Metaplex (MPLX) - Genesis Launch Pool Debut - 27 Aug 2025

Stronghold is starting in Japan, and the team will answer questions in a live online talk (AMA). This event helps the Stronghold team meet new users in Japan, which is an important market. If the AMA brings positive attention and new partnerships, the SHX price might rise. But if there is little interest, or people do not trust the project, the price may not move much. The real effect depends on how well the team connects with Japanese users and how they answer questions. source

Mindfak (MINDFAK) will be traded for the first time on XT.COM, a known exchange. This new listing lets more people buy and sell MINDFAK, which can make the price go higher if buyers are excited. Especially with the popularity of meme tokens, a new exchange listing can create strong interest. Still, if few people want to buy, or if the market is not excited, the price might not move much or could even fall after trading starts. Watch market activity closely after listing. source

Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff has admitted that his infamous 2018 prediction, that Bitcoin (BTC) was more likely to be worth $100 than $100,000 in ten years, was spectacularly wrong.

Writing on X, Rogoff acknowledged that he underestimated the OG cryptocurrency’s resilience, citing “sensible regulation never arriving,” its role in the global underground economy, and people in authority themselves holding crypto despite conflicts of interest.From $100 Call to $124K Reality

The admission comes just days after Bitcoinseta new all-time high price above $124,000 on August 14, flipping Google’s market capitalization in the process. Rogoff’s climbdown has rekindled debate between critics and supporters alike over the gulf between academia and the real-world trajectory of digital assets.

Back in January 2018, the former IMF chief economist told CNBC’s Squawk Box:

“I think Bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we’re headed out 10 years from now,” the Harvard professor said. “I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now.”

He claimed that the asset’s “actual uses as a transaction vehicle” were negligible outside of money laundering and tax evasion. He also insisted that regulation would eventually crush the cryptocurrency’s value. At the time, BTC was trading around $11,200 and was still reeling after dumping from its December 2017 peak near $19,000.

Now, in 2025, with Bitcoin well above the $100,000 mark Rogoff had insisted the asset would never reach, his prediction is being ridiculed across social media.

Analyst Bit Paine compared his mistake to a marine biologist mistaking a blue whale for weighing 200 pounds. Bitcoin proponent Robert Breedlove also came in hot, dismissing the professor outright, saying he never cared for his opinion then and still doesn’t now.

However, others, like Columbia lecturer Omid Malekan, argued Rogoff’s misstep was a reflection of the wider “innovator’s dilemma” in academia, where reputational risk, institutional bias, and the lack of technical background may leave many economists unsuited to understand the importance of Bitcoin.

Austin Campbell, a former JPMorgan executive, went further in a thread the same day, calling Rogoff “the single worst situated person in the entire world to understand the value of Bitcoin,” citing his privileged access to stable institutions and the dollar-based system.

Meanwhile, economist Jan Wüstenfeld highlighted that Bitcoin’s appeal stems not from tax evasion as Rogoff had insinuated, but from systemic inflation, monetary expansion, and rising global debt loads.Market Outlook

Bitcoin’s price hasretreatedsince last week’s all-time high, slipping 7.3% over the past seven days to trade at $112,639 as of August 20.

The decline follows profit-taking after its record run, though the asset remains up 86% year-on-year. In the last 24 hours, BTC dipped 2.1% within a range of $112,500 to $115,000, with short-term weakness contrasting its broader bullish trajectory.

World Liberty Financial has detailed its first plans to release tradable tokens to early investors on September 1, marking a significant step for the DeFi project backed by President Donald Trump and his family. 

The project plans to unlock 20% of tokens purchased by early supporters in two funding rounds, priced at $0.015 and $0.05 per token. The remaining 80% will be unlocked subject to a subsequent governance vote. Tokens allocated to founders, team members, and advisors will remain locked, according to World Liberty's announcement. 

Investors will be able to activate an onchain "Lockbox," which will verify compliance, starting on Monday, Aug. 25. "The vast majority are approved to connect and activate immediately," the project said. "Only a limited number that don’t meet compliance requirements are restricted from using the Lockbox."

WLFI holders unanimously voted in July to make the Ethereum-based token tradable, as World Liberty continues to push adoption of its USD1 stablecoin, teasing a loyalty program for users and pursuing a Coinbase listing. 

Perps debut over $0.40

On Saturday, the first official pre-market perpetual futures trading contracts for WLFI were listed on exchanges Binance, Bybit, and OKX. On the exchanges, the price hovered between $0.40 and $0.42 on Saturday morning shortly after launch, implying a fully diluted valuation of over $40 billion for the project, given its 100 billion WLFI token supply. 

If that price is matched by spot markets once the tokens become unlocked, the Trump family's stake of 22.5 billion tokens, held by the holding company DT Marks DEFI LLC, would be worth over $9 billion, though the tokens won't be immediately unlocked. Trump's personal stake at the end of last year, according to a financial disclosure, was 15.75 billion tokens, which would be worth over $6 billion, doubling Trump's current estimated net worth reported by Forbes. 

Trump has been criticized by political opponents for his stake in the project, with some Democrats calling it a potential avenue for corruption. Conflict-of-interest guardrails pushed by Democrats largely failed to make it into the text of the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin-focused legislation that was signed into law by Trump in July. 

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The legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be over, but the stream of interesting news surrounding the company is far from finished.

In this article, we dive into the latest developments and examine the price dynamics of XRP.Partnerships, SEC Case Update, and More

Ripple has recently taken center stage due to its involvement with other projects. Earlier this week, TRM Labs introduced Beacon Network (described as “the first real-time crypto crime response network).

Ripple reposted the news on its official X account, saying it is “proud” to be a founding member of the project. “Working with industry & law enforcement, Beacon helps stop illicit funds before they exit the blockchain,” the announcement reads.

Just a few days later, Ripplecollaboratedwith the Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings. The focus of the agreement is to distribute the company’s stablecoin RLUSD through the licensed subsidiary, SBI VC Trade.

“The introduction of RLUSD will not just expand the option of stablecoins in the Japanese market, but is a major step forward in the reliability and convenience of stablecoins,” said SBI VC Trade CEO Tomohiko Kondo.

This is not the first financial institution to get involved with Ripple’s product. Other well-known names that have previously supported it include the oldest bank in the USA,BNY Mellon, and the Swiss AMINA Bank.

What’s perhaps more intriguing is the latest development on the SEC vs. Ripple battlefront, where both parties have taken another important step to resolve their legal argument. The Second Circuit finallyapprovedtheir joint stipulation of dismissal.XRP Price Outlook

Ripple’s cross-border token had declined by almost 10% over the past week, dropping to under $2.8 amid a recent selling spree by whales.

However, the landscape changed yesterday evening after Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole. XRP, also fueled by the aforementioned update in the lawsuit against the SEC, flew from $2.8 to $3.1 within minutes before it settled at the current $3.05.

Before this price revival, the popular X user Ali Martinez outlined that the TD Sequential had flashed a buy signal. For their part, CRYPTOWZRD described $2.80 as the main daily support target, saying that the next resistance target is above $3.30 while a new ATH is possible on a sustained bullish reversal.XRP ETF on the Way?

Ever since the historical launch of spot BTC and ETH ETFs in the USA, the Ripple community has been eagerly awaiting the introduction of a similar product with XRP as the underlying asset. If approved, it will enable investors to purchase shares in a fund that directly holds the token, providing exposure to its price movements.

The companies that have filed to launch such an investment vehicle include Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, 21Shares, and many more. Earlier in August, the odds of approval before the end of 2025 had slipped to nearly 50%, while Polymarket currently estimates a chance of over 80%.

There was a big update on this matter as well, which helped raise the odds. The SEC had delayed making a decision on the aforementioned filings by these companies. However, the potential ETF issuers responded swiftly, updating their applications as the October deadline approaches.

XRP appears ready for a strong upward move. Recent developments, like the coordinated XRP ETF filings, rising approval chances, and the official end of the lawsuit, are fueling bullish speculation. 

Analysts are closely watching technical signals and suggest that the next move for XRP could be significant.

XRP ETF Filings Gain Momentum

After the official dismissal of the SEC’s long-running case against Ripple Labs, several major asset managers, including Canary, CoinShares, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, WisdomTree, Grayscale, and Bitwise, updated their XRP ETF registration filings. 

ETF expert Nate Geraci called it a “very good sign” for XRP ETFs, highlighting growing momentum in the market.

The odds of a spot XRP ETF approval have also hit 85%, and XRP-focused ETFs like Teucrium and ProShares have already added hundreds of millions in assets.

Ripple Ecosystem Growth

On the ecosystem side, XRP Ledger also continues to expand. RLUSD is nearing $700 million in assets and saw a 15% jump in 30-day transaction volume to $2.7 billion. 

Analyst Altcoin Gordon notes that XRP/BTC is on the verge of breaking its 8-year downtrend. He cites several bullish factors like the ETF approval, partnerships with Japan’s SBI Holdings, and massive upgrades to the XRPL.

Price Targets and Technical Outlook

Analyst Dark Defender expects XRP to form a similar Bull Flag to the one seen in November 2024, when the token climbed from $1.13 to $2.40. He identifies key support at $3 to $2.85 and potential targets between $4.39 and $5.85, signaling that XRP could be preparing for another significant upward move.

Analyst BarriC is even more optimistic. He predicts explosive price action for XRP over the coming months and into early 2026. He expects XRP to surpass $4 soon, potentially reaching a double-digit all-time high of $10–$15. 

He anticipates another major rally in early 2026 that could push prices toward $50. If banks begin adopting and using XRP, he predicts the token could experience unprecedented gains, starting at $1,000 or more.

Pullback Before the Rally?

Another analyst, Zach Rector, says that XRP could easily double ahead of U.S. spot ETF launches. But drawing parallels to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, he says that a pullback is likely once approvals arrive. The SEC’s delay until late October 2025 sets the stage for months of speculative buying. But strong institutional inflows could ease the selling pressure. 

XRP is currently trading around $3.03, showing a mostly neutral technical outlook. Although the short-term averages lean slightly bearish, longer-term averages remain bullish. 

Overall, XRP sits at a key level, with potential for a breakout if momentum picks up.