5 Rocket Boosters for Ripple (XRP) Prices in Q2

The price of TRUMP has witnessed an exciting jolt of bullish momentum this weekend, outperforming most of the assets in the top 100 on Saturday, April 19. The United States President Donald Trump’s meme coin has increased in value by more than 8% in the last 24 hours. This positive price spurt came despite the recent unlocking of a significant amount of tokens into open circulation.

Project Creators Unlock 40 Million Tokens In First Event

On Friday, April 18, the creators of the TRUMP meme coin released 40 million tokens in the first unlock event for the project. The unlocked tokens, which were worth about $310 million at the time of the event, represent just 4% of the total supply, but over 16% of the current circulating supply.

The Official Trump meme coin has not been in particularly good form in recent weeks, falling further away from its record high price of $71 reached in January. According to data from CoinGecko, the token’s price is down from its all-time high by roughly 90% in the past three months.

Prior to the unlock event, the TRUMP token was valued at around $7.54 and had been oscillating between $7.46 and $7.83 on the day. However, the impending release of 40 million tokens from a three-month lockup did little to improve the sentiment around the meme coin, as investors predicted an extended period of downward pressure.

Historically, large token unlocks are deemed bearish events, as they allow holders to sell off their assets on the open market. With increasing token supply and insufficient demand, the meme coin’s price was expected to further crumble under the selling pressure.

Interestingly, the price of TRUMP seems to be reversing the trend and moving against the crowd’s expectations after surging by more than 8% to reclaim the $8 mark on Saturday. While the meme coin’s price has somewhat cooled down, it did climb as high as the $8.60 mark on the day.

The Official Trump meme coin was launched earlier in January 2025, a few days before the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. The launch was met with some criticism in the industry, especially as President Trump also promoted the cryptocurrency. The April 18 unlock event represents the first among numerous “cliff” releases expected to come at later dates.

TRUMP Price At A Glance

As of this writing, the price of TRUMP lies at around $8.33, reflecting an 8.6% increase in the last 24 hours. However, this positive single-day action was not enough to put the meme coin in the green on the weekly timeframe — still down by 1.5% in the last seven days.

Opinion by: Henry Duckworth, founder and CEO of AgriDex

We all need and buy it. Food is a common, universal ground across the planet. It should come as no surprise then that the agricultural industry is enormous. In 2023, the European Union alone imported 154 million tonnes of agricultural products and exported 134 million tonnes more. The market is growing too, projected to expand by 3.45% annually from this year to reach $5.52 trillion by 2029. 

Yet, farmers and agricultural traders are confronted with a serious problem. They need to export food abroad and interact with foreign currencies. The financial system — particularly in Africa — is, however, underdeveloped. Inefficiencies in their trade result in high transaction costs, delayed cross-border payments, and high interest rates for loans. Large corporations can better navigate financial hurdles, but this isn’t always the case for small farmers, who suffer the most from outdated banking systems.

Blockchain technology and stablecoins promise to smooth unstable waters for agricultural traders. Eliminating intermediaries and providing financial inclusion, the technology gives farmers direct access to global markets. With Africa’s food and agriculture market predicted to be valued at $1 trillion by 2030, stablecoins stand to be much more than simply another financial trend for the industry.

Cross-border payments are hiding significant costs

Cross-border payments are the beating heart of agricultural trade, central to accessing resources, such as equipment and seeds, or engaging in trade between countries. International transactions are vital to African agriculture, as exports within Africa represent only 17% of total African exports. 

Local banking systems are, however, underdeveloped and impede these payments to a shocking degree. A huge sticking point is that traditional banking systems are expensive — they charge farmers between 3% and 6% in fees. This is no small matter when profit margins are already thin.

In transactions, the demand for an intermediary currency, typically the US dollar, leads to even more exchange rate losses, often falling within the 3%-10% range. This affects small businesses in Africa, which can pay nearly 200% more than larger companies to clear their transactions through formal channels.

As if the expense wasn’t bad enough, the process is also painfully slow. Farmers can expect to wait up to 120 days for payment settlements. These delays are devastating for businesses relying on quick access to funds. They are forced to take out high-interest loans with no immediate liquidity, further eroding their earnings.

Stablecoins can fix agricultural trade

Frustratingly outdated financial systems hamper the global agricultural industry, but a glimmer of hope is arriving in the form of stablecoins. Poised to reshape the agricultural trade, crypto offers farmers three key pillars of transformation.

Stablecoins mean farmers and traders can bypass banking inefficiencies. With intermediaries taken out of the picture, they can transact instantly and with lower costs. Farmers save between 3%-6% per payment, and funds are received in minutes rather than in painful waits of weeks or months. The result? These players have the working capital needed to stay in business.

Traders can forget about unstable local currencies. By pricing their goods in a stable digital asset, they can gain access to global markets. Fluctuating exchange rates will become a problem of the past. Businesses operating in countries with volatile currencies will feel that relief most acutely, as sudden devaluations in a currency have the power to wipe out profits overnight.

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The agricultural trade is crippled by immense, systemic fraud and supply chain inefficiencies, with global food fraud costing $40 billion annually and global trade in fake goods another staggering $500 billion. Stablecoins could be transformative in reducing the original movement of counterfeit goods across supply chains, making the industry far more efficient.

Results are already being seen in African agribusiness. Zimbabwe-based conglomerate Parrogate, for example, is committing to blockchain to streamline payments to its suppliers while improving cross-border trade efficiency. The company, which prides itself on growth and development across the continent, is just one of numerous African businesses getting behind stablecoins and reaping the benefits.

Agriculture still faces global challenges

Stablecoins should be music to the ears of those working in agriculture. The road there could, however, be rocky. Significant regulatory uncertainty, especially in Africa, is one hurdle. Many nations have strict capital outflow controls, so farmers and traders must comply with local regulations or face legal issues.

Another limitation is technological barriers and an education gap across the industry, which prevent some farmers from fully grasping and using the technology. European farmers, who need stablecoins less because infrastructure is pretty well established, will also not have full access to these stable mechanisms for facilitating trade.

There are barriers, but the demand for stablecoins in African agriculture is undeniable. There is a strong willingness within the agricultural community to get on board with compliant stablecoins that support cross-border liquidity.

The mass adoption of stablecoins won’t happen overnight, but that’s not to say that this industry isn’t progressing toward the digital. The offer of stablecoins is tantalizing — instant transactions, lower fees and enhanced financial access. It’s only a matter of time before more farmers make the switch.

Agricultural traders struggling under the weight of an outdated and intrusive banking system are ready for greater financial inclusion. And we should be, too. This industry connects us all and will be lifted by stablecoins. The tech will be transformative for the field — not just as an innovation, but as an essential evolution.

Opinion by: Henry Duckworth, founder and CEO of AgriDex.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

The popular alternative cryptocurrency Solana has been clinging to $125 support for weeks, refusing to move but refusing to break — until it finally did. Price dropped below the range it had been sitting on since late 2023, lost the crucial zone and looked ready for a big breakdown.

But then came the bounce with a full reversal, green weekly close, and now we are back above that same support like nothing happened.

Technically? It’s a "fakeout" for now. Price dipped, wiped out longs and jumped right back. SOL ended the week up 7.81%, and the whole thing looked more like a bear trap than an actual move.

On paper, this doesn’t look bad — assuming the macro backdrop doesn’t get worse. Which, of course, is a big assumption right now.

Even expert trader "DonAlt," who is not exactly known for being a Solana fan, flagged the move. He pointed out the range was finally cleared to the downside and called the bounce a false breakdown — and despite not liking the project, admitted it doesn’t look too bad right now.

Zooming out, nothing has changed above. The $190-$200 zone is still untouched, still heavy, and a problem. That whole area is where things fell apart the last time, and getting back up there would take a major shift — not just in SOL, but in the whole crypto market.

The question now is simple: Was that bounce the start of a recovery, or just another failed "fakeout" in a tired market? One thing’s for sure — Solana is not dead yet. But if this bounce fades, it might be back on life support sooner than expected.

It's not the kind of Easter surprise traders were hoping for, as over the past four hours, Bitcoin has seen a massive 13,520% long-to-short liquidation imbalance, with $9.62 million in longs wiped out compared to just $71,000 in shorts. The move came amid a sharp drop in the price of BTC to lows near $83,800 before a mild bounce to the current level of $84,453.

The sell-off triggered a total liquidation of $35.35 million across the market in the same four-hour window, with 83.6% of the damage coming from longs.

BTC alone accounted for the largest chunk at $9.7 million, followed by ETH at $8.2 million and SOL with $2.45 million in liquidated leverage.CoinGlass">

The magnitude of the imbalance speaks for itself. While long liquidations are common in rapid pullbacks, this kind of one-way flush — over 130 times more long positions were liquidated than shorts — shows just how exposed the market had become heading into the weekend. The volatility was enough to drive a total of $165.1 million in liquidations over the last 24 hours, affecting over 119,000 traders.

The biggest single liquidation order? A $5.95 million position on Binance, according to CoinGlass.

If you look at Bitcoin's price chart, you will see that the move was steep but quick. After spending some time at around $85,400, Bitcoin took a dip and hit a low of about $83,800. The quick reversal points to short-term overselling, but the damage to overleveraged long positions was already done.

Traders came into Easter Sunday thinking the market was going to go up. What they got was a brutal reminder: When everyone is going the same way, even a little push in the other direction can lead to a total wipeout.

The hype around Solana has been easy to spot lately. With SOL trading above $136 and daily network activity surging, bullish calls are getting louder — including predictions that Solana could end up hosting 95% of crypto users. But this week, co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko offered a cold dose of realism: not without a ton of work.

Yakovenko’s comment is not a dismissal, but rather a reminder. Solana might be leading on execution, but translating that into dominance will take more than speed. Turning high engagement into high retention — that’s the real work now.

Looking at metrics, Solana’s total value locked sits around $8.819 billion, trailing Ethereum’s $50.234 billion. Despite that, it’s punching above its weight in volume. Solana leads all chains in daily DEX trading, with over $1.719 billion in 24-hour volume — ahead of Ethereum’s $924.73 million and BNB Chain’s $654.88 million.

Stablecoin activity tells a similar story. Solana hosts roughly $12.71 billion in stablecoins, heavily dominated by USDC, which makes up 76.52% of the supply. Ethereum, by contrast, supports a stablecoin market topping $122.279 billion, reflecting deeper liquidity and use across lending, derivatives and structured products.

Validator incentives on Solana remain slim. Annual rewards come in around 424 SOL per validator, or roughly $35,000 at current prices — enough to cover costs, but thin compared to other ecosystems with stronger staking yields or native fee models.

So yes, Solana is fast. It is cheap. It is where a growing number of users are trading. But the broader DeFi picture is still forming — and so far, usage is not fully converting into capital depth or protocol diversity.

In a recent post on X, Shiba Inu team member Lucie issued an important message to the SHIB community.

Lucie opened up about the growing challenge of scammers and imitators exploiting SHIB’s brand. In a message as well as a call to action for the Shiba Inu community to stay informed, Lucie wrote: "I don’t have the power to shut bad actors using SHIB’s name, but I do want my SHIB community to be as informed as possible, and to keep spreading the good word about SHIB — the one and only, Ethereum-born Shiba Inu." "No fake SHIB allowed," the Shiba Inu team member added.

Lucie went on to say SHIB is not for anyone, highlighting decentralization, which is one of the key pillars of the Shiba Inu ecosystem, but rather a token for the people: "SHIB isn’t anyone’s — it’s the people’s token. Many can use it, but no one owns it. Just like BTC = SHIB."

Lucie acknowledged the hard truth that scams cannot always be stopped, and people may, unfortunately, fall for them and hence encouraged the Shiba Inu community to band together, educate and shield newcomers from scams.

Shiba Inu evolves

In a separate X article, Lucie highlighted Shiba Inu's growth and journey since it was launched about five years ago.

"In August 2020, something unexpected was born on the Ethereum blockchain. Not a startup. Not a VC-backed tech project. Just an idea, launched by an anonymous figure known only as Ryoshi. There was no pre-sale. No roadmap. No marketing. Just a simple challenge to the world: What happens when you give power entirely to the people?" Lucie wrote.

SHIB was never meant to follow the traditional path and neither did the one who created it. Currently, Shiba Inu has surpassed 1.5 million holders in a remarkable milestone.