Global Markets Inch Up Ahead of Data-Heavy Week

By George Glover

Bitcoin was racking up more gains Monday, putting the cryptocurrency on the brink of a record high.

The world's largest token by total market capitalization was up 3.6% to $121,988 over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinDesk. It's now trading about 1% off the record price it hit in mid-July.

Several factors have driven the latest run higher, including an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Thursday that will open up Americans' 401(k) plans to cryptocurrencies. It's a massive win for digital assets: According to the Investment Company Institute, 401(k)s held $8.9 trillion in assets as of September last year.

Other tokens were also climbing Monday. Ethereum was up 1.6%, Solana was up 1.8%, and XRP was up 0.7% over the past 24 hours, according to data from the crypto exchange Kraken.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

An early Ethereum ICO participant has re-entered the spotlight after transferring 2,300 ETH, worth about $9.9 million, in a single transaction. As per Lookonchain data, this investor originally bought 20,000 ETH during the 2014 Genesis sale for just $6,200 and still holds 1,623 ETH, valued at roughly $6.99 million. The move comes as Ethereum’s price action heats up, adding to speculation about what’s next for the market.

Big Players Make Big Moves

Ethereum’s largest holders have been active, moving more than $16 million in ETH to Kraken shortly after the cryptocurrency broke out of a multi-year symmetrical triangle pattern that formed since 2021. Many analysts view this breakout as a powerful bullish signal, with price targets as high as $15,000, a potential 372% surge from current levels.

Altcoin Season Gains Momentum

This whale activity is happening alongside a shift in market dynamics. Data shows ETH is now seeing more capital inflows than Bitcoin, signaling the start of altcoin season. Institutional interest in Ethereum is rising, with treasury investments and ETF expectations adding fuel to the rally. 

Michaël van de Poppe predicts a volatile week, suggesting Bitcoin could touch $120K before a correction triggers sharp altcoin drops. In the meantime, Ethereum’s recent strength may stall briefly, opening the door for smaller altcoins to run.

Large transfers from dormant wallets often impact market sentiment. This latest move coincides with shrinking ETH supply on exchanges and increased institutional buying, creating a supply squeeze. Many traders see this as a bullish backdrop that could sustain upward price momentum.

Risks Still in Play

Despite the excitement, on-chain analyst CryptoQuant warns of possible turbulence ahead. High leverage, strong resistance levels, and rising ETH inflows to exchanges could spark short-term volatility. However, they note that strong fundamentals, such as institutional demand, ETF interest, and ongoing network upgrades, should keep Ethereum’s broader uptrend intact.

Analyst Ali Martinez points to Ethereum’s MVRV ratio as a key reason why the rally may not be over. The ratio, which compares ETH’s current market price to the average price paid by holders, is not yet at “extreme” levels that typically signal a market top. This suggests Ethereum still has room to climb before hitting its peak in the current cycle.

FAQs

As per our Ethereum price forecast 2025, the ETH price could reach a maximum of $5,925.

While Ethereum is trusted for its stout fundamentals, Bitcoin continues to dominate with its widespread adoption.

As per our Ethereum price prediction 2040, Ethereum could reach a maximum price of $123,678.

By 2050, a single Ethereum price could go as high as $255,282.

S&P Global Ratings has assigned a B- issuer credit rating to Sky Protocol, formerly known as Maker Protocol, marking the first time a major credit rating agency has issued a rating for a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform.

The rating is part of S&P’s ongoing assessment of stablecoin issuers, which began in 2023 to evaluate their ability to maintain a stable value relative to fiat currencies. The review covers the creditworthiness of Sky’s liabilities, the USDS (USDS) and DAI stablecoins and the sUSDS and sDAI savings tokens.

Sky Protocol, evaluated for the first time, received a “4” — labeled “constrained” — for USDS’s ability to maintain its peg to the US dollar. The scale runs from “1” for very strong to “5” for weak.

The Sky Protocol is a decentralized lending platform that enables users to borrow cryptocurrency-backed loans. Its USDS stablecoin, used to facilitate lending and borrowing transactions, is the fourth-largest by market cap, with roughly $5.36 billion at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.

S&P defines a default on the protocol’s liabilities as “a haircut imposed on token holders.” It highlights key risks that could trigger such a default, including depositor withdrawals exceeding the liquidity available in the peg stability module and credit losses surpassing the available capital.

Government, capitalization and regulatory risk are main concerns

The S&P rating pointed to weaknesses in the protocol, including high depositor concentration, centralized governance, reliance on the founder, regulatory uncertainty and weak capitalization. These risks are partly offset by the protocol’s minimal credit losses and earnings since 2020.

Andrew O’Neil, S&P Global’s digital assets analytical lead, told Cointelegraph, “A ‘B-‘ rating means that we believe the protocol currently can meet its financial obligations, but it would be vulnerable in adverse business, financial and economic conditions.”

The Sky Ecosystem Asset-Liability Committee said the process gave it a chance to examine both traditional counterparty risks and DeFi-specific vulnerabilities such as smart contract, oracle, bridge and governance risks.

“As part of the interviews and documentation we shared with S&P, we had the opportunity to revisit and challenge some of the analytical assumptions behind counterparty risks that are typical of TradFi but don’t necessarily apply on‑chain, and we also examined novel, DeFi‑native, risks - smart‑contract, oracle, bridge and governance risks - that must be monitored and mitigated carefully,” they told Cointelegraph.

Sky co-founder Rune Christensen holds nearly 9% of governance tokens. S&P’s assessment stated that “the protocol’s governance process remains highly centralized due to low voter turnout during key decisions.”

Sky’s capitalization is another primary concern. According to the assessment, with a risk-adjusted capital ratio of 0.4% as of July 27, the protocol has a limited surplus reserve buffer to cover potential credit losses.

An Ethereum initial coin offering participant has sold 2,300 ETH, worth about $9.9 million, early Monday morning, onchain data shows.

Onchain data analytics provider Lookonchain reported Monday that the address "0x845…a210c" transferred 2,300 ETH to Kraken, leaving the address with 1,623 ETH remaining.

The Ethereum ICO whale originally received 20,000 ETH for $6,200, which is now valued at around $86 million, according to Lookonchain.

In addition to Monday's transfer, the address made several previous outbound transfers: 250 ETH in December 2024, 1,000 ETH in February 2024, and 3,000 ETH in late November 2023, among others.

Ethereum climbed 1.64% in the past 24 hours to trade above $4,300 at the time of writing, reaching its highest levels since December 2021, according to The Block's Ethereum price page.

The Ethereum ICO, held from July 22 to September 2, 2014, raised about $18.3 million by selling over 60 million ETH tokens at an average price of $0.31 per ETH, with 1 BTC initially buying 2,000 ETH and later 1,337 ETH due to price adjustments.

The funds, equivalent to 31,531 BTC, supported the development of Ethereum, which launched in July 2015 with a total initial supply of 72 million ETH, 83% of which went to ICO investors.

This ICO, accessible globally without investor restrictions, yielded an ROI of more than 12,000-fold for early investors, based on Ethereum's current price.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The corporate race into crypto has just gotten hotter, starting with Bitcoin, then Ethereum, XRP, and now coming down to BNB. Nasdaq-listed company BNC (formerly VAPE) has announced a $160 million purchase of 200k BNB. 

This huge purchase makes BNC the largest corporate holder of BNB in the world. Following the news, the BNB price jumped to $819, marking an 8% gain in just a week.

From VAPE to Crypto Power Player

According to Wu Blockchain, Nasdaq-listed BNB Network Company — formerly known as VAPE, has made a bold entry into the Binance ecosystem, spending $160 million to buy 200,000 BNB tokens.

This wasn’t just a casual market buy. The purchase was backed by a $500 million private funding round led by 10X Capital and YZi Labs, signaling strong confidence from heavyweight investors.

While many public companies are still experimenting with Bitcoin or Ethereum, BNC has gone straight for a high-stakes bet on BNB, a token deeply tied to the Binance ecosystem.

Plans to Keep Buying

BNC isn’t stopping here. With its warrant structure, it could boost its BNB investment to $1.25 billion, gaining huge influence over corporate holdings. If they follow through, that would put the company in a position of massive influence over BNB’s corporate ownership.

If more corporations follow this path, BNB could move from being primarily an exchange utility token to a recognized strategic asset for big institutions.

Impact on BNB Price

BNB’s market momentum has been undeniable. The token price has climbed 18% over the past month, trading between $750 and $838 in the last week. 

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 65.88, suggesting more room for growth before hitting overbought territory.

However, technical analysis suggests that breaking above $825 could send prices to $850–$875

On the flip side, if resistance holds, prices may drop to $790, with $750 as strong support

In the crypto world, Chainlink and XRP are often discussed side-by-side, but not because they are in direct competition. The two projects simply serve very different purposes.

XRP’s technology is widely used for cross-border payments, especially by banks and payment providers. Chainlink, on the other hand, is less visible to the general public but plays an important role in connecting blockchains with real-world data.

A Viral Debate on X

A recent post on X (formerly Twitter) sparked a discussion between the two communities.

One expert opened up about Chainlink, saying they had “I’ve never seen it work in real life” or met anyone building with it. He argued that developers on the ground know what works better than influencers promoting projects.

However, another analyst replied, stressing that the two projects serve completely different purposes. XRP, through RippleNet, focuses on fast, low-cost global payments. Chainlink ensures authenticity and data accuracy for blockchains.

They also pointed out that the LINK token is mainly for payments, is not native to Chainlink, and runs on Ethereum as an ERC-20 token. “You can’t compare chain and XRPL, it’s like comparing MS Word with PHOTSHOP,” (sic) Vincent Van Code wrote.

Key Differences Between Chainlink and XRP

• While XRP is essentially a fintech targeted at institutions, Chainlink’s scope is more limited. Its pitch is to be the middleware that provides the data sources (“oracles”) that let blockchains talk to each other, and to traditional finance. 
• XRP usually ranks higher in overall comparison due to its larger capitalization and feasibility in payment transactions, and on the other hand, Chainlink is generally more expensive to trade internationally.
• The current trading price of Chainlink is approximately $22.16 USD with a market cap of $15.02 billion, while the XRP price is $3.27 USD with a market capitalization of $193.91 billion USD. 
• Chailink is not built for asset transfer; its primary utility is as a data infrastructure layer, unlike XRP, which allows high-speed cross-border transactions, with protocol-level liquidity and anti-frontrunning mechanisms.