Ethereum is back to trading just above $3,300 per ETH in a slow bullish 
extension over the past week. After months of wide swings and failed follow- 
throughs above $3,000, the structure on the monthly timeframe chart is 
beginning to look bullish in a way that traders should take seriously. A 
recent technical breakdown shared by Merlijn The Trader on X shows that 
Ethereum is approaching a moment where consolidation could give way to 
forceful expansion, with $5,000 as the most important inflection point. 
Bullish Pennant Says Bullish Momentum About To Be Unlocked The chart showing 
the technical analysis from Merlijn shows a bullish pennant forming on 
Ethereum’s monthly timeframe. This bullish pennant shows that price action has 
been compressing between a rising support line and a descending resistance 
line, and this has created a narrowing structure since 2021. Related Reading: 
Here’s Why The Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Dogecoin Prices Are Surging Today 
Ethereum briefly pushed above the upper boundary of this pennant in 2025, 
rallying to just under the $5,000 mark before momentum faded and corrective 
moves followed. Since then, price action appears to be gravitating back toward 
the former resistance line, now acting as a key area of interest. As it 
stands, Ethereum is now retesting the upper trendline of this bullish pennant 
for a final upward move. Based on this projection, the first major barrier for 
Ethereum to break is around $3,300. A clean break above that level would 
likely open a path toward $3,600, an area that previously acted as a turning 
point during past rallies. The most consequential zone, however, is around the 
August 2025 all-time high of $5,000. A break above this zone would unlock 
bullish momentum based on the bullish pennant and play out in the majority of 
2026. How Can This Breakout Play Out? Merlijn’s chart doesn’t stop at the 
breakout trigger once it breaks above the upper trendline of the pennant. It 
sketches a full road map for how the move could unfold once Ethereum leaves 
the pennant. The first step in that projection is a push above $3,600 before a 
more meaningful test around $5,000. Once Ethereum is able to break above 
$5,000, then the door is open for new price highs. Related Reading: Why The 
Ethereum Price Could Bounce Above $3,500 Soon However, the breakout is 
expected to come with volatility and retests, not a straight line upward, but 
still resolves higher if the pennant thesis holds. From $5,000, the projection 
turns into a two-stage expansion. The first stage shows a force move, where 
Ethereum goes on a rally to as high as $6,000, then chops through another 
sharp dip to $4,000 and another recovery sequence before the larger leg 
higher. The larger leg, higher projected on the chart, points to $8,400 as the 
final price target zone for Ethereum. Featured image from Getty Images, chart 
from Tradingview.com

Ethereum Chart Turns Bullish: New Cycle Energy Points To $5,000

Polygon price has pulled back and entered a local correction, falling by ~16% 
from its highest point this month.

Polygon price eyes a 90% jump as chain fees, burn rate jump

Citrea launches ctUSD, a Bitcoin-native stablecoin backed 1:1 by T-bills and 
fiat, issued by MoonPay and powered by M0.
The post Citrea rolls out ctUSD stablecoin as native liquidity layer for 
Bitcoin ecosystem appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Citrea rolls out ctUSD stablecoin as native liquidity layer for Bitcoin ecosystem

Market expert Bird has recently issued a bold forecast for XRP, the fifth- 
largest cryptocurrency, suggesting that it could experience a major upside of 
800% within this year. If this prediction holds true, XRP could reach a new 
all-time high of $18.40 per coin. Forecast Indicates XRP Might Rival Ethereum 
Bird&#8217;s forecast hinges on the XRP/BTC ratio, which he predicts will reach 
1:5,000 by the end of 2026. This means that 5,000 XRP would be equivalent to 1 
Bitcoin (BTC). Currently, the XRP/BTC ratio trades at approximately 
0.00002235. Related Reading: Crypto Market Bill Draft Criticized For Allowing 
Continued Developer Prosecution For Bird&#8217;s envisioned target to materialize, 
the ratio must increase to 0.0002 BTC per token, representing a substantial 
gain of around 794% from current levels. With a total supply of 100 billion 
coins, this price projection implies an overall valuation of approximately 
$1.84 trillion for XRP. Such a figure would place the cryptocurrency in close 
competition with Ethereum—and striking distance of Bitcoin’s market cap. 
Additional Price Scenarios For The Altcoin Market expert Sam Daodu also 
outlined alternative scenarios for XRP&#8217;s future performance. In a base case, 
where the altcoin garners continued institutional support but doesn’t close 
the gap with Bitcoin&#8217;s market capitalization, the price could range between $3 
and $4. This outcome would depend on exchange traded funds (ETFs) attracting a 
“few billion in assets” while Bitcoin’s dominance falls to the 40–50% range 
during a broader altcoin rotation. Related Reading: Zcash Foundation 
Investigation Closed: SEC Decision Sparks 12% Jump In ZEC Price Conversely, 
there exists a bear case where macroeconomic challenges or obstacles within 
the crypto ecosystem could hinder XRP&#8217;s price growth. Factors such as 
geopolitical instability could redirect capital back to Bitcoin and gold, 
while banks might opt for private ledgers and established stablecoins instead 
of adopting XRP. Monthly escrow releases from Ripple of 1 billion coins, 
accompanied by a potential diminishing exchange-traded fund demand, might cap 
any potential upside action for the cryptocurrency, leaving it to trade around 
its current trading prices of $2. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from 
TradingView.com

XRP Will Skyrocket Beyond $18: Analyst Suggests 800% Growth Potential In 2026

Amid ongoing debate over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, Massachusetts 
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a long-standing critic of the cryptocurrency 
industry, is being accused by members of the crypto community of trying to 
derail the legislation. Reports indicate that Warren attached 38 amendments to 
the bill, a move many argue would merely reinforce the dominance […]

Cryptocurrency price in BTC