Ronin, the blockchain for gaming, has migrated its Ronin Bridge to Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability protocol. The Ronin Network (RON), whose web3 gaming platform was created by the Sky Mavis team behind Axie Infitnity (AXS) game, announced the completion of the…

Ronin migrates its legacy bridge to Chainlink CCIP

XRP is gearing up for a surge to $120, according to popular crypto analyst 
EGRAG CRYPTO. Taking to social media platform X, the analyst shared a fresh 
chart detailing a bullish outlook for XRP, suggesting that the cryptocurrency 
is retracing a path similar to its explosive 2017 rally. This time, however, 
the trajectory could be even more dramatic, as the chart accompanying his post 
outlines a long-term Elliott Wave formation that points first to $27 and 
eventually to a staggering $120 price tag. Echoes of 2017: XRP Retracing Cycle 
That Took Price To All-Time High The 2017 bull cycle is one of the most iconic 
periods in XRP’s history. It was during this phase that the price of XRP 
rallied from under $0.01 to an all-time high of $3.84, driven by a broader 
crypto market bubble, exchange listings, and speculation surrounding Ripple’s 
adoption among financial institutions. Related Reading: XRP Outflows Cross 
$300 Million In April, Why The Price Could Crash Further The rally followed a 
classic Elliott Wave impulse structure, with five distinct waves characterized 
by short consolidations before each major leg upward. By early 2018, the 
bubble had popped, and XRP, like the rest of the crypto market, entered into a 
prolonged bear phase. EGRAG CRYPTO’s post implies that XRP is now following a 
similar pattern to the one in 2017. Particularly, the analyst noted that XRP 
is currently in the process of forming its second wave, which is a retracement 
of the bullish impulse Wave 1. This impulse Wave 1 is characterized by XRP&#8217;s 
surge to $3.4 between Q4 2024 and January 2025. Wave 2, on the other hand, is 
characterized by the price correction since January, which has sent the XRP 
price back to trading around $2. Now, the next step is for wave 3 to begin 
formation. Based on traditional Elliott Wave ratios, this wave tends to extend 
aggressively, often measuring 161.8% of Wave 1. According to EGRAG, XRP&#8217;s 
price is expected to end Wave 3 above double digits sometime in summer 2025. 
It is at this point that the analyst predicted a top out around $27, nearly 
ten times its current trading price. Following that, his outlook anticipates a 
lengthy Wave 4 correction lasting several years, setting the stage for a final 
Wave 5 extension that could see XRP break into triple digits. The $120 Long- 
Term Target In his projection, the $27 level will mark the completion of Wave 
3, followed by a Wave 4 correction that could potentially span three years. 
This correction would be brutal and cause the XRP price to reach a bottom 
around $5.50. Related Reading: XRP Price In April: The Lows, The Highs, And 
Final Blast-Off After this consolidation phase, the ensuing Wave 5 formation 
will catapult XRP to new highs again and go on the same measured move as Wave 
1 or 61.8% of Wave 1 + Wave 3. If this plays out as EGRAG expects, XRP would 
break into triple-digit territory and ultimately peak around $120. At the time 
of writing, XRP is trading at $2.19, up by 2% in the past 24 hours. Reaching 
the $27 and $120 price targets would translate to 1,132% and 5,380% increases, 
respectively, from the current price. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart 
from Tradingview.com

Crypto Analyst Says XRP Price Is Mirroring 2017 Cycle, “$27 Then $120”

CEO and founder Jack Mallers revealed the numbers on Friday when he posted a 
copy of a private letter previously sent to the company’s investors. Strike&#8217;s 
Growth Exploded 600% Last Year Perhaps the reason Jack Mallers was picked to 
lead Twenty One Capital, the new bitcoin treasury firm backed by stablecoin 
giant Tether and Japanese […]

Bitcoin Payments Firm Strike Grew 600% in 2024

Though the identities of many of the top holders of US President Donald 
Trump&#8217;s memecoin were still unknown, blockchain data showed significant 
outflows over the past seven days &#8212; during which time he announced a dinner 
and White House tour for certain tokenholders.
According to data from blockchain analytics firm Nansen as of April 25, the 
TRUMP memecoin had seen more than $869 million in outflows in the last seven 
days compared to roughly $96 million in inflows among the top 500 changes. 
Some of the changes followed Trump announcing that the top 220 TRUMP holders 
could apply to meet him at a golf club dinner in Washington, DC, with fewer 
opportunities for a White House tour.
&#8220;It&#8217;s clear that more people took the opportunity to offload their Trump 
tokens than new buyers came in,&#8221; said Nansen. &#8220;There still appears to be some 
interest &#8212; either A) to secure the dinner ticket, or B) to capitalize on 
price volatility. As a result, a few new wallets have entered the top 250 
holders, while some previous holders seem to have taken the opportunity to 
exit their positions.&#8221;
_Top TRUMP memecoin holders as of April 25. Source: TRUMP token_
Launched in January before Trump took office, his memecoin, and that of his 
wife, Melania, have seen criticism from US lawmakers and leaders in the crypto 
industry for potential conflicts of interest. At the time of publication, the 
identity of many of the top tokenholders and those who might apply to attend 
the dinner were unknown.
## Who is investing in Trump&#8217;s memecoin?
As of April 25, the top tokenholder had 1,176,803 TRUMP memecoins worth 
roughly $16 million at the time of publication. The wallet holder, under the 
username &#8220;Sun,&#8221; had led to speculation that Tron founder Justin Sun &#8212; a Trump 
supporter and investor in the Trump family-backed crypto firm World Liberty 
Financial &#8212; could be among the dinner attendees. Cointelegraph reached out to 
Sun&#8217;s team for comment but had not received a response at the time of 
publication.
_**Related:**__**Trump memecoin team denies $300K dinner requirement rumors**_
Other tokenholders included usernames like &#8220;elon&#8221; and &#8220;doge,&#8221; though it was 
unclear if Tesla CEO Elon Musk, also a Dogecoin (DOGE) advocate, was involved 
in the project. The team behind the TRUMP token controls 80% of the total 
supply, resulting in many critics suggesting the Trump or someone in his 
family could still rug-pull investors.
Before the 2024 election, Trump arranged a similar dinner at his Mar-a-Lago 
property in Florida with supporters who purchased non-fungible tokens 
depicting his mugshot during his arrest for allegedly attempting to subvert 
the results of the 2020 election. It&#8217;s unclear whether any of the same people 
who attended the May 2024 event are among the top TRUMP memecoin holders.
_**Magazine:**__**Trump &#8216;s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider 
trading questions**_

Traders still offloading TRUMP holdings after dinner announcement — Nansen

North Korean cyber operatives reportedly established two fake U.S. businesses 
using false identities to bypass Treasury sanctions and target cryptocurrency 
developers with malware. Hackers Target Unsuspecting Job Applicants North 
Korean cyber operatives reportedly set up two fraudulent businesses in the 
United States, evading Treasury sanctions to infect cryptocurrency developers 
with malware. The entities, Blocknovas LLC […]

North Korean Cyber Operatives Set up Fake US Companies to Target Crypto Developers

Stripe, a global payments platform, is building a new US dollar stablecoin 
product for companies based outside the United States, the United Kingdom and 
Europe in a move that may further expand the footprint of the dollar around 
the world.
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison confirmed the product on X, posting an invitation 
for companies interested in testing the solution. The move gained traction 
after Stripe recently received regulatory approval to acquire the stablecoin 
payments network Bridge.
Bridge&#8217;s network competes with banks and companies that use the SWIFT system, 
a global financial messaging network that facilitates international wire 
transfers. Two former Coinbase executives, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, co-founded 
the company in 2022.
_Source:__Patrick Collison_
 _**Related:**__**Former Square, Coinbase execs raise $58M for Bridge 
stablecoin network**_
## Stablecoin adoption grows in 2025
Stripe has a long-standing history with crypto, becoming the first major 
payments processor to integrate Bitcoin (BTC) in 2014. However, it 
discontinued support due to Bitcoin&#8217;s long transfer times and high transaction 
fees. The company began rebuilding its crypto team in 2021 as part of a 
renewed push into the space. 
Stripe has recently accelerated that push. In October 2024, the company 
introduced a stablecoin payment option, which users adopted in over 70 
countries on the first rollout day. In June that year, Stripe partnered with 
Coinbase to offer fiat-to-crypto conversions. Collison noted on X that 
Stripe&#8217;s latest crypto initiative is something the company has &#8220;wanted to 
build for around a decade.&#8221;
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by being 
pegged to assets like fiat currencies. In the United States, USD-backed 
stablecoins have increasingly gained attention at the federal level, with 
figures like US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell calling for dedicated 
legislation. PayPal launched its own stablecoin in 2023 and recently announced 
that it would begin offering yield to holders of its token.
As of April 25, the stablecoin market cap stands at $237.5 billion, according 
to DefiLlama.
_**Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized 
stablecoins**_