Latest news with #institutionaladoption
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Where Will XRP Be in 3 Years?
Key Points In April, Standard Chartered predicted that XRP would hit a price of $12.50 by the end of 2028. The rate of institutional adoption will be a key factor for XRP. Stablecoins could pose a threat to XRP, limiting its rate of adoption within the global financial system. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › During the past year, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has demonstrated its explosive upside potential. It's now up more than 400% since the U.S. presidential election, and currently trades for $3.08 (as of Aug. 14). Based on this red-hot performance, many analysts are already ratcheting up their price predictions for XRP. In April, for example, Standard Chartered predicted that XRP would hit a price of $12.50 by the end of 2028. That suggests that XRP could eventually quadruple in value within just three years. But is that a realistic assumption for XRP? Institutional adoption When attempting to value XRP in the future, a key factor will be the rate of institutional adoption. In other words, how many financial institutions are actually using XRP as part of their everyday banking operations? Right now, the key use case for XRP is for making high-value cross-border payments in real time. Essentially, financial institutions can use XRP as a bridge currency to transfer value across the XRP blockchain. This is a faster, cheaper, and more efficient way to transfer money across borders than traditional financial services. This is what makes XRP (and the XRP blockchain ledger) potentially so valuable. In a best-case scenario, the XRP-powered payment network from Ripple (the company that created XRP) will take over a larger and larger role in the global financial system during the next few years. As Ripple Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse pointed out earlier this year, at some point in the future, the Ripple payment network could rival the legacy SWIFT payment network in size and importance. That implies a very important role for XRP, because it will be the digital currency used to move money across borders. No wonder analysts are expecting XRP to double, triple, or even quadruple in value. Risk factors But is that really going to be the case? XRP is really just a bridge currency used to move large amounts of money across a blockchain. It will never be used for day-to-day transactions, the way other digital currencies might be used. That has opened the door for stablecoins to take on the same role as XRP. In many ways, Ripple has already seen the writing on the wall when it comes to stablecoins. Last year, it decided to issue a stablecoin of its own, known as Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD). It was reported to be a potential suitor for stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) before it went public in June. It also acquired the Rail stablecoin payment platform for $200 million in August. If you look at the core offerings on the Ripple website, stablecoins are now one of the three featured options. Even if the enthusiasm around stablecoins fizzles, financial institutions could decide to use an entirely different blockchain network other than Ripple to move money. Why not use Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), for example, to move money around the world? Arguably, using a Layer-2 blockchain on top of Ethereum, such as the Base blockchain from Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN), is just as effective for moving money across borders. This is especially the case now, given that Ethereum is the most dominant blockchain for stablecoins. Or financial institutions could decide to create digital currencies of their own, much as JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) did earlier this year. Many of the defining features of the new coin from JPMorgan Chase sound like what you would get if you put XRP and stablecoins together in a blender. What is a realistic price target for XRP? It's very easy to find ultra-bullish price predictions for XRP. For example, some think XRP could hit a price of $20. Some even think XRP could hit a price of $100 or higher. But all this implies a very high rate of growth, and it's just not clear that that's happening right now. A more realistic price prediction for XRP takes into account the market cap of Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world. Right now, Ethereum has a market cap of about $550 billion, while XRP has a market cap of $180 billion. As a general rule of thumb, then, XRP will need to triple in value in order to catch up to Ethereum. Thus, if you ask me where XRP is going to be in three years, then $10 might be a reasonable estimate. It's slightly lower than Standard Chartered's prediction of $12.50 for 2028. But it certainly hints at the explosive upside potential of XRP during the next few years, as long as the pace of institutional adoption picks up. Should you buy stock in XRP right now? 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 $663,630!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,695!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,071% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Dominic Basulto has positions in Circle Internet Group, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum, JPMorgan Chase, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global and Standard Chartered Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Where Will XRP Be in 3 Years? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin touches record high as crypto rally rages on amid bullish 'fundamental changes'
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surpassed $123,000 on Wednesday, climbing to a fresh record as institutional adoption and expectations of looser monetary policy drove the world's largest token to new heights. The cryptocurrency has gained 31% year-to-date and is up 60% from April's market lows. Inflows into spot exchange-traded funds, along with purchases from public companies copying the blueprint of software firm-turned-bitcoin juggernaut Strategy (MSTR) by adding bitcoin to their balance sheets, have been key drivers of this year's token rally. Strategists also point to the Trump administration's pro-crypto stance as a major catalyst. "The administration is pushing crypto. They are pushing bitcoin. Bitcoin is the lead dog in the crypto market," Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, told Yahoo Finance earlier this week. "So is it short-term a little frothy? Sure," he added. "But longer term, there are some fundamental changes here that I think are bullish for it and we'll send it much higher in the future." Last week, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Labor Department to explore allowing 401(k) plans to hold cryptocurrencies and other alternative assets, a move that could significantly expand retail access to crypto. The price surge also comes as US equities have notched all-time records on expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, and that Trump's next Fed chair pick will likely favor looser monetary policy. Meanwhile ethereum (ETH-USD) prices rose to near record levels on Wednesday as Wall Street grows increasingly bullish on the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Ethereum's native token, ether jumped as much as 6% to hover above $4,700 per token, just shy of its 2021 record highs. Companies have been adding ether to their balance sheets as a way to gain exposure to the tech infrastructure behind decentralized finance and digital assets, such as stablecoins. This week Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), an ethereum treasury company, announced plans to sell up to another $20 billion worth of stock to boost its holdings of the cryptocurrency. "We have stated multiple times we believe Ethereum is the biggest macro trade over the next 10-15 years," Fundstrat head of research Tom Lee, who also serves as chairman of Bitmine, wrote in a note Wednesday. Lee noted the majority of Wall Street crypto projects and stablecoins, or digital tokens backed by assets like the US dollar, are being built on the ethereum infrastructure. Ether, the native token of ethereum, is up more than 50% since the GENIUS Act legislation, which creates guardrails for the stablecoin industry, was passed last month. Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission's recent "Project Crypto" announcement, an initiative to modernize the agency and establish clear regulations around the digital asset industry, has also fueled the rally in ethereum. Fundstrat sees ETH hitting prices moving as high as $15,000 by year-end. Ines Ferre is a Senior Business Reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
10-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The SEC's Project Crypto Is Already Generating Benefits For Staking Investors
The 'Project Crypto' Initiative that was recently unveiled by the SEC, under recently appointed head Paul Atkins, is already generating benefits for the crypto investing marketplace. With support continuing to come from other agencies such as the FDIC and OCC, not to mention the positive sentiment put forward from the executive branch, the outlook for institutional adoption – and wider utilization – of cryptoassets continues to improve. One area that has remained relatively unaddressed, however, is the important and fast growing staking subset of the crypto landscape. Despite the improvements that have appeared at virtually every level and every aspect of the crypto world the discourse around staking has not moved forward in any substantial way until the announcement from the SEC. Setting aside the technical specifics of how any one specific staking protocol operates the key takeaways from an investing and policy perspective is that staking provides liquidity for investors of all sizes, provides increased opportunities for DeFi initiatives to expand, and creates opportunities for crypto investors to generate returns off of current holdings. In spite of these benefits, however, the tax treatment and ambiguity related to the classification of staking activities as securities has provided a substantial headwind to broader adoption. With the SEC, specifically the Division of Corporation Finance, stating that certain liquid staking activities do not involve securities, this has the potential to change. Although this statement is not binding guidance from the Commissioners or formal regulations, it has caused renewed optimism for staking advocates. Let's take a look at a few of the implications of this announcement, as well as what this means as the market digests this new policy position. Increased Liquidity While the statement itself only refers to liquid staking, which itself is a subset of the broader staking ecosystem, this clarification lays the foundation for greater liquidity than had previously been available. When an investor participates in a liquid staking protocol or uses a liquid staking provider, liquid staking tokens are provided in return to prove legal and beneficial ownership of the staked assets, even if the underlying assets themselves remain staked. These LST's are then able to be deployed onto different chains, used for various blockchain-based applications, or be used as collateral to generate additional returns. As the crypto marketplace continues to accelerate toward mass institutional adoption the need for 1) flexibility, 2) liquidity, and 3) the ability to generate returns from multiple sources will only increase. This clarification from the SEC provides institutions and investors of all sizes with the basis with which to do so in a clear manner. Renewed Centralization Concerns Alongside the very real and tangible benefits able to be accrued by investors participating in liquid staking protocols, however, is a risk that has been flying under the radar even as prices and adoption increase; centralization. While the initial ethos of crypto at large and specifically remaining prominent in the bitcoin maximalist community was a decentralized and distributed financial system and marketplace, the reality is that mainstream investors and policymakers have higher levels of comfort with more centralized options. With Ethereum and ether dominating the staking landscape, and only a few firms such as Coinbase, Kraken, Lido, and Binance headlining the largest holdings of staked ether, the risk of centralization and potential market effects of this centralization are increasing. Particularly as these crypto-native leaders face growing competition from the TradFi sector, with Coinbase notably facing pressure to reduce fees to mirror changes that have already occurred for TradFi brokerages, this could amplify pressure on the firms at the same time demand also rises. Staking by its nature does involve a level of centralization greater than that utilized by the bitcoin ecosystem, but the specter of too-big-too-fail crypto firms is not something that can be dismissed. Potentially Increased Volatility Much like how other derivative instruments can have higher volatility than underlying assets, there is the potential for liquid staking tokens to temporarily depeg from the asset itself. Specifically, if a significant percentage of ether (for example) is staked the LST's might not have the same instantaneous redemption as expected, which can lead to wider spreads between the token and actual cryptoasset price. If such a depegging occurs, the price volatility and spread can be amplified if the token itself is connected to other leverage protocols or applications. In other words, the more similar the crypto market comes to resemble TradFi marketplaces, the more the risks will mirror the TradFi sector. Fortunately this is also where the rise of AI and specifically agentic AI can help address the liquid staking marketplace in the form of arbitrage bots. While it is too early to predict whether arbitrage bots, trend spotting and following bots, or bots that can create markets will fill this void the fact remains that AI-based trading and ever advancing applications can assist in resolving volatility in both crypto and TradFi markets. Staking has the potential to unlock new opportunities for liquidity and crypto utilization, and the recent SEC announcement opens the door for the possibilities to become reality sooner than might have been expected.
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Up 15% in 3 Months, Is Solana a Buy Right Now With $1,000?
Key Points Solana's price has been trending upward recently. It's gaining ground against Ethereum, continuing the prior trend. It'll need to keep building up its case for institutional adoption to proceed. 10 stocks we like better than Solana › Solana's (CRYPTO: SOL) price has climbed by around 15% since late April, moving from about $146 to roughly $167 as I write this. The move is hardly breathtaking. Still, it prompts a pair of bigger questions. Namely, does an extra $1,000 of your portfolio belong allocated to this coin before the next leg up? And does it have what it takes to continue gaining in value for at least the next few years? Let's address both of these questions at once. This is a platform that's hitting its stride and fitting the market The story of Solana is one of an increasingly tight fit between its product, -- another way of saying its blockchain -- and what the market is looking for in terms of chain features. Solana's calling cards are its speed and cheapness. Over the last week, it averaged 2.2 million daily active wallet addresses and about 98 million daily transactions, all of which it accomplished while keeping transaction fees near fractions of a cent and its average transaction times within a second or two. Those figures tower over every major rival, especially incumbents like Ethereum, and the disparity explains why developers who are making consumer-scale decentralized apps (dApps) keep flocking to the chain. The upshot of these stellar performance features is that big money in the traditional financial sector is noticing. Faster settlement times and lower collateral demands are the bait for institutions, and fee savings are the hook. In late May, digital assets company R3 struck a deal with the Solana Foundation so its partnered financial institutions, most of which are big banks, can issue and trade tokenized stocks and bonds on the chain. The partnership vaults Solana into pole position for a slice of an asset tokenization market that could be worth as much as $16 trillion by 2030, according to estimates developed by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Speed also resonates with two of crypto's newest darlings, the artificial intelligence (AI) segment, and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). In July, the Neural AI gaming platform picked Solana for its creator-focused launchpad, citing sub-second confirmations as critical for real-time game logic. Other AI projects are flocking to the chain under the rationale that AI agents will be cheaper to operate when they don't need to hold as much of the chain's native token in their wallet to perform transactions compared to elsewhere. On the DePIN front, Solana-based wireless, compute, and mapping protocols have generated more than $3 million in on-chain revenue this year after setting a monthly record in June. Faster transaction times matter for accessing physical infrastructure apps because, for example, it'd be very frustrating if you had to wait for more than a moment or two to pay for access to a cafe's wifi network using a cryptocurrency. None of this traction is accidental. High throughput attracts developers, they ship apps that attract users, users attract capital seeking a return on investment in on-chain projects, and then swelling usage of the chain justifies even more ambitious upgrades to its throughput to keep the cycle going. You could still lose some of your $1,000 If your portfolio is big enough, taking on $1,000 of Solana isn't going to make or break it, but it's still important to appreciate the risks of an investment before diving in. In the past, most recently in February 2024, Solana has suffered headline-grabbing outages of its network. Those have been anomalies, and there is no indication that they will occur again, yet on a long enough timescale, they could. If the chain displays instability too frequently, which, once again, does not look probable even though it's possible, institutional investors could get spooked and look for other solutions. Separately, regulatory risk looms if U.S. government agencies shift their views on public-chain settlement of transactions, or their views on how tokenized assets must be handled. Solana's compliance feature set is far from vestigial, but it hasn't yet had a real stress test either. There will likely need to be more tech development within that space, which implies a risk of getting it wrong. Competition is also fierce. Ethereum's layer-2 (L2) roll-ups are cheaper every quarter, and emerging layer-1s (L1s) chase the same AI and DePIN segments as Solana, even if they're starting from a vastly smaller capital base. It isn't likely that any of those competitors will supplant Solana entirely, but at least somewhat hampering the growth of its market share in their focus segments is all but assured. Still, if Solana secures a meaningful share of asset tokenization, maintains its AI and DePIN leadership, and avoids catastrophic technical stumbles, today's price could look tiny in five years. For most investors, this argues in favor of a dollar-cost averaging strategy rather than a single lump-sum plunge. In other words, treat SOL like a high-volatility growth stock that's highly unpredictable from day-to-day, yet rewarding over the years if the thesis holds. Should you buy stock in Solana right now? Before you buy stock in Solana, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Solana 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 $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,108,033!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025 Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Up 15% in 3 Months, Is Solana a Buy Right Now With $1,000? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What Bitcoin's Velocity Says About Its Future
Bitcoin's on-chain velocity—how often coins move—is at decade lows. To some, that's a red flag: has Bitcoin lost momentum? Is it still being used? In fact, falling velocity may be the clearest signal yet that Bitcoin is maturing, not stagnating. Instead of circulating like cash, Bitcoin is increasingly being held like gold. A Shift in Function In traditional economics, velocity refers to how often money changes hands; it's a proxy for economic activity. For Bitcoin, it tracks how frequently BTC is transacted on-chain. In Bitcoin's early days, coins moved frequently as traders, early adopters, and enthusiasts tested its use cases. During major bull runs, like those in 2013, 2017, and 2021, transaction activity spiked, with BTC flowing quickly between wallets and exchanges. Today, that has changed. More than 70% of BTC hasn't moved in over a year. Transactional churn has slowed. At face value, this could seem like declining usage. But it reflects something else: conviction. Bitcoin is being treated as a long-term asset, not just a short-term currency. And that shift is driven largely by institutions. Institutional Adoption Locks Up Supply Since the launch of US spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024, institutional holdings have soared. As of mid-2025, spot ETFs hold over 1.298 million BTC, approximately 6.2% of total circulating supply. When including corporate treasuries, private companies, and investment funds, total institutional holdings approach 2.55 million BTC around 12.8% of all Bitcoin in circulation. These assets remain largely static, stored in cold wallets as part of long-term strategies. Firms like Strategy and Tesla are not spending their Bitcoin; they're holding it as a strategic reserve. That's bullish for scarcity and price. But it also lowers velocity: fewer coins circulating, fewer transactions happening on-chain. Off-Chain Usage Is Rising and Harder to See It's important to note that on-chain velocity doesn't capture all of Bitcoin's economic activity. On-chain velocity only tells part of the story. Increasingly, Bitcoin's real economic activity is happening off the base layer, and outside traditional measurements. Take the Lightning Network, THE Bitcoin's Layer-2 scaling solution which enables fast, low-cost payments that bypass the main chain entirely. From streaming micropayments to cross-border remittances, Lightning makes bitcoin usable in everyday scenarios, but its transactions don't appear in velocity metrics. As of mid-2025, public Lightning capacity surpassed 5,000 BTC, reflecting a nearly 400% increase since 2020. Private channel growth and institutional experimentation suggest the real number is much higher. Similarly, Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is enabling BTC to circulate across Ethereum and other chains, fueling DeFi protocols and tokenized finance. In the first half of 2025 alone, WBTC supply grew by 34%, a clear signal that bitcoin is being deployed, not dormant. And then there's custody: institutional wallets, ETF cold storage, and multisig treasury tools allow firms to hold BTC securely, but often without moving it. These coins may be economically significant, yet they contribute nothing to on-chain velocity. In short, Bitcoin is likely more active than it appears, it's just happening outside traditional velocity metrics. Its utility is shifting to new layers and platforms- payment rails, smart contract systems, yield strategies—none of which register in traditional velocity models. As Bitcoin evolves into a multi-layer monetary system, we may need new ways to measure its momentum. Falling on-chain velocity doesn't necessarily mean usage is slowing. In fact, it might just mean we're looking in the wrong place. The Trade-Off Behind Low Velocity While slow velocity reflects conviction and long-term holding, it also presents a challenge. Fewer on-chain transactions mean fewer fees for miners: a growing concern after the 2024 halving, which cut block rewards in half. Bitcoin's long-term security model depends on a healthy fee market, which in turn relies on consistent economic activity. There's also the question of perception. A network where coins rarely move can start to resemble a static vault rather than a dynamic marketplace. That may strengthen the 'digital gold' thesis but weakens the vision of bitcoin as usable money. This is the core design tension: Bitcoin aims to be both a store of value (digital gold) and a medium of exchange (peer to peer cash) . But those roles don't always align. Velocity is the measure of that push and pull, this ongoing struggle between preservation and utility, and how Bitcoin navigates it will shape not just usage patterns, but its role in the broader financial system. A Sign of Maturity In the end, falling velocity doesn't mean Bitcoin is being used less. It means it's being used differently. As Bitcoin gains value, people are more inclined to save it than spend it. As adoption grows, infrastructure moves off-chain. And as institutions enter, their strategies center on preservation, not circulation. The Bitcoin network is evolving. Velocity isn't vanishing; it's going silent, reshaped by a changing user base and new layers of economic activity. If velocity ticks up again, it could mark a resurgence of transactional use; more spending, more movement, more retail involvement. If it stays low, it suggests Bitcoin's role as macro collateral is taking firm root. Either way, velocity offers a window into Bitcoin's future. Not as a coin to spend, but as an asset to build on. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
