Spot bitcoin ETFs post worst week since February 2025 with $1.33 billion in outflows

Chainlink remains on standby as daily candles continue to show indecision, keeping traders on edge. The next significant move for LINK largely depends on Bitcoin’s momentum, with bulls and bears waiting for a clear signal before committing. Until then, the market is in a holding pattern, building tension for the breakout or breakdown.

Traders Await Clear Direction For Chainlink

According to an update from CryptoWzrd, the daily candles for both Chainlink and LINKBTC continue to print indecisive price action, reflecting a lack of strong conviction from either side of the market. Despite recent movements, neither buyers nor sellers have been able to establish a clear directional edge, keeping the broader outlook neutral for now.

To gain a reliable directional bias and unlock higher-probability trade opportunities, healthier and more decisive daily candles are required, as price could continue to chop within its current range. Bitcoin is expected to remain the primary driver of the next significant move. In particular, LINKBTC needs to print another bullish daily candle in the coming week to maintain any constructive momentum. 

Failure to do so could shift the balance back in favor of the bears and increase downside pressure. A continuation of weakness would likely result in a break of the daily lower-high trendline, followed by a loss of the critical $12 support level. 

On the bullish side, if Bitcoin provides the necessary support, LINK could attempt a recovery rally toward the $16 resistance zone. Until a clearer higher-timeframe structure emerges, the trading focus remains tactical. Attention will be placed on the lower-timeframe charts, particularly over the weekend, to capitalize on quick, short-term opportunities while avoiding unnecessary exposure to indecisive daily conditions.

Intraday Chart Shows Tight Range, Market Lacks Clear Direction

The analyst concluded that the intraday chart remains choppy, with price action tightly compressed within a narrow range. Such conditions point to persistent market indecision, in which neither bulls nor bears have shown sufficient conviction to drive a sustained move in either direction. As a result, trade setups lack clarity and carry elevated risk.

From a tactical perspective, a retest of the $13 resistance level, followed by clear signs of rejection or fading momentum, could open the door to a short opportunity. However, if price holds above $13 with strong acceptance, that would place the market in more constructive territory and tilt the bias back in favor of the bulls.

Until one of these scenarios plays out decisively, the analyst emphasized the importance of waiting. A more mature and well-defined chart structure is needed before engaging in the next trade, ensuring better confirmation, cleaner entries, and improved risk-to-reward conditions.

The Nietzschean Penguin (PENGUIN) token, a memecoin launched on the Solana layer-1 blockchain network, surged by about 564% following a social media post from the United States White House.

On Friday, the White House published a social media post on X of US President Donald Trump and a penguin holding hands and walking through the snow, which went viral.

PENGUIN traded at a market capitalization of about $387,000 before the post and recorded $244 million in trading volume in the 24 hours after the post, according to SolanaFloor.

Crypto analyst CryptoBull has highlighted targets that XRP could reach as it eyes double digits. The analyst is confident the altcoin could reach these targets, noting that current price action is mirroring the previous bull run. 

XRP Eyes Rally To $11 And Then $70

In an X post, Crypto Bull stated that the next impulse will take XRP to $11 and that the last wave will take the altcoin to $70. This came as he noted that the price pattern is mirroring the previous bull run, with the only difference being time, which he claimed makes sense, as the altcoin needs longer accumulation to reach higher prices. 

The analyst also indicated that it could take a year of accumulation for XRP to reach the $11 price target, meaning the last wave to $70 could take much longer. This prediction comes despite the current decline in the crypto market, with XRP trading below the psychological $2 price level.

Despite the current bearish sentiment, crypto analyst CW has also declared that the XRP rally is about to begin and that the road to $21.5 is just the beginning. He noted that this is the Phase 4 peak while the first goal is for the altcoin to break its current all-time high (ATH). 

His accompanying chart showed that XRP could reach this $21 target by year-end. Meanwhile, there is the possibility of the altcoin rallying above $100 in the next Phase 1, which could happen next year. Crypto Pundit X Finance Bull recently highlighted the CLARITY Act and Trump’s tariffs as factors that could boost XRP’s demand and lead to higher prices for the altcoin. 

He expects the CLARITY Act to boost XRP’s demand, especially with Trump’s Crypto Czar predicting that more banks will enter into crypto once the bill passes. X Finance Bull predicts that XRP will be the token of choice for these banks based on his belief that Ripple will provide the rails to onboard them. 

XRP Breaking Out Of Multi-Year Triangle

Crypto analyst XForce revealed in an X post that XRP is breaking out of the largest 6+ year triangle in history, yet people are calling it a fakeout. He added that he is not a permabull or permanbear on the altcoin but that he follows trends and plays macro breakout patterns. His accompanying chart indicated that XRP was on the verge of a move to the upside, with a potential rally above $11.50. 

On the lower timeframe, crypto analyst Chart Nerd stated that XRP is currently breaking out of a two-week falling wedge structure. He noted that this is a bullish reversal pattern that could send the altcoin back to $2.40 in the short term, as this is where the wedge formed. He highlighted a key resistance between $2.13 and $2.20, which the altcoin will need to break above to confirm a reversal. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.92, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has formally ended its civil enforcement action against Gemini Trust Company over the Gemini Earn crypto lending program, filing a joint stipulation for dismissal with prejudice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday.

The regulator cited the complete recovery of Gemini Earn investors as the primary factor in its decision. Through Genesis Global Capital's bankruptcy proceedings between May and June 2024, customers received a full return of their crypto assets in kind, according to the SEC's litigation release.

"The Commission's decision to seek dismissal of this action is 'in the exercise of its discretion,' and takes into account the '100 percent in-kind return of Gemini Earn investors' crypto assets,'" the SEC stated, also noting that state and regulatory settlements involving Gemini factored into the decision.

The dismissal with prejudice means the SEC cannot bring the same claims against Gemini again, effectively closing the book on one of the highest-profile crypto lending cases to emerge from the 2022 market collapse. Gemini did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block. 

A three-year legal battle

The SEC charged both Genesis and Gemini in January 2023, alleging that Gemini Earn constituted an unregistered securities offering. The program, which launched in February 2021 and offered up to 7.4% APY, froze in November 2022 when Genesis halted withdrawals amid the post-FTX credit crisis, locking roughly $940 million from 340,000 users.

A federal judge denied motions to dismiss in March 2024, finding the SEC had "plausibly alleged" securities violations. But the path to Friday's dismissal was paved by investor recovery and a series of settlements: Genesis paid $21 million to the SEC, while Gemini paid $37 million to NYDFS and contributed $40 million to the bankruptcy to facilitate full customer recovery.

The dismissal adds to a wave of SEC crypto enforcement retreats under Chairman Paul Atkins, who took over in April 2025. The agency has dropped cases against Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, and others, though it emphasized that this decision "does not necessarily reflect the Commission's position on any other case." 

Gemini and the SEC had reached a resolution in principle which was announced in September 2025. Under Chairman Atkins, the SEC has launched "Project Crypto" to modernize its digital asset rules, part of a broader shift from the enforcement-first approach of the Gensler era. The Winklevoss twins were notable financial supporters of President Trump's 2024 campaign and have maintained close ties to the administration, attending the signing of stablecoin legislation earlier this year.

Gemini, now trading as GEMI after raising $425 million in a September 2025 IPO, is currently valued at approximately $1.14 billion. The dismissal awaits final sign-off from Judge Ramos.

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The number of Bitcoin nodes signaling support for Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110 (BIP-110), a temporary soft fork limiting the amount of data included in each transaction at the consensus level, rose to 2.38%. 

583 out of 24,481 nodes are running BIP-110, and the primary node software implementation for running the soft fork proposal is Bitcoin Knots, according to The Bitcoin Portal.

BIP-110 limits the size of transaction outputs to 34 bytes and caps the OP_RETURN data limit to 83 bytes. The temporary soft fork will be deployed for 1 year, with possible extension or alteration after the 1-year term, according to the proposal’s GitHub page.

A large investor shifted funds into tokenized gold this week, and Bitcoin felt the impact. Prices dipped while a whale quietly bought millions in XAUT, a gold-backed token, signaling a short-term move toward traditional hedges.

Whales Move Into Tokenized Gold

According to on-chain trackers, one address moved $1.53 million in USDC into Hyperliquid to buy XAUT. Reports note that the same wallet had earlier bought about 481 XAUT, a purchase worth roughly $2.38 million.

The address still holds close to $1.44 million in USDC, which suggests more purchases could follow. These moves were picked up on public blockchains and then flagged by analysts watching large transfers.

This kind of action can matter. When big players shuffle cash, smaller traders often take notice and hedge their bets. The shift is not proof of a long-term trend, but it shows that, at least for now, some large holders prefer gold exposure over extra crypto risk.