XRP’s liquidity structure on higher timeframes is in a situation where the 
path of least resistance could extend to the $4 level. The remark came from 
crypto analyst Bird in response to hourly and daily liquidity heatmaps shared 
by Cryptoinsightuk, which show a clear contrast between short-term and higher- 
timeframe liquidity positioning. At the time of writing, XRP is trading around 
$1.45, still below the large liquidity clusters visible above the current 
price. According to Bird, that imbalance may not stay unresolved for long. 
Hourly Liquidity Cleared, Short-Term Volatility Reduced XRP&#8217;s liquidity 
heatmap on the hourly candlestick chart shows that much of the nearby 
liquidity below the current price has already been swept. The visible clusters 
around the $1.30-$1.50 range have all been cleared, meaning that the short- 
term stop hunts and liquidation pools have largely been cleared out. Related 
Reading: Analyst Predicts Bitcoin Price Surge To $500,000 As Ribbon Fractal 
Emerges According to Bird, this trend shows that hourly XRP liquidity is 
basically gone. This means there is less immediate incentive for XRP to stay 
around current levels on lower timeframes. When short-term liquidity dries up 
like this, the outlook is that the price will gravitate to areas where larger 
pools are untouched. Since the nearby liquidity has already been taken, the 
next logical target is now where there are larger concentrations of resting 
orders. As noted by the analyst, these resting orders are stacked all the way 
up past $4. XRP Hourly Liquidity. Source: @Cryptoinsightuk on X Daily 
Liquidity Stacked Above $4 Liquidity on the daily heatmap appears layered and 
dense above the current price, stretching through multiple resistance bands 
and extending above the $4 price level. The upper regions show heavy trading 
activity and visible liquidity clusters between $2.50 and $4.00, which is a 
reflection of a thick concentration of stop orders and resting interest. 
Related Reading: Bitcoin Final Sell-Off Coming? Analyst Says It’s Time To 
‘Buckle Up’ In liquidity-based trading theory, price action is often drawn to 
areas where there are large position orders, especially when those zones have 
not yet been tapped. Bird described this higher-timeframe liquidity as stacked 
all the way up past $4, with the notion that the higher-timeframe liquidity is 
sitting there like a magnet. XRP Daily Liquidity. Source: @Cryptoinsightuk on 
X Bird also referenced a five-month breakdown in Bitcoin dominance. At the 
time of writing, the Bitcoin dominance is at 57.9%, down from 58.2% last week. 
This means Bitcoin has been steadily losing dominance. A decline in dominance 
is always due to capital rotation into altcoins. If that trend continues, XRP 
could easily become one of the best beneficiaries, particularly given its 
visible higher-timeframe liquidity targets. The analyst also noted that 
sentiment has not yet reached extreme lows. XRP, in particular, has maintained 
a relatively positive positioning among investors compared to other 
cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. That combination of declining 
dominance and neutral-to-cautious sentiment can create conditions for XRP&#8217;s 
projected rally above $4. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from 
Tradingview.com

XRP Daily Liquidity Is Pointing To A Rally To $4, Analyst Explains What’s Going On

Investors’ risk appetite for Bitcoin and crypto fragmented as AI, tech stocks 
and gold took center stage. Will increasing global money supply put wind in 
BTC’s sails?

Bitcoin price slump versus gold’s gains highlights evolving crypto market

Institutional capital has transformed the cryptocurrency market dynamics, 
changing who participates and how digital assets are traded. The arrival of 
spot exchange-traded funds, corporate treasury allocations, and access through 
major brokerage platforms has pulled Bitcoin and Ethereum deeper into 
traditional finance. Vanguard, for instance, reversed its long-held anti- 
crypto stance just a few months ago, allowing trading in funds that hold 
Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana. However, talking about bad timing, these 
cryptocurrencies have struggled in the months following that policy change. 
Challenging Months For Institutional Investors The entrance of major asset 
managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity Investments was a structural turning 
point for Bitcoin. The January 2024 launch of Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United 
States opened the door for pension funds, registered investment advisors, and 
other conservative capital pools to gain exposure without directly holding 
Bitcoin. These ETFs have accumulated billions of dollars in inflows, with 
custodians now holding a meaningful share of Bitcoin’s circulating supply. 
Related Reading: Here’s All You Need To Know About The Bitcoin Price This Week 
However, the past few months have been really challenging for investors. 
Notably, the last month of inflows into Spot Bitcoin ETFs was in October 2025, 
when it was pushing to new all-time highs above $126,000. Since then, it has 
been months of net outflows, and this has weighed down on Bitcoin&#8217;s price 
action. Same goes for Spot Ethereum ETFs, which recorded consecutive months of 
outflows since November 2025. Vanguard clients are likely among those feeling 
the impact most directly. In December 2025, US-based investment management 
company Vanguard reversed its anti-crypto stance and started allowing trading 
of ETFs and mutual funds that hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana. The 
availability of these crypto products on a major mainstream brokerage like 
Vanguard was a milestone for crypto investing. Vanguard manages over $12 
trillion in assets and serves tens of millions of investors. Unsurprisingly, 
the price action of Bitcoin and other top cryptocurrencies initially reacted 
positively to the Vanguard news. However, the timing coincided with a downturn 
across the entire crypto market, which has been having a red 2026 so far. 
Since Vanguard&#8217;s rollout, Bitcoin&#8217;s price has fallen by about 30%, while 
Ethereum, Solana, and XRP have fallen by about 40% in the same period. Is 
Institutional Involvement A Threat Or A Sign Of Maturity? It is clear that 
institutional entry has not erased the volatile nature of crypto markets. 
Bitcoin and Ethereum are still subject to swings in investor risk appetite, 
although this is now at a larger scale. Therefore, the question of whether 
institutions are killing Bitcoin and Ethereum is based on perspective. Related 
Reading: Why Investors Are Not Buying Bitcoin And Ethereum Despite ‘Low’ 
Prices The presence of regulated ETFs means that downturns are now absorbed by 
a wider set of market participants. Companies like BitMine and Strategy are 
still in the business of huge purchases. New investor bases like this can help 
sustain prices over time. However, one thing is clear: cryptocurrencies like 
Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana are no longer fringe assets operating 
outside the traditional investment system; they now sit within it. This 
integration will even become more clear once the CLARITY Act is passed in the 
US. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

Are Institutions Killing Bitcoin And Ethereum? Here’s How They’ve Fared Since Companies Got Involved

As Bitcoin approaches the 20 million coin milestone in March 2026, the network 
is entering a pivotal transition from its era of massive block subsidies to a 
future dependent on transaction fees. Industry experts view this as a powerful 
psychological and institutional validator of “provable scarcity.” Provable 
Scarcity vs. Discretionary Policy The Bitcoin network stands […]

The Final Million: Why Experts Say 20 Million BTC Mined Cements ‘Provable Scarcity’

Trump orders federal agencies to halt Anthropic use, citing dispute over AI 
terms and military applications.
The post Trump orders federal agencies to halt Anthropic use amid dispute over 
military AI terms appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

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