XRP traded at $2.40 on May 10, 2025, with a total market capitalization of $140.48 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $3.654 billion. The cryptocurrency fluctuated within a daily intraday price range of $2.33 to $2.42, reflecting mild volatility despite the broader bullish undertone. XRP On the one-hour chart, XRP exhibited a short-term pullback […]

XRP Price Watch: Daily RSI Neutral as Price Eyes Higher Highs

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley recently compared bitcoin to a Ponzi 
scheme while defending the U.S. Social Security Administration. The comparison 
drew criticism from bitcoin supporters, who countered by asserting that Social 
Security itself resembles a Ponzi scheme. O’Malley: Trump Administration After 
Social Security’s $2.6 Trillion Surplus In a recent speech defending the U.S. 
Social […]

Bitcoin vs. Social Security: Former Maryland Governor’s Ponzi Scheme Remark Sparks Fury

After a somewhat sluggish start to 2025, the Bitcoin price has begun to 
impress in the year&#8217;s second quarter. The premier cryptocurrency reclaimed the 
$100,000 mark earlier this week and seems to be making a play for its all-time 
high price at $108,786 over this weekend. The price of BTC appears to have 
flipped the switch in the market, with investors feeling that the world’s 
largest crypto market is back to where it was at the end of 2024. According to 
a popular crypto expert, the sell-side pressure experienced in the first few 
months of the year is all part of a broader price breakout. Is BTC Following 
This Cup And Handle Pattern? In a May 9 post on X, chartered market technician 
(CMT) Aksel Kibar shared an interesting update on his recent Bitcoin price 
analysis. The market expert revealed, in a late November 2024 post on the 
social media platform, a long-term breakout signal for the BTC price. Related 
Reading: Bitcoin Whale Entry Prices Diverge Sharply – Confidence Builds At 
Higher Levels Following the election victory of Donald Trump as United States 
President, the Bitcoin and crypto markets witnessed a significant amount of 
bullish momentum. Kibar highlighted that BTC, as a result of the post-election 
rally, was breaking above a significant price level on a large (monthly) 
timeframe. As shown in the chart above, the Bitcoin price broke above its 
“minor high” around the former all-time high of $73,737 in November. Based on 
historical patterns, Kibar highlighted in his chart that the flagship 
cryptocurrency goes on a parabolic run whenever it surpasses the minor high in 
the cycle. Interestingly, this November 2024 breakout has formed a cup and 
handle pattern, a technical analysis pattern that resembles a cup in the shape 
of the letter &#8220;u,&#8221; and the handle has a slight downward drift. The cup and 
handle is considered a bullish pattern, which signals the continuation of an 
upward trend. In this particular iteration of this pattern, the price of BTC 
continued to rally after breaking the $73.737 till it reached a six-figure 
valuation. However, the Bitcoin price witnessed a severe correction to around 
$74,000 after reaching its current all-time high in January. However, it 
appears that Bitcoin only witnessed a minor pullback to the “minor high” 
before resuming its primary upward trend. In this scenario, Kibar put the cup 
and handle target for the market leader at around $137,000, which represents 
an over 33% rally from the current price point. Bitcoin Price At A Glance As 
of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $103,071, reflecting a 
nearly 1% increase in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the 
market leader is up by more than 6% on the weekly timeframe. Related Reading: 
Bitcoin Derivatives In The Driver’s Seat For $100,000 Rally, Data Shows 
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

Is Bitcoin Price Heading To $137K? Market Expert Says BTC Broke Out Since Nov. 2024

The government of El Salvador continues stacking Bitcoin (BTC) for its 
national crypto reserve, despite an ongoing deal with the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) stipulating that the Central American country stop using 
public funds to purchase Bitcoin as one of the conditions for a loan 
agreement.
According to data from the El Salvador Bitcoin Office, the country acquired an 
additional seven BTC in the last seven days, bringing its total holdings to 
6,173 BTC, valued at over $637 million.
El Salvador&#8217;s Bitcoin Office has continued its steady pace of Bitcoin 
acquisitions months after the IMF agreement was signed and shows no sign of 
halting its Bitcoin purchases.
The Central American country is one of the only nations actively purchasing 
Bitcoin in open market operations, and its national Bitcoin treasury strategy 
will serve as a blueprint for other countries also considering Bitcoin 
strategic reserves, according to crypto industry executives.
_El Salvador &#8216;s Bitcoin holdings and acquisitions since March 13. Source: __El 
Salvador Bitcoin Office_
 _**Related:**__**El Salvador works with Nvidia to develop sovereign AI 
infrastructure**_
## El Salvador remains defiant against IMF pressure
El Salvador signed a $1.4 billion loan agreement with the IMF in December 
2024. As part of that agreement, the government of the country agreed to 
rescind its Bitcoin legal tender law and make Bitcoin payments voluntary.
The agreement also stipulated that El Salvador must scale back its Bitcoin 
accumulation, refraining from using public funds to finance Bitcoin purchases.
Additionally, the deal required the government privatize the Chivo Wallet, 
which was publicly funded but saw little use among residents.
In January 2025, lawmakers in the Central American country repealed the 
Bitcoin legal tender law in a 55-2 Congressional vote, although this did 
nothing to pause or slow Bitcoin acquisitions.
The IMF issued another request to the country to halt Bitcoin buys in March 
2025, reiterating the original terms of the agreement. However, El Salvador&#8217;s 
President Nayib Bukele pushed back against the requests.
Bukele emphasized that the country would not stop its Bitcoin purchases or 
slow down its accumulation of BTC in the face of mounting pressure from the 
supranational financial institution.
&#8220;No, it&#8217;s not stopping. If it didn&#8217;t stop when the world ostracized us and 
most &#8216;Bitcoiners&#8217; abandoned us, it won&#8217;t stop now, and it won&#8217;t stop in the 
future,&#8221; Bukele wrote in a March 4 X post.
_**Magazine:**__**El Salvador &#8216;s national Bitcoin chief has been orange- 
pilling Argentina**_

El Salvador stacks 7 Bitcoin in last week, despite IMF deal

A new study by the Bank for International Settlements reveals cross-border 
crypto asset flows surged to $2.6 trillion in 2021, with stablecoins and 
emerging markets reshaping global financial networks. High Inflation Spurs 
Bitcoin and Stablecoin Adoption in Emerging Markets, BIS Research Reveals The 
latest Bank for International Settlements (BIS) working paper #1265 reveals 
cross-border crypto […]

BIS Study Shows Low-Value Bitcoin Transfers Reshape Remittances Amid High Traditional Costs

Ethereum prices have surged by over 19% in the past day, reaching almost 
$2,500 as a general crypto market resurgence continues. Amidst investors&#8217; 
euphoria, prominent crypto analyst and OKC Partner Ted Pillows has tipped the 
prominent altcoin to sustain its bullish form, reaching a market price of 
$12,000 in 2025. Related Reading: Ethereum Stuck Between Retail Sell-Off And 
Whale Accumulation, Analyst Explains Institutional Adoption, DeFi Status To 
Drive Ethereum Market, Among Others In an X post on May 9, Ted Pillows 
provided some valuable insights into the bullish potential of the Ethereum 
market. The angel investor and KOL stated there are five reasons ETH investors 
should be expecting profits of about 600% before 2025 runs out. Firstly, 
Pillows has hinted that Ethereum is likely to experience the highest level of 
institutional adoption among altcoins. Amidst a pro-crypto US government and 
the growing chances of a digital asset regulatory framework, institutional 
investors are likely to start diversifying their capital to other 
cryptocurrencies aside from Bitcoin. As seen with the spot exchange-traded 
funds (ETFs), Ethereum ranks high ahead of other altcoins for portfolio 
additions, considering its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency with 
a 7.24% market share, and an extensive smart contract application. In 
particular, Ted Pillows emphasizes Ethereum’s dominance in smart contract 
programmability as another reason for investors to be highly bullish. 
According to DefiLlama, the Ethereum blockchain currently holds 80.17% of RWA, 
51.01% of circulating stablecoins, and 53.29% of total value locked (TVL) in 
DeFi, indicating much potential for network adoption and price growth amidst a 
crypto bull market. Another possible market trigger highlighted by Ted Pillows 
centers on the potential introduction of Ethereum ETF staking. Deadlines for 
the SEC’s decision on the proposed staking option lie in late May &amp; late 
August. However, Bloomberg analyst James Seyfart has indicated there is much 
potential for the Commission to wait till the final deadline in October, as 
seen with the ETH options trading. The introduction of staking is likely to 
drive inflows into the Ethereum ETFs as it provides an additional means of 
income for investors. Staking would allow ETFs custodians to lock up ETH on 
the Ethereum network to serve as a validator for a defined period and earn a 
commission in return. Token Burn Post-Pectra Upgrade Signals Good Times Ahead 
Among other potential bullish drivers, Ted Pillows also points to the high 
level of ETH Burn following the launch of the Pectra network upgrade on May 7. 
A high burn rate indicates rising scarcity, which is always good for the 
market price appreciation. Finally, Ted Pillows hints at the growing potential 
of a risk-on environment later in 2025 as the US Federal Reserve is expected 
to cut interest rates and begin quantitative easing, which would encourage 
investments in volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies. At press time, 
Ethereum continues to trade at $2,334 following a slight market retracement in 
the last few hours. Notably, the asset’s trading volume is up by 62.81% and 
valued at $49.85 billion. Related Reading: Sovereigns Are Buying Billions Of 
Bitcoin, Says Anthony Scaramucci Featured image from Pexels, chart from 
Tradingview