's national tech champion Huawei. It stopped US companies from selling to China software that is used to design semiconductors. And the US State Department announced it would 'aggressively revoke visas' for some Chinese students in America. China, in turn, has accused the United States of 'provoking new economic and trade frictions.' 'The United States has been unilaterally provoking new economic and trade frictions, exacerbating the uncertainty and instability of bilateral economic and trade relations,' the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Sunday. Meanwhile, it's not like tariffs have completely evaporated. The United States maintains a 10% universal tariff on most goods coming into the country, and Trump just doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum this week. He has threatened higher tariffs on dozens of countries that are unable to reach trade deals with the administration over the course of the next month. And China and the United States, despite their de-escalation last month, maintain significant, double-digit tariffs on one another. Economists, Wall Street analysts, business leaders and consumers continue to sound the alarm bell about the trade war, worrying about a toxic combination of rising prices and slowing economic growth. Despite the recent spate of good economic news, some underlying data is raising concerns. A government report this week showed layoffs in April leapt higher by nearly 200,000 to 1.786 million, reversing a similarly sized drop seen in March. Initial unemployment claims rose to 247,000 last week, far more than estimated. And outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday that American employers announced 94,000 layoffs in May – down 12% from April but up 47% from last year. Layoff announcements have spiked 80% this year. Last week, a key economic report showed consumer spending rose just 0.2% in April, a weaker-than-anticipated reading and a significant retreat from March. And some consumer and business survey data remain incredibly weak. Consumer sentiment remained near historic lows reached in March despite recent trade deal announcements, according to the University of Michigan. And the Fed's beige book, a collection of business leaders' reactions to the economic environment, showed that companies across industries are remaining deeply uncertain about the economy – particularly because of the trade war. So good news could ultimately turn bad, even without escalating tensions with China. But a return to tit-for-tat tariffs and closed borders could make matters significantly worse.
