In an interview with the Paul Barron Network, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer 
(CIO) Matt Hougan expressed his perspective on the long-debated regulatory 
battle surrounding XRP and its potential market reaction once legal 
uncertainties are resolved. According to Hougan, the crypto asset—long 
restrained by litigation—may be significantly undervalued, with the potential 
for a sharp market correction following a favorable resolution to its legal 
entanglements. Since 2020, XRP has been entangled in a legal dispute with the 
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused Ripple Labs of 
conducting an unregistered securities offering. The lawsuit has cast a long 
shadow over the token, restricting its growth within the US market and leading 
to its delisting from several major exchanges in the past. Related Reading: 
Analyst Says Only Buy XRP If It Reaches This Level Now, with the lawsuit 
potentially reaching its final ruling by April 16, according to Barron, market 
participants are speculating on XRP&#8217;s future trajectory. Hougan weighed in on 
the matter, pointing out that a resolution could unlock significant latent 
demand and shift the narrative around the asset. “From my 30,000-foot view, 
specific to XRP, I think there&#8217;s a significant chunk of the crypto market that 
has sort of written it off or forgotten about it. And I think that part of the 
market is wrong,” Hougan stated. What Happens Post-Lawsuit With XRP? One of 
the key takeaways from Hougan’s analysis is the idea that XRP remains an 
unknown variable in the broader crypto landscape. Unlike Bitcoin (BTC) and 
Ethereum (ETH), which have seen major adoption and institutional inflows, XRP 
has remained stagnant due to regulatory overhang. If the lawsuit concludes 
with clarity that allows unrestricted US adoption, the real potential of XRP 
in global finance could finally be realized. “The reality is, XRP has been 
suppressed by litigation for multiple years, and we don’t yet know what it can 
do on the global stage when it’s freed from those restraints,” he added. While 
Hougan did not make outright price predictions, he did note that institutional 
and retail sentiment could pivot quickly if XRP gains renewed regulatory 
clarity in the US. Related Reading: XRP Flirts With A Daily Range Breakdown – 
Price Must Hold Above $2 Level The discussion also delved into Japan’s 
aggressive adoption of XRP, with SBI Holdings leading the charge in 
integrating the asset into its digital banking ecosystem. As noted in the 
interview, XRP has now surpassed Ethereum in Japanese investor holdings, 
signaling deep institutional confidence in its future. Paul Barron emphasized 
that Japan’s approach could foreshadow broader global adoption: “SBI seems to 
be doing with XRP what Michael Saylor did with Bitcoin—strategically 
accumulating and positioning it for long-term institutional use.” Hougan 
agreed, highlighting that XRP&#8217;s role in international remittances and 
liquidity solutions remains underappreciated, and the ongoing legal battle has 
hindered a more comprehensive evaluation of its utility-driven demand. Another 
major topic of discussion was the possibility of an spot XRP exchange-traded 
fund (ETF). While Hougan did not reveal any detail about Bitwise’s ETF filing 
and its progress with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he 
highlighted the firm’s confidence. “We don’t file for ETPs for fun. We file 
for them because we think they can launch, and we think there is a significant 
audience, and we think it’s an important asset.” While some analysts argue 
that XRP’s legal troubles have already been priced in, Hougan’s comments 
concluded that the potential upside remains largely ignored by the broader 
market. If the SEC case concludes favorably, the re-listing of XRP on major US 
exchanges, new institutional flows, and expanded adoption in banking systems 
could lead to a market repricing event. “There’s no guarantee XRP will be 
enormously successful, but there’s equally no guarantee that it won’t be,” 
Hougan emphasized. At press time, XRP traded at $2.12. Featured image from 
YouTube, chart from TradingView.com

XRP Suppressed? Bitwise CIO Predicts Market Shock Post-Lawsuit

A U.S. congressman stressed that a well-regulated stablecoin market is 
essential for maintaining the dollar’s global dominance, modernizing payments, 
and expanding financial access without government overreach. Lawmakers Debate 
Stablecoin Role in Securing US Dollar’s Future House Financial Services 
Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) stressed that a well-regulated 
stablecoin market is essential for maintaining the U.S. […]

US Lawmaker: Stablecoins Key to Strengthening Dollar’s Dominance

Ethereum layer 2 Starknet is laying the groundwork to settle on Bitcoin and 
Ethereum to unify the two largest blockchains on a single layer.
The Starknet Foundation said in its March 11 Bitcoin roadmap that it&#8217;s aiming 
for Starknet to become Bitcoin&#8217;s execution layer, scaling it from 13 
transactions per second to thousands, reducing blocks and gas fees, and 
creating a better user experience.
&#8220;Most Bitcoin today sits static in wallets and exchanges, constrained by the 
limitations of the network&#8217;s original design: a lack of scalability and an 
inability to natively support applications beyond simple buying, selling, and 
transferring,&#8221; the foundation said.
It added that while some investors view Bitcoin as &#8220;digital gold,&#8221; it believes 
&#8220;there is a demand for utilizing Bitcoin for purposes beyond that.&#8221;
_Source:__Starknet_
Previously, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben Sasson, the company behind the STARK proof 
that contributes to the development of Starknet, said OP_CAT, a Satoshi-era 
opcode for unlocking programmability on Bitcoin that was disabled over 
security concerns, would allow Starknet to settle on the Bitcoin blockchain.
If successful, Starknet said the move would allow developers to build 
applications on the Bitcoin network through smart contracts and enable 
applications such as staking, borrowing, lending, leveraged trading, and yield 
farming.
As part of the announcement, StarkWare said it has joined the growing number 
of firms in creating a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, holding a growing portion of its 
treasury in crypto.
_Source:__Ameen Soleimani_
Starknet will also team up with Bitcoin Web3 wallet Xverse, whose founder and 
CEO Ken Liao said the integration, slated for the second quarter of 2025, will 
achieve Bitcoin&#8217;s &#8220;DeFi take-off moment.&#8221;
Xverse said wallets need to be more than just storage solutions; and allow 
easy access to Bitcoin&#8217;s growing utility. Liao said in a statement that the 
endgame is trustless DeFi on Bitcoin.
_**Related:**__**Unknown attacker causes headaches during Pectra upgrade on 
Sepolia**_
&#8220;In today&#8217;s environment, there is a temptation for wallet teams to say, &#8216;yeah, 
let&#8217;s just focus on making it easier for people to use Bitcoin as a store of 
value,'&#8221; Liao said.
&#8220;But the long-term future of Bitcoin also includes utility, and that&#8217;s why 
layer 2 solutions must reach the public via the wallets they actually use,&#8221; he 
added.
Meanwhile, in a March 11 X space discussing Starknet&#8217;s plan, Ethereum co- 
founder Vitalik Buterin said a proper Bitcoin L2 that can satisfy the needed 
security properties would &#8220;make crypto payments great again, and all those use 
cases can work.&#8221;
&gt; Starknet on Bitcoin and Ethereum https://t.co/tCyQDHY7Yr 
&gt; 
&gt; &#8212; StarkWare 🐺🐱 (@StarkWareLtd) March 11, 2025
Buterin said there is a &#8220;lot of value&#8221; in enabling the trustless flow of 
assets between the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems, such as easier paths for 
decentralized exchange.
&#8220;If you go back to the white paper, Bitcoin was meant to be a peer-to-peer 
electronic cash system, and obviously, layer 1 is not nearly scalable enough 
for that,&#8221; Buterin said.
&#8220;I think we&#8217;ve also seen some of the limits of the Lightning Network and that 
kind of approach.&#8221;
_**Magazine:**__**MegaETH launch could save Ethereum … but at what cost?**_

Starknet to settle on Bitcoin and Ethereum to unify the chains

Bitcoin price started a fresh decline below the $86,000 zone. BTC is now 
correcting losses and might struggle near the $84,000 and $85,000 levels. 
Bitcoin started a fresh decline below the $85,000 zone. The price is trading 
below $84,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. There was a break 
above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $82,000 on the hourly chart 
of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair could start another 
decline if it fails to clear the $84,000 resistance zone. Bitcoin Price Faces 
Resistance Bitcoin price started a fresh decline below the $85,000 level. BTC 
traded below the $82,000 and $80,000 support levels. Finally, the price tested 
the $76,500 support zone. A low was formed at $76,818 and the price recently 
started a recovery wave. There was a move above the $78,000 and $80,000 
resistance levels. The bulls pushed the price above the 23.6% Fib retracement 
level of the downward move from the $91,060 swing high to the $76,818 low. 
There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $82,000 on 
the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Bitcoin price is now trading below 
$84,000 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. On the upside, immediate 
resistance is near the $83,200 level. The first key resistance is near the 
$84,000 level. The 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the 
$91,060 swing high to the $76,818 low is also near $84,000. The next key 
resistance could be $85,000. A close above the $85,000 resistance might send 
the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test 
the $86,500 resistance level. Any more gains might send the price toward the 
$88,000 level or even $96,200. Another Drop In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise 
above the $84,000 resistance zone, it could start a fresh decline. Immediate 
support on the downside is near the $81,200 level. The first major support is 
near the $80,000 level. The next support is now near the $78,000 zone. Any 
more losses might send the price toward the $76,500 support in the near term. 
The main support sits at $75,000. Technical indicators: Hourly MACD – The MACD 
is now losing pace in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – 
The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $81,000, 
followed by $80,000. Major Resistance Levels – $84,000 and $85,000.

Bitcoin Price Recovers Some Losses—Is a Full Rebound in Sight?

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost suggests that Bitcoin’s recent downtrend may be 
nearing its end as selling pressure from large holders on Binance appears to 
be easing. In a Mar.12 post on X, Darkfost highlighted a decline in Binance’s 
BTC whale ratio,…

Cryptocurrency price in MXN