XRP climbs above $1.15 as derivatives activity improves despite market fear

Key takeaways

  • XRP climbed to around $1.15 on Monday as retail traders cautiously returned to the derivatives market.
  • XRP futures open interest increased from $2.28 billion to $2.44 billion, signaling renewed speculative activity.

Ripple (XRP) edged higher on Monday, trading around $1.15 as risk appetite showed tentative signs of recovery across the cryptocurrency market. While broader sentiment remains fragile, derivatives data suggest retail traders are gradually returning to the market after weeks of caution.

The modest recovery comes amid a challenging macroeconomic backdrop and renewed geopolitical tensions that continue to weigh on investor confidence.

Geopolitical risks keep investors on edge

Risk-off sentiment remains the dominant market theme as digital assets struggle to sustain gains following a brief rebound over the weekend. Investor caution intensified after Israel and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time since the ceasefire agreement reached on April 8.

Despite the cautious environment, XRP derivatives activity recorded a modest increase. Open Interest (OI) in XRP perpetual futures rose to an average of $2.44 billion on Monday, up from $2.28 billion previously. The increase suggests traders are gradually re-entering the market and taking on additional exposure, even as uncertainty remains elevated.

The rise in futures positioning points to renewed speculative interest, although the increase remains relatively modest compared to previous bullish periods.

Ripple price forecast: XRP faces heavy technical resistance

Although XRP has managed to rebound toward $1.15, the broader technical picture remains bearish.

The token continues to trade below its key moving averages, including the 50-day EMA at $1.33, 100-day EMA at $1.41, and the 200-day EMA at $1.63

These levels create a significant overhead resistance zone that could limit upside momentum.

Additional bearish signals come from the SuperTrend indicator, which remains negative around $1.26, and a descending trendline whose breakout point is located near $1.52. Together, these indicators suggest that rallies may continue to encounter selling pressure.

Technical momentum indicators continue to favor the bears. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near 32 on the daily chart, reflecting weak buying momentum despite the recent bounce. 

Meanwhile, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram remains below the zero line, reinforcing the prevailing bearish trend.

These indicators suggest that downside risks remain elevated unless XRP can reclaim key resistance levels.

XRP/USD 4H Chart

While XRP has shown resilience by reclaiming the $1.15 level, the token remains trapped within a broader bearish structure. Improving derivatives activity and continued ETF inflows offer encouraging signs, but weak market sentiment and persistent geopolitical uncertainty continue to cap upside potential.

For a stronger recovery to develop, XRP will need to overcome multiple resistance barriers while broader risk appetite across the crypto market improves. Until then, traders remain focused on whether support around $1.05 and the critical $1.00 threshold can withstand further selling pressure.

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Ethereum remains under pressure after double-digit weekly losses

Key takeaways

  • Ethereum continues its downtrend after breaking key support levels and testing a low of $1,505 last week.
  • The broader crypto market remains under pressure following last week’s massive dump.

The cryptocurrency market starts the week on a weak footing, with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) continuing to trade under heavy selling pressure following steep declines last week. 

Bitcoin lost more than 14%, Ethereum dropped over 15%, and XRP shed more than 13%, leaving technical indicators firmly tilted toward further downside risks. 

BitMine boosts Ethereum holdings with largest ETH purchase of 2026

Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies significantly expanded its holdings last week, purchasing 126,971 ETH as the second-largest cryptocurrency declined toward the $1,500 price region.

The acquisition marks BitMine’s largest weekly Ethereum purchase of 2026, underscoring the firm’s continued commitment to accumulating the digital asset despite recent market volatility.

Following the latest purchase, BitMine’s total Ethereum holdings have climbed to 5.54 million ETH. The company stated that it now controls approximately 4.59% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, moving closer to its long-standing objective of owning 5% of all ETH in circulation.

According to the firm, it remains on track to achieve that milestone before the end of the year, further strengthening its position as one of the largest corporate holders of Ethereum.

Ethereum slides below critical support areas

Ethereum is also extending its bearish trend, trading around $1,684 after breaking several key support levels below. The second-largest cryptocurrency remains firmly below its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs, currently positioned near $2,058, $2,189, and $2,441, respectively.

The concentration of these moving averages above current price levels suggests that any recovery attempts could face strong selling pressure. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s daily RSI sits at 50, indicating a neutral market condition, while the MACD remains deeply negative, reinforcing the dominance of bearish momentum.

ETH/USD 4H Chart

For bulls to regain control, Ethereum would need to overcome several resistance levels:

  • Immediate resistance at $1,747.
  • Psychological resistance at $2,000.
  • 50-day EMA near $2,058.
  • 100-day EMA around $2,189.
  • 200-day EMA near $2,441.

On the downside, the next significant support level is located around $1,385, a zone where buyers could attempt to slow or reverse further declines if selling pressure intensifies.

 

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ZIGChain integrates Ondo tokenized stocks, ETFs to expand onchain access

  • ZIGChain adds Ondo tokenized stocks and ETFs to its ecosystem.
  • Partnership expands onchain access to US financial markets.
  • Rollout begins in phases across selected ZIGChain applications.

ZIGChain announced on Monday that it is integrating with Ondo Finance to bring tokenized US stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to users across its blockchain ecosystem, expanding access to on-chain versions of traditional financial assets.

The partnership combines ZIGChain’s infrastructure for regulated investment products with Ondo Finance’s tokenized securities platform, extending their shared goal of making publicly traded US assets more accessible through blockchain technology.

According to the companies, the integration strengthens ZIGChain’s broader real-world asset (RWA) ecosystem, which already includes Valdora Finance’s Liquid RWA Vaults and Beehive’s tokenized small and medium-sized enterprise private credit pipeline.

Partnership expands tokenized asset ecosystem

ZIGChain said the integration aligns with its strategy of bringing established financial products onchain rather than creating entirely new investment instruments.

Ondo Finance has developed infrastructure that enables publicly traded US stocks and ETFs to be represented as programmable blockchain-based assets.

Through the partnership, these tokenized products will become available across the ZIGChain ecosystem, with a particular focus on expanding access for users in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and beyond.

The companies said the collaboration is designed to provide onchain exposure to institutional-grade financial products while reducing traditional barriers such as intermediaries and minimum investment requirements.

“The next phase of onchain finance is not about replicating access that institutions already have. It is about taking those instruments and making them genuinely accessible to a broader universe of participants, through transparent, scalable onchain infrastructure, without the minimums and intermediaries that have always stood in the way,” said Abdul Rafay Gadit, Co-Founder, ZIGChain.

“Ondo has done the hard work of bringing these products onchain. ZIGChain is the infrastructure through which that reaches a new generation of users. For us, this is deeply aligned with our mission: to make high-quality financial opportunities more open, more programmable, and more globally accessible.”

Ondo aims to broaden distribution

Ondo Finance said expanding access to tokenized securities across new blockchain ecosystems is a core part of its strategy.

The company, which focuses on tokenizing real-world assets, has built infrastructure intended to bridge traditional financial markets with decentralized networks.

Through Ondo Global Markets, investors outside the United States can gain economic exposure to US stocks and ETFs using blockchain-based tokens backed by the corresponding underlying assets.

“Bringing tokenized US stocks and ETFs to new ecosystems and user bases is core to what the Ondo Global Markets platform enables. ZIGChain’s infrastructure gives investors across the GCC onchain exposure to the world’s most in-demand securities, with the execution quality and transparency that institutional markets demand. This is exactly the kind of distribution that expands the reach of tokenized finance where it matters most,” said Oya Celiktemur, EMEA Director, Ondo Finance.

Rollout to begin in phases

According to the announcement, access to Ondo-tokenized products through ZIGChain will be introduced gradually, beginning with selected ecosystem applications and partners before expanding more broadly over time.

The companies noted that the integration does not represent a token launch and does not guarantee investment returns or yield.

Underlying assets are issued by Ondo Global Markets (BVI) Limited, while ZIGChain does not custody the underlying real-world assets.

The partnership comes as blockchain companies continue to focus on tokenizing traditional financial instruments, seeking to combine regulated market exposure with the accessibility and programmability offered by decentralized infrastructure.

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BitMEX co-founder, Arthur Hayes, liquidates all his ZEC, HYPE, and NEAR tokens

  • Hayes exited ZEC after an Orchard privacy bug raised supply doubts.
  • He also liquidated HYPE and NEAR while rotating his portfolio.
  • The Zcash flaw was patched, but future exploitation cannot be ruled out.

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has fully exited his positions in Zcash (ZEC), Hyperliquid (HYPE), and NEAR Protocol (NEAR).

The decision comes at a time when the crypto market is still digesting the implications of a flaw found in the Orchard shielded pool, a core component of Zcash’s privacy system.

The move has drawn attention across the digital asset space, not only because of Hayes’ profile as a macro investor, but also due to the nature of the vulnerability, which raised questions about the integrity of ZEC’s supply mechanics inside its shielded environment.

Orchard vulnerability triggers uncertainty in Zcash

The trigger for the sell-off was a vulnerability discovered in the Orchard shielded pool, which is designed to enable private transactions on the Zcash network using zero-knowledge proofs.

The issue raised concerns that, under certain conditions, it may have been theoretically possible to create counterfeit ZEC within the shielded system without immediate detection.

While Zcash developers moved quickly to deploy an emergency patch, the core concern was not just the existence of the bug itself, but the inability to verify whether it had ever been exploited before it was fixed.

Because shielded transactions are designed to be private, there is no straightforward way to retroactively audit all activity in a way that could definitively rule out past abuse.

Market reaction was immediate and sharp.

ZEC experienced a heavy sell-off, with its price falling by over 45% during the height of the reaction.

Liquidity thinned quickly as traders rushed to reduce exposure to an asset suddenly carrying uncertainty around its supply integrity.

The incident reignited a long-running debate around privacy-focused blockchain systems.

While zero-knowledge proofs are widely regarded as one of the strongest cryptographic tools available for privacy, they also introduce complexity that can make historical verification of state changes significantly more difficult compared to transparent blockchains.

Arthur Hayes exits ZEC, HYPE, and NEAR positions

Against this backdrop, Arthur Hayes confirmed that he had fully liquidated his ZEC holdings.

Hayes also closed positions in HYPE and NEAR, signaling a broader portfolio adjustment rather than a single-asset reaction.

Hayes described the situation in blunt terms, stating that what he previously referred to as his “Holy Trinity” thesis no longer held.

The key issue for Hayes was not confirmed exploitation. Instead, it was the presence of unresolved uncertainty.

Even with a patch in place, the inability to definitively prove whether counterfeit issuance had occurred prior to the fix created a level of risk he was no longer willing to carry in a privacy asset.

Alongside the ZEC exit, Hayes also liquidated positions in HYPE and NEAR.

While no direct technical link was identified between those assets and the Zcash vulnerability, the simultaneous sell-off suggests a broader repositioning of capital rather than an isolated reaction.

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Cardano extends weekly losses beyond 30% despite community activity surge

Key takeaways

  • Hoskinson clarifies social media break as ADA remains under intense selling pressure 
  • ADA is down 30% this week and could extend its selloff in the near term. 

Cardano fell another 13% on Friday, bringing its weekly losses to more than 30% as investors reacted to comments from founder Charles Hoskinson and broader market weakness.

The decline marks ADA’s fifth consecutive day of losses, despite a notable increase in network activity and community engagement.

Hoskinson clarifies that he is not leaving Cardano

Market anxiety intensified after Charles Hoskinson posted a brief message on social media stating, “I’m taking a break, TTYL,” which some investors interpreted as a potential departure from Cardano and its development ecosystem.

Following the backlash, Hoskinson returned with a live broadcast to clarify that he is stepping back only from public-facing activities and social media engagement, not from his involvement in Cardano or blockchain research.

He emphasized that his focus remains on addressing complex industry challenges such as the blockchain trilemma, while distancing himself from expectations surrounding ADA’s market performance.

“I am not passionate about making the price of ADA go up,” Hoskinson stated during the discussion.

While the market reacted negatively, on-chain and social metrics suggest the Cardano community remains highly engaged.

According to Santiment data, Social dominance climbed to approximately 0.52%, the highest level recorded this year.

Furthermore, daily active addresses surged to 28,459, the strongest reading in roughly four months.

The spike indicates that discussions and network participation accelerated as investors responded to speculation surrounding Hoskinson’s comments.

However, increased activity has so far failed to offset persistent selling pressure.

Cardano price forecast: Technical outlook remains bearish

From a technical perspective, Cardano remains in a firmly bearish trend. ADA continues to trade well below its key long-term moving averages (50-week EMA: $0.4139, 100-week EMA: $0.4967, and 200-week EMA: $0.5095)

Momentum indicators also remain weak. The RSI has fallen to 22, entering oversold territory, while the MACD remains slightly positive but is nearing a bearish crossover.

These signals suggest downside momentum remains dominant despite emerging oversold conditions.

If the bearish trend persists, the next major support level sits near the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at $0.1274, calculated from Cardano’s 2020–2021 bull market advance.

However, the $0.1500 psychological support could serve as a short-term demand level in the near term. 

ADA/USD 4H Chart

If the bullish trend resumes, immediate resistance would be seen at $0.2345 (50% Fibonacci retracement) and $0.4139 (50-week EMA).

A sustained break below $0.1500 would increase the risk of a deeper correction toward the $0.1274 area, while any recovery attempt would first need to overcome resistance near $0.2345 before challenging longer-term trend barriers.

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