U.today

TL;DR

XRP whale alert: 37.25 million XRP worth over $54 million moved to Coinbase ahead of Ripple’s massive one billion token escrow unlock scheduled for April 1.BTC "pain" metric: 96.8% of short-term Bitcoin holders are now at a loss; historically, this extreme capitulation signals a local market bottom.Saylor pauses: Strategy (MSTR) ends its 13-week Bitcoin buying streak, shifting focus to STRC preferred shares amid a $51.5 billion portfolio hold.Market outlook:Bitcoin sits in a "decision zone" at $67,800. Key support holds at $65K, but $2.2 billion in FTX creditor payouts may spark volatility.XRP whale transferred $50.4 million to Coinbase ahead of Ripple escrow unlock

A major transaction was recorded on the cryptocurrency market today by Whale Alert. An unknown wallet transferred more than 37.25 million XRP, worth approximately $54 million, to Coinbase. The movement of funds comes as Ripple prepares for its monthly token release from the escrow system, scheduled for April 1.

The inflow of coins to Coinbase, based on common crypto market interpretation, can be associated with profit-taking or liquidity provisioning ahead of expected volatility at the start of the month.

As previously stated, on the first day of each new month,Ripple unlocks one billion XRP from its escrow accounts. Historically, around 80% of this amount is returned back to escrow, leaving approximately 200 to 300 million tokens in circulation for operational needs and institutional sales. For example, in March 2026, 700 million XRP were returned to escrow, and only 300 million entered circulation.

Although the figure of one billion XRP appears significant, at the current price it exceeds $1.3 billion. The market typically prices this event in advance, minimizing volatility on the day of unlocks. The market is now closely watching whether the 37 millionXRP will be sold in the coming hours. If the price holds the $1.32 level, it will confirm buyer capacity to absorb large supply volumes ahead of the April cycle.

Short-term Bitcoin holders face extreme losses

At the same time,fresh data from CryptoQuant indicates that short-term Bitcoin holders are facing extreme financial pressure. Currently, 96.8% of the total coin supply held by this group is at a loss. Their total holdings amount to approximately 5,198,409 BTC, with only 3.2% — around 166,349 BTC — in unrealized profit. About 5,030,000 BTC remain below their purchase price.

CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn describes the current phase as one of no satisfaction for short-term participants. Market dynamics show broad capitulation among weaker holders, supported by the following data.

Short-Term Holders are holding ~5,198,409 BTC3.2% sits at a profit, 96.8% sits at a lossShort-Term Holders don't have any fun right now. https://t.co/7C2iRhkIeS pic.twitter.com/nLx3dJUdoH

— Maartunn (@JA_Maartun) March 30, 2026

Bitcoin is trading well below the average acquisition price for short-term holders, which stood at $104,000 in March 2026. Over the past 24 hours, there has been a surge in transfers from active investors to exchange wallets, historically indicating intent to exit positions at a loss and move into fiat.

The late-March news environment is shaped by outflows from Bitcoin ETF flows and a broader decline in risk appetite amid global instability. Historically, when the loss metric exceeds 95%, it signals a local market bottom. This phase often precedes redistribution from speculative participants to long-term holders, forming a base for Bitcoin's price recovery.

Strategy officially ends 13-week Bitcoin buying streak

Strategy confirmed in anofficial regulatory filing that it did not purchase Bitcoin last week, ending a continuous streak of weekly acquisitions that began in late December. Despite the pause, the company continues to hold 762,099 BTC, with its portfolio valued at over $51.5 billion.

The previous accumulation streak lasted 13 consecutive weeks, during which the company aggressively expanded its position to record levels. Earlier this week, the market anticipated this outcome, as founder Michael Saylor did not publish his usual Sunday post featuring orange dots, which had consistently preceded new purchase announcements.

Instead, Saylor focused on promoting thecompany’s preferred shares under the STRC ticker, emphasizing lower volatility and stable yield, indicating a temporary shift in capital allocation priorities.

The next key step is monitoring the company’s quarterly report to determine whether this pause is temporary or signals a transition to a new phase in managing its crypto assets.

Crypto Market Outlook: Bitcoin in "decision zone"

The cryptocurrency market enters the final week of March in a state of cautious optimism. After a weekend with minimal volatility despite persistent macro tension, Bitcoin is attempting stabilization as investors process macroeconomic risks. The price of the leading cryptocurrency is up more than 2.5%, trading at $67,800.

Key points:

Bitcoin price holds critical support at $65,000, but a bullish continuation requires closing above key levels, with $70,200 as the near-term target.Over the past 12 hours, more than $100 million in short positions have been liquidated versus less than $23 million in longs, indicating a local short squeeze.Distribution of $2.2 billion to FTX creditors may introduce short-term supply on March 31 and April 3.U.S. unemployment data this week will act as a primary trigger for both the dollar and crypto markets.

As long as Bitcoin remains above $65,000, the recovery scenario toward the $70,000 level remains the dominant outlook.

card

Recently XRP’s burn rate has seen multiple notable spikes, with transaction fees momentarily rising and removing more XRP from circulation. At first glance, this could appear to be a bullish supply shock narrative. In actuality, the data presents a different picture.

Burn rate is passive

Rather than being a long-term trend, the burn spikes are clearly visible in brief bursts. Around the middle of March, fee-related burns increased dramatically, peaking during times of high network activity.

These peaks, however, soon subsided and returned to baseline levels. This behavior shows that the burn mechanism of XRP is reactive rather than structural. Instead of acting as a constant deflationary force, it is totally dependent on transaction throughput.

This is further supported by the transaction success count. Successful transactions surpassed 2.6 million during a brief surge in activity, but this momentum was short-lived. The subsequent decline implies that the network is not sustaining the usage level necessary to sustain a persistent burn narrative.

Bears control narrative

XRP’s weakness is still evident in its price. The asset’s descending structure is still present, but it is trading below important moving averages. The price is testing that support zone once more after the recent attempt to push higher from an ascending support line failed to result in a breakout. This is consistent with the on-chain data, which shows that short-term activity spikes do not correspond to long-term strength.

card

This discrepancy explains why the market’s perception of the burn mechanism has not stuck. Investors typically price long-term trends rather than singular occurrences. The supply dynamics and long-term valuation of XRP are not significantly affected by a few days of increased burning caused by transient activity.

Expectations must be tuned down for the future. As of right now, XRP’s burn mechanism cannot serve as a significant bullish catalyst. The network would require steady high-volume usage over long stretches of time in order for that to change.

Until then, tokenomics will not be the main factors influencing price; instead, market structure and general sentiment will. Both continue to lean bearish at the moment.

Ripple’s former Chief Technology Officer (CTO), David Schwartz, has stated that a higher XRP price would make the payment system more efficient and cheaper to operate. Schwartz’scomments come as a clarification to a post he made in 2017, as requested by a community member.

Liquidity efficiency in Ripple’s payment model

According to the earlier post in 2017, Schwartz stated, "If XRP costs $1, they need a million XRP, which could cost $1 million. If XRP costs a million dollars, they'd need one XRP, which would again cost $1 million."

The former Ripple CTO is emphasizing that higher XRP prices reduce the token quantity required for equivalent-value payments. He argues that this will make transactions more efficient without altering costs.

It's very simple. It's saying that the higher the price of XRP, other things being equal, the cheaper it is to use it for payments.

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) March 30, 2026

Schwartz insists that a higher price addresses Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity model, where XRP bridges currencies as it will require fewer tokens and free liquidity, thereby minimizing slippage.

Notably, Schwartz implied that handling a lesser volume of XRP at a higher price is much easier than handling millions of the asset. This is because the liquidity strain that comes with handling large volumes of the asset would be eliminated.

The veteran’s explanation implies that it is not in the best interest of the ecosystem for the price of XRP to continue its downward volatility. For instance, if XRP dips below the $1 level and crashes to $0.50, theeconomics do not favor the asset.

XRP struggles to regain $2 price level

The explanation has sparked a reaction from a user, who wondered when XRP will climb out of the $1 price zone. XRP has not been able to reclaim and stabilize above $2 since the last week of January 2026. In the last 24 hours, the coin has fluctuated between a low of $1.30 and a peak of $1.36.

card

WithXRP network activity plummeting by 52%, this has cast doubt on XRP’s price recovery as uncertainty continues to trail the asset’s performance.

As of this writing, XRPexchanges hands at $1.35, which represents a 1.71% increase within the period. Its trading volume has jumped by 57.64% to $1.6 billion.

Investors and market participants alike are looking ahead toApril, which is a historically bullish month for XRP. As U.Today reported, XRP has an average gain of 24.8% in April, and if 2026 aligns with history, it could see the coin climb to approximately $1.70.

However, this falls short of the $2 price, except that other market forces support it to breach the resistance that has held for the past 60 days.

The research division of RippleX has published anew whitepaper describing the implementation of confidential transfers for multipurpose tokens (MPT) on the XRP Ledger. The new technology is designed to solve the main problem of public blockchains that prevents mass adoption by large businesses — the lack of financial privacy — while maintaining regulatory control.

Inside new Ripple whitepaper: How ZK-proofs bring privacy to XRPL

The key innovation of the protocol is the ability to hide account balances and transfer amounts. In the current version of XRP, anyone can see the balance of any address. The proposed Confidential MPT standard replaces open figures with encrypted data and uses the EC-ElGamal system.

At the same time, developers emphasize that this is not a tool for full anonymity. The identities of the sender and receiver remain public, which preserves the account-based model ofXRP Ledger and helps avoid regulatory concerns typically associated with mixers or fully anonymous coins such as Monero (XMR).

2/ The core tension: confidentiality wants to hide information. Verifiability needs information to be checkable.Most approaches resolve this by picking a side. We wanted to see if we could avoid the choice.

— Aanchal Malhotra (@aanchalmalhotre) March 30, 2026

To allow the network to validate transactions without seeing their amounts,Ripple introduces zero-knowledge proofs. Validators can verify that the sender has sufficient funds and is not creating tokens out of thin air, but they do not learn how many tokens were sent or how much remains in the account. To ensure compactness and efficiency, the system uses Bulletproofs, an advanced cryptographic method that allows verification without a heavy load on network nodes.

card

It is evident that Ripple is targeting the sector of corporate payments and tokenized assets. For banks, it is critical that competitors cannot track their liquidity and transaction volumes on-chain.

Key features for business:

Issuer control: Token issuers such as banks or stablecoin providers retain functions like freezing and forced funds recovery, known as clawback.Audit on demand: The system includes a selective disclosure model, where an account holder can provide a cryptographic key to an auditor or regulator to verify the integrity of operations without revealing data publicly.Hybrid balance model: Users can instantly convert tokens between public and confidential states.What does this mean for XRP ecosystem?

If the proposal is approved by the community through the amendment process, XRP Ledger could become one of the most advanced platforms for issuing private digital assets. This represents a direct challenge to corporate blockchains such as Hyperledger, as XRP Ledger would offer financial privacy on top of a public decentralized network.

As noted by the authors of the document — Murat Cenk, Aanchal Malhotra and Joseph A. Akinyele — they have created a system where the overall token supply remains transparent and verifiable, while private transactions are protected from external observation.

This step appears to be preparation of infrastructure for the launch of bank-issued stablecoins and CBDCs onXRP, where confidentiality is a mandatory requirement under the legislation of many countries.

An X user under the name @RuggRat_X has published a post to express concerns about the recent silence from the SHIB team and the changes in its structure. According to his tweet, one of the SHIB Telegram channel admins has been excluded from the team, with no reason for that revealed.

@RuggRat_X seems to be speaking not only for himself but for the whole SHIB community that is concerned about the lack of updates on Shibarium and the overall silence of the SHIB team.

"Shibarium silence. What's really going on?"

According to the tweet, the X user is concerned about the lack of updates from the core Shibarium team. In particular, he says, there is “no clarity” around the LEASH token.

The tweet also states that there are remaining “unanswered questions” regarding the recent hack of a Shibarium bridge that took place at the end of 2025. And for the past week, @RuggRat_X, the X user continues, “many of us haven’t even been able to access validators for the past week.”

“That’s concerning,” he summarized. Besides, according to the user’s tweet, there have been certain unexpected shifts in the SHIB team recently, as the Shibarium Telegram admin, Ragnar, stated that he was “no longer as closely connected to the team” as he and others used to be.

🚨 SHIBARIUM SILENCE… WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON? 🤔⚠️ ShibArmy… we need to talk.⸻Lately, things have felt… off.No real updates from the core Shibarium team.No clarity around LEASH.Still unanswered questions surrounding the hack. And now… many of us… pic.twitter.com/6a723Fwb4J

— RuggRat (@RuggRat_X) March 30, 2026

Ragnar said that it does not immediately mean that SHIB and Shibarium have turned into a scam or the team has bad intentions. It’s just that “not everything went as planned.” This has made the tweet author (and the commentators) even more concerned.

card

A call for clarification to Shytoshi Kusama, Kaal, and Lucie

The overall concerns are summarized in the tweet as follows:

Communication has slowed down significantly.

Transparency feels limited right now.

Core updates are missing when the community needs them most.

Infrastructure issues (like validators) are affecting trust.

In the crypto space, silence from blockchain teams often greatly increases uncertainty around the product, @RuggRat_X stated.

He called on Shytoshi Kusama, his right-hand developer Kaal Dharya, and the marketing lead Lucie to break the silence and “address the concerns”, since the SHIB community “deserves clear communication”, they need “status updates on Shibarium, validators, and ecosystem tokens”.

Indeed, the SHIB team has not been sharing any updates recently, apart from several minor tweets. As for Shytoshi Kusama, he has been keeping silent for months now.

The market is not yet in what appears to be the last stage of stress before an expected significant recovery for Bitcoin.

Sellers in control of Bitcoin

With Bitcoin trading below important moving averages and sticking to a distinct declining resistance trendline, the current price action reveals a brittle structure. The rejection of every attempt to push higher indicates that sellers are still in control of the overall trend.

The recent surge in the $67,000 range does not significantly alter the overall situation. The 200 EMA is still sloping downward above, supporting a macro bearish bias, and the price is still capped below the 50 and 100 EMAs.

In terms of structure, Bitcoin is creating lower highs, and the fact that resistance zones are not being reclaimed indicates that this is still a corrective phase rather than the start of a new uptrend.

card

Late-stage stress phase

This is consistent with the signals sent by on-chain data. Instead of complete capitulation, the current situation is more akin to a late-stage stress phase. Over a period of about 140 days, the profitability of long-term holders (LTHs) fell precipitously from 58% to just 3%. The market has undergone a major reset, which is indicative of mounting pressure from investors.

The important point is that LTH-NUPL is still marginally above zero. In the past, long-term holders have been forced into net unrealized losses in order for durable market bottoms to occur. Weak hands are forced out during that phase, which also resets structural positioning. That process is still ongoing.

Although they are under pressure, investors have not yet been compelled to realize significant losses. From a price standpoint, this implies that before a true bottom forms, Bitcoin may still have one more leg lower, or at the very least, a protracted period of choppy decline.

Elon Musk has revived his favorite Bitcoin anime character to the timeline with a modern AI twist.

In the meantime, Bitcoin's price remains firmly in the green after the cryptocurrency got a coveted mention from the centibillionaire.

The latest viral interaction kicked off when X user @TxCryptoSaurus tagged Musk and challenged him to animate a famous static illustration of a Bitcoin-themed anime character.

Musk quickly obliged. He replied, "Here you go," which was accompanied by a short video of the anthropomorphized Bitcoin girl fully animated and in motion.

Here you go https://t.co/TqtVljakd0

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2026

The 2018 backstory

Longtime crypto enthusiasts will immediately recognize the character from one of Musk's most infamous historical interactions with the crypto crows.

Earlier, Musk randomly posted a thread declaring his love for anime. He culminated the thread by tweeting, "Wanna buy some bitcoin?" alongside the original static image of the Bitcoin girl.

card

In 2018, when Twitter was battling a plague of cryptocurrency scam bots that were impersonating high-profile figures, the platform's automated security measures flagged the unusual combination of the word "bitcoin" and the bizarre image. It locked Musk out of his own account under the suspicion that he had been hacked.

The anime character itself originates from a Japanese website called CryptoCurrencyGirls. The platform capitalized on a popular Japanese subculture trend known asgijinka, which involves turning non-human concepts and brands into human-like characters.

Robert Kiyosaki, an investment expert and an advocate of financial education, widely known for his book "Rich Dad Poor Dad," has stepped forth with an important message on his X account regarding financial assets.

While trashing traditional ones, such as U.S. Treasuries, he once again underscored the importance of gold and crypto.

Kiyosaki's "investor secret"

The author of the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" book shared what he calls “an investor secret,” which is the ability to see the future that makes for a successful investor. Today, this is an easy job to do, he claims, and there are two reasons for it.

1. “The National Debt will only go up because governments will only keep printing fake money.”

This means that inflation will continue increasing and the value of the U.S. dollar will keep going down. Therefore, it is not worth saving them, Kiyosaki believes.

2. The continuous and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. They will never end, Kiyosaki claims, and this will keep pushing the oil price up, adding to inflation.

card

Bitcoin and Ethereum are "safest investments" for 2026: Kiyosaki

Kiyosaki has a radical attitude toward conventional education, always stating that financial education is much more important than the classic education since the latter does not teach one to survive or get rich during financial crises. He dismisses having a job, saving dollars, pension programs and investing in traditional market tools, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs, as trash. Besides, dollars can be printed, and the national U.S. debt keeps growing, he stated.

INVESTOR SECRET: “lf you want to be a rich investor you have to see the future.”Seeing the future today is EASY for two reasons.1: The National Debt will only go up because governments will only keep printing fake money. That means inflation will keep going up which…

— Robert Kiyosaki (@theRealKiyosaki) March 30, 2026

Instead, Kiyosaki invests in physical gold and silver, as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum recently. He has named BTC and ETH among the “best safe investments” this year. The list also includes “real gold,” “real silver,” oil and food.

The biggest lie, he claims, is the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds.

Bitcoin price action

Over the past 24 hours, the world’s largest digital currency has managed to slightly pare its recent losses and grow by roughly 3%, reclaiming the $67,760 level. Over the weekend, it had declined from above $68,000 and traded in a range, reaching a local bottom of $65,790 per coin.

Bitcoin continues to decline in light of the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the consequential increase in oil prices.

NPR host Scott Simon has become the latest high-profile media figure to have his X accounthijacked by cryptocurrency scammers.

Steve Inskeep, Simon's colleague, posed a warning to followers, clarifying that Simon is not pushing digital assets.

The hack and lockdown

Inskeep took to X to share a direct message from Simon regarding the ongoing breach.

"We are working to reverse this hack, and hope that @X will help," Simon stated via Inskeep's post.

"We think it’s important to keep people talking to each other. Our account has meant a lot to people, and to us, since 2009."

The account of my friend and colleague @nprscottsimon has been hacked. He is not selling crypto. He asks me to post this:“We are working to reverse this hack, and hope that @X will help. We think it’s important to keep people talking to each other. Our account has meant a lot…

— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) March 30, 2026

Simon's account (@nprscottsimon), which boasts over 971,000 followers, was locked down to limit the damage.

The profile currently displays a notice stating that the account's posts are protected and only approved followers can view them.

The account has been locked to prevent scammers from broadcasting further malicious links to the public.

A growing trend

Reporters with credibility and large audiences are a prime target for hackers.

Malicious actors tend to exploit their profiles to quickly promote fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. They often use "pump and dump" tactics or phishing links.

Recent examples of similar targeted attacks include Paul Sperry from The New York Post.

In May 2025, hackers infiltrated the New York Post's verified X account. They sent direct messages impersonating journalist Paul Sperry to lure unsuspecting (and extremely gullible) crypto users into a fake podcast interview via Telegram. Nick Robinson, the veteran BBC journalist, had his account compromised after falling for a phishing message last year. The attackers used his profile to promote a bogus cryptocurrency token, which is a typical modus operandi.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recentlytook to the X social media network to note that there has been a massive change in the perception of the cryptocurrency industry by traditional finance.

The highly influential executive has recalled when traditional finance titans dismissed digital assets as nothing more than toxic speculation.

In particular, he recalled when crypto used to be called "rat poison" only for the technology to end up rewiring the financial system, with major global companies now exploring stablecoins and digital assets.

The "rat poison" dig

The infamous "rat poison" moniker has been immortalized by legendary investor Warren Buffett.

During the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting, Buffett aggressively one-upped his longtime business partner. This happened just months after Bitcoin had collapsed from its initial mainstream peak of nearly $20,000.

card

Buffett's colorful insult stems from his fundamental value-investing philosophy. The Oracle of Omaha has long maintained that assets must be inherently productive to hold any real intrinsic value. He famously favors established businesses that generate consistent cash flow, products, and dividends.

The "ChatGPT moment"

Garlinghouse recently noted that Fortune 500 CEOs and boards are now actively asking their CFOs about stablecoin integration. He pointed out that the $3 trillion orchestrated in stablecoin payments last year is an eye-opener for corporate America. "This is the ChatGPT moment of crypto, and people [are seeing] stablecoins as the entry point into other blockchain-based and crypto solutions," he said.

At the same time, he did offer a slight warning about the current hype surrounding tokenization. Garlinghouse has stated that it must actually improve efficiency to be valuable: "Silicon Valley has a reputation of having a technology in search of a problem... Tokenization has very valuable applications, and there are some examples that I see, I don't quite get it," he said.

Gensler's "lawfare"

Garlinghouse has also praised the recent joint announcement by the SEC and CFTC acknowledging 16 digital assets as commodities as a "massive step forward." He has fiercely criticized the regulatory hostility of the past four years under the leadership of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "Instead of engaging in thoughtful rulemaking, it was lawfare. Let's attack the companies and drive them offshore," he said.

After a protracted decline, Dogecoin is currently trading in a compressed low-volatility range; however, the notion of removing a zero in the upcoming week is realistically a stretch given the current structure.

Dogecoin's consolidation

With steady lower highs and robust rejection from important moving averages, the chart displays a distinct bearish trend that has persisted for months. As of right now, DOGE is consolidating close to local lows while remaining slightly below the $0.10 mark.

The price action has leveled off, creating a narrow sideways range with a small upward bias, but nothing approaching a breakout structure.

The asset is still below the 50, 100 and 200 EMAs, all of which are declining. That alignment is not a setup for a huge upside, but rather a traditional bearish continuation signal. Dogecoin would need to recover the $0.10-$0.11 range with significant volume before it could remove a zero and rise significantly.

First dynamic resistance

That region is in line with the 50 EMA, which has frequently served as dynamic resistance. Even if that level is broken, any short-term rally would probably be limited by the next barrier, which is located close to the 100 EMA at $0.13-$0.14.

In terms of momentum, the RSI is neutral, hovering around mid-range levels, which indicates hesitancy rather than growth. Additionally, volume has decreased, suggesting weak participation. DOGE lacks the liquidity needed to initiate a long-term upward trend in the absence of a spike in buying pressure.

Nevertheless, there is one positive aspect: the downward trend is slowing. Consolidation has replaced the earlier sharp decline, which frequently precedes a bigger move. DOGE may try a short-term relief rally if Bitcoin stabilizes and general market sentiment improves.

However, eliminating a zero would require a large percentage change, which is not immediately supported by the current configuration. Continued sideways movement or a slight bounce toward adjacent resistance levels are more realistic expectations.

XRP is in new trading range

XRP is approaching a critical inflection point that could redefine its short- to midterm trajectory. The asset is now trading dangerously close to its key support zone around the $1.30 level, a threshold that has consistently acted as the last line of defense against a deeper collapse. If this level fails, XRP may enter what can only be described as a new pricing reality.

Technically, the structure remains firmly bearish. XRP continues to print lower highs while being capped by descending trendlines and all major moving averages. The 50 and 100 EMAs are trending downward and positioned above price, reinforcing persistent selling pressure. Every attempt at recovery has been weak and short-lived, with sellers stepping in almost immediately at resistance levels.

What makes the current situation more critical is the compression near support. XRP has formed a weak ascending trendline from recent lows, but instead of building strength, price is now breaking below that structure.

Losing the $1.30 region would likely trigger a cascade of sell orders, opening the path toward the $1.20 zone and potentially lower levels that have not been tested in this cycle. At that point, market perception shifts. Instead of consolidation, XRP would be viewed as continuing its macro downtrend with no immediate support nearby.

card

Momentum indicators are also not providing relief. RSI remains neutral to slightly bearish, offering no signs of bullish divergence or reversal buildup. This aligns with the broader picture of stagnation rather than recovery.

Shiba Inu's volatility phase is ending

Shiba Inu is entering a phase that typically precedes a decisive market move: volatility compression. The asset has been trading in an increasingly tight range, forming a small ascending structure near local lows while remaining under heavy macro bearish pressure. This kind of setup rarely lasts long.

From a structural standpoint, SHIB is still in a downtrend. Price continues to sit below all major moving averages, with the 200-day trend acting as a distant ceiling and shorter-term EMAs sloping downward. However, what stands out now is not trend direction, but the shrinking price range.

Volatility stays up

Candles are getting smaller, wicks are tighter, and volume is gradually declining. That combination signals indecision and reduced participation, which is exactly what compression looks like before expansion.

card

The current formation resembles a weak ascending triangle, where buyers are attempting to push higher lows, but without enough strength to break overhead resistance. This is not a bullish structure on its own. It is neutral at best, especially given the dominant bearish context.

Compression phases build pressure. The longer price stays confined within a narrow range, the more aggressive the eventual move tends to be. In SHIB’s case, the trigger will likely come from liquidity returning to the market.

The direction is still uncertain, but the conditions for a volatility surge are clearly forming. A breakout above the short-term resistance zone could initiate a relief rally toward the 50 EMA. On the other hand, a breakdown below the ascending support would likely accelerate the downtrend and push SHIB into new local lows.

Shiba Inu lead ambassador Shytoshi Kusama's silence on social media continues to linger. The Shiba Inu lead ambassador has stayed off X in recent weeks, neither tweeting, commenting nor interacting with posts.

Kusama's last visible activity on X was in the past month, on Feb. 21, to be precise. Late January to mid-February saw a buzz in social media activity for the Shiba Inu lead ambassador as he consistently engaged with tweets and posted on X his musings.

The trend of silence for Kusama is not new as he suggested he often used such periods when he stayed off X to invest in himself and to build upon his vision.

card

As reported, Kusama updated his X bio in between the silence, with his location changed to "UI bug fixes." Oftentimes, Kusama communicated subtle hints about his activity on X through his bio change. If this is the case, this might suggest an ongoing update or improvement, although the specific details are unknown.

Kusama broke a streak of silence in January after he had stayed off X in the latter part of 2025. He revealed what he was up to: an independent AI project. However, he maintains that his focus remains on the advancement of Shiba Inu and its ecosystem tokens.

In January, Kusama stated he was working on alpha testing and polishing (for his project based on speculation). If this progresses, it might be likely to see a break in silence on X for the Shiba Inu lead ambassador in the coming weeks.

Shiba Inu sees remarkable milestones in March

OnePay, a U.S. consumer fintech platform, recently announced an expansion of its crypto platform, adding 10 new assets that customers can buy, sell and hold directly in the OnePay app, including Shiba Inu.

card

The addition implies that an additional 3 million users will be able to use SHIB for payments and at Walmart stores.

A $1.8 trillion asset manager T. Rowe included SHIB in its crypto ETF filing, a major signal that indicates that SHIB is entering the institutional conversation.

The SEC and the CFTC moved to define which digital assets are securities, with major cryptocurrencies, including SHIB, labelled as non-securities.

Canadian billionaire and mining magnate Frank Giustra has mocked Wall Street strategist Tom Lee.

Lee recently made a highly optimistic prediction about the current punishing "crypto winter" being on the verge of thawing.

The April prediction

During the interview, Lee was pressed on the brutal market conditions that have plagued the industry since late last year.

The Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder argued that the beleaguered market was on the verge of a macro reversal. He claimed that April would finally be the month when the bulls would find their place in the sun.

"I think the crypto winner is gonna the it's either ended already or it's gonna the latest is April. So I think we're almost through the winter," Lee stated directly during the interview.

Lee pointed to the extreme negative sentiment currently washing over the market. He noted that capitulation and frustration are actually massive bullish indicators.

card

"I think there's rage quitting taking place, which is a good sign," Lee explained. "Cuz that's always a sign of a bottom, right? Take every drawdown in Bitcoin. You know, you're at the end when people give up on Bitcoin."

The controversial analyst dismissed the idea that the market would face another prolonged slump as the weather warms up.

"It's crypto spring, and then hopefully we have a great summer," Lee told the interviewer. "You know, the last two summers have been kind of like selling off. This time, I don't think we're going to sell May and go away."

Gold bug's anti-crypto stance

It was exactly this kind of unwavering optimism that prompted Frank Giustra to take to social media and tell Lee to "Stop it," calling the continuous bullish predictions "embarrassing to watch."

Giustra has long viewed Bitcoin as a highly speculative asset that is incapable of functioning as a legitimate store of value. He is convinced that physical precious metals are the only true hedge against inflation and systemic risk.

Interestingly, Lee attacked Giustra's preferred asset class during that same interview. The permabull has argued that gold has actually been a terrible historical store of value, stating that since 1971, "gold has underperformed inflation 48% of the time." Bitcoin, for comparison, has beaten inflation 97% of the time since its creation in 2010.

The Sunday calm on thecrypto market at the end of the week may prove deceptive. The U.S. financial calendar is preparing a series of shocks that will determine the fate of portfolios at the start of April. Holders of Bitcoin and big crypto caps like XRP should fasten their seatbelts. The week is set to become one of the most volatile as March ends.

How Monday's Fed speech and U.S. jobs data could affect BTC and XRP

The first trigger is the opening of U.S. futures today, which may overlap with Monday’s Federal Reserve agenda. As early as tomorrow, Jerome Powell will take the microphone, and his rhetoric will become a direct signal for the market.

In 2026, digital assets are critically dependent on supply forecasts, so any hint of tightening in response to inflation could trigger a sharp reassessment of risk positions. Right now, markets are already pricing in a 50% chance of rate hikes this year.

Tuesday and Wednesday will deliver a double punch to fundamental expectations. On Tuesday, consumer confidence and JOLTS job openingsdata will test Bitcoin’s resilience. If Americans begin tightening their belts, capital inflows into spot ETFs may dry up, putting March support levels around $65,000 at risk.

On Wednesday, ADP employment data and retail sales will become a moment of truth forXRP. Strong macro data may paradoxically pressure prices, as it gives the Fed a reason to keep the dollar strong, limiting liquidity in cryptocurrencies, especially those heavily tied to retail demand.

card

The climax arrives on Friday with the release of the March job report. In current market conditions, the correlation between cryptocurrencies and the U.S. labor market has reached a peak. If unemployment data comes in worse than expected, a cascade of liquidations may follow, withBitcoin at risk of a sharp drop, dragging the entire market down.

By the end of this week, two days before the monthly March candle closes, Bitcoin is showing volatility, attempting to recoup the important price milestone at $67,000. After dropping more than 8.5% over the past two weeks, the asset is facing strong resistance with the price of Bitcoin currently fluctuating around $66,500.

Against the backdrop of BTC stability,Michael Saylor is shifting investor focus to a new instrument — perpetual preferred shares under the ticker STRC, with the full name Stretch. In a recent post as Chairman of Strategy, he emphasized that while the market is turbulent, STRC acts as a safe haven.

Saylor's solution to Bitcoin market turmoil

Saylor’s key points center on record-low volatility. Over the past 30 days, STRC volatility has been just 2%, which, as shown in his infographic, is lower than any company in the S&P 500, as well as gold, bonds andBitcoin itself.

Since March 2026, the dividend yield on these shares has been increased to 11.5% annually.

Over the past 30 days, $STRC has been less volatile than every company in the S&P 500—and every major asset class—while delivering an 11.5% dividend yield. pic.twitter.com/BXz6lPC15L

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) March 29, 2026

STRC has become the primary channel for raising capital, and Saylor is using proceeds from these stable shares toaggressively accumulate BTC during pullbacks. His ambitious target of 1 million BTC on Strategy’s balance sheet remains in focus, whether by the end of 2026 or within the next two years.

card

If Bitcoin appears overstretched at the moment,Strategy's “digital credit” in the form of STRC offers above-market yield with volatility comparable to a bank deposit. However, the fundamental rule of financial markets still applies: the higher the yield, the higher the risk.

In a recent interview with Fox Business "Mornings with Maria" host Maria Bartiromo, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse discussed the company's growth amid crypto market volatility, the SEC and CFTC's new framework, the CLARITY Act, among other things.

Garlinghouse noted that the company has been on a tear in business. Ripple made two big acquisitions over the past year, including GTreasury, which is now Ripple Treasury.

In October 2025, Ripple announced a $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury, a treasury management systems provider. The deal was completed with Ripple Treasury birthed, a significant expansion for Ripple which opened up the multi-trillion dollar corporate treasury market and access to many of the largest and most successful corporate customers.

Ripple Treasury processed $13 trillion in payments last year. 0% through crypto. Garlinghouse says that gap is the opportunity. https://t.co/1GVowNCnin #XRP #Ripple #xrpfamily pic.twitter.com/kyB9Dxj84v

— Neil (@NeilTolbert) March 29, 2026

Garlinghouse stated that this acquisition orchestrated $13 trillion in payments in the past year, and 0% was through stablecoin or crypto. The Ripple CEO stated that this presents the opportunity for crypto integration.

card

This institutional interest is being driven by corporate boards and CFOs who are demanding more efficient ways to move money.

The Ripple CEO described stablecoins as the "ChatGPT moment" of finance, highlighting $33 trillion in stablecoin trades occurring last year. Traditional payment "rails" can take three to five days and carry high friction, while stablecoins permit settlements in just one minute, at any time of day.

Crypto utility in treasury operations grows

In early 2026, Ripple surveyed over a thousand financial leaders worldwide, encompassing banks, asset managers, fintech companies and corporations. The survey revealed a strong preference for stablecoins among these leaders.

card

Interest in tokenizing financial assets also continues to grow, with most banks and asset managers seeking partners to help execute their strategies. Of those evaluating tokenization partners, 89% say digital asset storage and custody is a top priority.

More fintechs report using digital assets in their treasury or payment operations than either financial institutions or corporates. And they are more likely to deploy digital assets in multiple ways, with 31% using stablecoins to collect payments for their customers and 29% taking payments directly in stablecoins. A similar percentage relies on digital asset custodians or infrastructure providers to safeguard assets.

TL;DR

XRP bottom? XRP closed Q1 with a -27.3% return, its weakest since 2018, despite being officially classified as a digital commodity.Shiba Inu liquidity: OKX moved 32.86 billion SHIB to cold storage, signaling a shift to long-term security and reducing immediate sell pressure.Saylor’s "laser eyes": Michael Saylor signals a new $44 billion Bitcoin acquisition phase as Strategy's holdings hit 762,099 BTC.Market risk: Investors eye the $2.2 billion FTX creditor distribution on March 31 and U.S. jobs data on April 3 as key volatility triggers.XRP sees worst Q1 since 2018 despite official recognition as commodity

XRP closes Q1, 2024, with a return of -27.3%, according to CryptoRank data. This is the weakest first quarter performance since 2018 — despite a brief spike to $2.42 in early January,XRP price declined consistently over three consecutive months. At the moment, XRP is trading around $1.35.

March became a cooling period for institutional investors. After the launch of spot XRP ETFs in late 2025 and initial inflows exceeding $1.3 billion, March recorded net outflows. On March 27 alone, investors withdrew around $2.66 million from funds.

Is this the bottom? Opinions diverge. Technical analysts see a 2017 fractal in the current chart, suggesting the present zone is an accumulation phase before a move toward $4 to $9 forXRP this year. The bearish scenario states that if $1.27 fails, the next target is $1.11, and in case of a broader market downturn, a return to $0.60.

The news backdrop is more positive. On March 17, 2026, a landmark event occurred. SEC and CFTC officially classified XRP as a digital commodity, placing it on equal legal footing with Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Despite the price decline, Ripple continues expansion. The company received approval from the Australian regulator to use the AUDD stablecoin on XRP Ledger and is actively promoting the solution in Latin America.

April has historically been a recovery month for XRP. If price holds in the coming days, it may confirm the end of correction and readiness for a move toward $2.

OKX moves large SHIB batch to cold storage

In other news this morning, over the past 24 hours, OKX carried out a major internal asset transfer. Around 32.86 billion Shiba Inu tokens were moved from the exchange hot wallet to cold storage, according toArkham.

This type of transfer is a standard security procedure where exchanges move excess liquidity from network-connected wallets into offline storage. Still, when tokens move into cold storage, it usually indicates they are not intended for immediate sale, which can be interpreted as a moderately bullish signal since active exchange supply decreases.

At present,SHIB price is consolidating around $0.000006 per token. The market shows caution despite whale activity.

Overall, the transfer of32.886 billion SHIB is internal operational activity by OKX, not a sign of panic or mass withdrawal from the market, but rather confirmation of the current status quo. The exchange continues optimizing storage of its reserves amid stable network fees and low volatility.

Why Michael Saylor brought back laser eyes meme on March 29

The final news item comes fromMichael Saylor, the founder and executive chairman of Strategy, who posted on social media that it is time to turn laser eyes back on. In crypto culture, this gesture is a strong bullish signal symbolizing unwavering confidence in Bitcoin growth.

Earlier this week, Strategy purchased 1,031 BTC worth about $76.6 million. Over March, the company acquired nearly 45,000 BTC, marking the fastest monthly accumulation pace in a long time. As of the end of March, Strategy holds 762,099 BTC, valued at around $51 billion with an average purchase price of $75,699 per Bitcoin.

It’s time to put the laser eyes back on. $BTC pic.twitter.com/hsiIuWJlxx

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) March 28, 2026

Saylor’s post came asBitcoin trades in the $60,000 to $70,000 range under pressure from macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. Saylor effectively remains the only major corporate buyer.

With continued expansion plans totaling $44 billion for further Bitcoin purchases, the signal is interpreted not as a meme but as a precursor to another large acquisition phase.

Crypto market outlook: FTX distributions and macro pressure on Bitcoin

Sentiment remains cautious. Investors balance between major industry events in Europe and strong macroeconomic pressure from the United States. The main focus is holding the psychological $65,000 level for BTC.

Key events and levels:

March 31: FTX factor. Scheduled distribution of $2.2 billion to creditors. This is a major potential sell pressure driver on the open market.April 3: Non-Farm Payrolls release in the U.S. If data comes in overheated, the dollar strengthens and crypto may enter deeper correction.Bitcoin (BTC): Support at $65,000 is critical to hold. Resistance at $72,000 marks the zone for a return of a bullish trend.

The coming week will test the current cycle. If the market absorbs FTX distributions and labor data without breaking $65,000, consolidation follows. Otherwise, downside toward $55,000 to $58,000 remains the active scenario.

card

With both market structure and on-chain activity showing signs of contraction, XRP is currently in a somewhat advantageous position as it enteres a new trading week with a clean state.

Ledger's big milestone

XRP Ledger itself has seen the most significant change, with daily payment counts falling below the psychologically significant 1 million mark. Following a brief spike, payment volume has also drastically decreased, indicating a decrease in the network’s overall transactional intensity. This appears to be bearish at first glance. Reduced capital flow, weaker usage and decreasing demand are frequently the causes of lower network activity.

Context, however, matters. These declines indicate normalization rather than complete collapse because they come after a period of high spikes. Similar contractions have previously occurred after brief spikes in activity caused by significant transfers or institutional flows rather than steady organic usage.

XRP’s price is still clearly in a downward trend, with declining moving averages consistently rejecting it and lower highs. The asset recently tried to break out from a short-term ascending support trendline, but it was unable to maintain momentum and fell back toward the $1.30-$1.35 range. Currently, this region serves as a vital support zone. A breakdown below it would probably lead to the $1.20 area, which is consistent with previous lows in 2026.

card

It appears that volatility is being squeezed based on the compression of both price and network activity. Markets frequently become more susceptible to directional changes when participation declines and liquidity dries up. Because of this, even modest inflows may cause disproportionately strong upside reactions.

Not many sellers left?

Positioning is an additional factor. Following a protracted decline and a drop in on-chain metrics, the sentiment surrounding XRP is obviously weaker. This usually lessens aggressive long exposure, which lowers the possibility of downward cascading liquidations. Put simply, fewer weak hands remain to flush out.

This is not a confirmed bottom for investors until XRP reclaims important resistance levels, especially the cluster around the 50 and 100 EMAs, the trend is still negative. Nonetheless, there may be an asymmetry with the current arrangement. Upside potential rises if demand recovers, while downside risk is defined in the vicinity of recent lows.

Expect further consolidation in the near future with aggressive reactive actions. Although XRP is still weak, it is about to enter a stage where the circumstances for a reversal may start to take shape.

While crypto market participants have switched into macroeconomic and geopolitical analysts, keeping their focus on the oil chart, a different scenario is unfolding on Bitfinex — one that industry legend Adam Backhighlights as unprecedented.

According to the latest margin position monitoring data, the volume of long positions on Bitfinex has now reached a historical high not seen since November 2023, hitting79,193 BTC.

Adam Back explains why this Bitfinex accumulation is "unprecedented"

The CEO of Blockstream pointed out a unique market structure. In particular, a group of institutional players appears to be using a TWAP strategy — time-weighted average price — aggressively buying up any available supply below the $69,000 level.

As Back emphasizes, margin holding on Bitfinex has been accelerating since late 2020. Around 79,000 BTC have been accumulated using leverage, with an estimated build rate of 300 BTC or more per day through organic trades.

Based on these calculations, the intensity of accumulation translates into approximately $20 million flowing intoBitcoin daily, about $14,000 spent every minute, around the clock — averaging between 450 and 600 BTC purchased.

@bitfinex margin longs at ATH since nov 2023. 79k BTC bought on margin, and rising 300+ BTC/day all-day TWAP + organic trades. pic.twitter.com/tZwWqUNLD8

— Adam Back (@adam3us) March 29, 2026

What makes the current situation notable is that this accumulation is happening during a correction phase. While retail participants remain cautious, large players on Bitfinex are demonstrating conviction. Back stresses that this is not artificial speculation, but rather a long-term strategic positioning by entities that are difficult to identify.

card

At present, the broader market shows signs of bearish exhaustion on the weekly time frame. According to some analysts, including Back, the sheer size of accumulated positions could lead to a liquidity shortage on the supply side.

If the current pace of $14,000 per minute in buying pressure continues, any positive catalyst could accelerate price movement sharply, as available supply in the market depth has already been reduced. If this framework holds, the market may be witnessing a redistribution of assets from weaker hands to strategic accumulators.

TheBitcoin market on Bitfinex is now, in this context, emerging as a leading indicator for the broader crypto market.

While part of the crypto community is becoming increasingly convinced this weekend that a deep correction is coming for XRP, relying in part on technical patterns across crypto charts, other indicators — particularly on the daily XRP/USD chart onTradingView — are beginning to suggest the exact opposite. The bearish scenario of a 30% drop below the $1 level for XRP may turn out to be more of a bear trap than an inevitability.

Popular analysts, including Ali Martinez, have recently emphasized XRP’s weakness, pointing to a potential decline toward $0.95. However, these conclusions are largely based on the four-hour time frame and a triangle pattern, whichXRP has broken below.

Why analysts predicting 30% XRP price drop could be wrong

A closer look at the daily time frame reveals that buyer strength is still present, though hidden within the current consolidation phase. According to the volume profile, the main trading activity — the point of control — sits within the $1.37-$1.45 range. The current price of $1.33 is slightly below this major volume block, which in classical technical analysis is often interpreted as a false breakdown designed to collect liquidity before a reversal.

If XRP were truly preparing for a 30% drop, it would have already moved quickly through this zone without resistance. Instead, the ongoing accumulation suggests that large players are holding prices while absorbing sell pressure.

At the same time, the Relative Strength Index on the daily chart is sending a bullish signal too. WhileXRP price printed lower lows in February and March, RSI formed higher lows. This bullish divergence is one of the most important leading indicators, signaling that bearish pressure is fading and the market may be preparing for an upward move.

card

The accumulation of volume combined with theRSI signal suggests that XRP is in the final stage of a shakeout before the start of a new bullish cycle. The key moment will be the close of the March candle. If XRP holds above $1.37, the bearish scenario outlined by Martinez and other skeptics may be invalidated.