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J. Ayo Akinyele, Head of Engineering at RippleX, has released a detailed analysis exploring whether the XRP Ledger (XRPL) could one day support native staking, prompting new discussion about how the network’s incentive and governance models may evolve.

This proposal comes at a time when XRPL’s DeFi presence remains limited despite 13 years of activity. Ripple’s top executives, David Schwartz and Brad Garlinghouse, have also voiced support for moving XRPL beyond its payment-focused origins and into broader decentralized finance (DeFi) functionality.

What Would XRP Native Staking Look Like According to Ripple Engineers?

According to Akinyele, XRP has evolved far beyond its origins as a fast settlement asset, now serving key functions in liquidity, real-time value movement, and tokenization. The recent launch of the first XRP ETF further highlights the asset’s growing relevance.

In the detailed post, the RippleX executive explained that XRPL’s Proof of Association consensus operates differently from traditional Proof-of-Stake systems. Fees are burned rather than redistributed, and validator trust is earned through performance rather than financial stake.

Akinyele emphasizes that such a feature would not be a simple addition. It would require rethinking how value circulates within the network while preserving XRPL’s stability and decentralization.

Schwartz, one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, also joined the conversation. He outlined two experimental ideas circulating within the engineering community.

The first idea is a two-layer consensus model. In this design, an inner layer of 16 validators would be chosen by the outer layer based on stake. This inner validator set would use staking and slashing mechanisms solely to advance the ledger.

The second idea maintains XRPL’s current consensus model unchanged. Instead of restructuring validators, it proposes using transaction fees to pay for zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs that confirm the correct execution of smart contracts.

With this approach, nodes would no longer need to run the smart contracts themselves. Schwartz described both ideas as technically impressive but not realistically viable “any time soon.”

With programmability efforts and smart contract discussions progressing, Schwartz said it is an appropriate moment to consider what new native DeFi capabilities might eventually look like.

The discussion has sparked interest among XRP holders, particularly because XRPL’s presence in the DeFi sector remains relatively small.

According to DeFiLlama, the XRP Ledger currently holds $75.77 million in total value locked (TVL). This is a modest figure compared to Ethereum’s roughly $71.36 billion and Solana’s $9.443 billion.

If native staking were ever introduced, it could attract additional capital from investors seeking reliable on-chain yields, potentially accelerating XRPL’s growth within the DeFi ecosystem and expanding XRP’s utility.

Internet services provider Cloudflare says that a fault in its bot detection system triggered an outage that took down around 20% of webpages, including several crypto platforms.

Cloudflare said in a post-mortem statement on Tuesday that a “feature file” used by its Bot Management System to fight off cyberattacks grew beyond its normal limit, leading to a failure in Cloudflare’s software.

The company initially suspected the incident was caused by a hyper-scale Distributed Denial of Service attack, but confirmed there was no cyberattack or malicious activity.

Cloudflare handles roughly 20% of internet traffic and powers around one-third of the top 10,000 websites, apps and services.

Its outage took out the websites for Coinbase, Blockchain.com, Ledger, BitMEX, Toncoin, Arbiscan, and DefiLlama, as well as X and ChatGPT, leading some crypto commentators to remark on the crypto industry’s reliance on centralized systems, some of which also went offline when Amazon Web Services suffered a network outage last month. 

XRP price started a fresh decline below $2.250. The price is now attempting to recover and faces resistance near the $2.32 pivot level.

• XRP price started a fresh decline below the $2.250 zone.
• The price is now trading below $2.250 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.2250 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair could continue to move down if it settles below $2.10.

XRP Price Attempts Recovery

XRP price attempted a recovery wave above $2.280 but failed to continue higher, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The price started a fresh decline below $2.250 and $2.220.

There was a move below the $2.120 support level. A low was formed at $2.105, and the price is now attempting a recovery wave. There was a move above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.525 swing high to the $2.058 low.

The price is now trading below $2.250 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If there is a fresh upward move, the price might face resistance near the $2.220 level. There is also a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.2250 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair.

The first major resistance is near the $2.250 level. A close above $2.250 could send the price to $2.30. The next hurdle sits at $2.320 or the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.525 swing high to the $2.058 low. A clear move above the $2.320 resistance might send the price toward the $2.40 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $2.450 resistance. The next major hurdle for the bulls might be near $2.50.

Another Decline?

If XRP fails to clear the $2.250 resistance zone, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2.150 level. The next major support is near the $2.10 level.

If there is a downside break and a close below the $2.10 level, the price might continue to decline toward $2.050. The next major support sits near the $2.00 zone, below which the price could continue lower toward $1.880.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is now losing pace in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $2.10 and $2.050.

Major Resistance Levels – $2.250 and $2.320.

Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee says Ethereum is nearing a cyclical low, arguing that on-chain fundamentals and relative valuation versus Bitcoin indicate that ETH is “pretty close to bottoming this week.”

“Personally, I think that we’re pretty close to bottoming this week,” Lee told CNBC, linking the current drawdown to a broader crypto correction that began after a sharp liquidation event on October 10. Despite that shock, he insisted that Ethereum’s core investment story remains intact.

Will Ethereum Bottom This Week?

For Lee, that story centers on Ethereum as neutral infrastructure for tokenization and stablecoins, increasingly relevant as Wall Street intensifies its on-chain ambitions. “There are stablecoin creations. Larry Fink and BlackRock and Wall Street want to tokenize assets, bring stocks, bonds, real estate onto the blockchain. And they have to find a neutral 100% uptime blockchain. That’s Ethereum. And that’s the fundamental story,” he said.

Lee framed crypto’s extreme volatility as structurally tied to how the market values long-term innovation rather than as a sign of fundamental weakness. “The price, of course, for Ethereum will fluctuate because crypto is hyper volatile. In fact, it’s kind of a… it’s sort of a feature of the blockchain itself,” he noted. “Crypto suffered from that liquidation event on October 10th, but because the fundamental story is intact and crypto discounts the future, that’s why it’s volatile, but it still looks pretty attractive here.”

He placed the current move in the context of a broader risk-off environment and a continuing correction across digital assets. According to Lee, macro data remains a crucial driver of crypto cycles, particularly for Bitcoin. “The most correlated factor to Bitcoin prices when you see it… at a peak actually is the ISM,” he said, referring to US activity surveys. “So I think we’re still in a correction phase of crypto.”

Asked specifically what underpins his bullish view on Ethereum now, Lee pointed to two structural “floor” mechanisms.

First, he cited the value of assets locked on the Ethereum blockchain. “Ethereum kind of has several ways that it establishes a floor. One is the value of all the assets locked onto the blockchain, and that number is growing,” he said. “Historically, Ethereum bottoms when that ratio is about 50%. So I’d say we’re pretty close to that level. That’s why I think Ethereum is probably bottoming this week.”

Second, he highlighted Ethereum’s valuation relative to Bitcoin, using both price and network value. “The other way to look at Ethereum is really its price ratio or even its network value ratio to Bitcoin. It currently sits at 0.032,” Lee said. “The long-term average, like the eight-year average, if we were just to trade to that eight-year average, would put Ethereum at around $12,000.”

On that basis, Lee characterized Ethereum as undervalued versus its historical relationship with Bitcoin. “So I think Ethereum is undervalued because number one, the story is gaining relative to Bitcoin this year. But two, we’re getting this sort of intrinsic floor because of the value that the assets locked onto the Ethereum blockchain,” he argued.

Summarizing Lee’s stance, the CNBC host concluded: “Tom Lee saying that Ethereum is bottoming this week.” Lee did not offer a specific price target or an exact day, but his message was clear: in his view, Ethereum is close to completing its correction as on-chain value and relative valuation metrics converge toward levels that have historically marked major bottoms.

At press time, ETH traded at $3,018.

Large Bitcoin holders have increased their positions to a four-month high of 1,384 wallets holding at least 1,000 BTC. At the same time, retail investors with 1 BTC or less dropped to an annual low of 977,420.

This divergence highlights a recurring pattern: experienced whales accumulate during downturns, while smaller holders exit in fear.

Whale Accumulation Accelerates During Market Correction

According to Glassnode data, wallets holding at least 1,000 BTC rose to 1,384 this week from 1,354 three weeks ago—a 2.2% increase. This count is the highest for large holder wallets in four months, suggesting renewed confidence among institutional and high-net-worth investors despite turbulence in the broader market.

Meanwhile, wallets containing 1 BTC or less declined to 977,420—down from 980,577 in late October. This marks the lowest level of smallholder participation in a year. It follows the typical pattern of less experienced investors capitulating during price corrections.

Bitcoin has endured its third-largest drawdown of the current cycle, dropping over 25% from its all-time high six weeks ago. Bitcoin opened on Wednesday near $92,600, and was traded in a choppy range between $92,200 and $92,800 throughout the morning session in Asia, displaying typical volatility as traders navigated between support and resistance.

Historical trends suggest that whale accumulation amid retail selling often precedes stabilization. Currently, just 7.6% of the short-term holder supply is in profit—a level commonly seen at cycle lows. In addition, the STH Realized Profit-Loss Ratio has dropped below 0.20, another metric that often aligns with market bottoms.

Capital Rotating within Crypto Markets

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stays at 11 out of 100 for two days, reflecting deep fear across the market. Social media sentiment has become strongly negative. Traders share memes about returning to traditional jobs and express doubts about a quick recovery.

According to Coinglass’s Bitcoin Long/Short Ratio Chart, the overall trend shows persistent bearish pressure, with traders repeatedly positioning for price declines. However, sentiment occasionally swung back toward optimism before returning to predominantly negative expectations.

Some market observers see this extreme pessimism as a contrarian signal. Sentiment is compressed, leverage is lower in derivatives markets, and whale accumulation persists. According to Bitfinex’s on-chain analysis, selling exhaustion is apparent, and capital is rotating within crypto markets rather than leaving altogether.

Open Interest for BTC/USDT sits around 100K, showing stronger trader participation even as prices fall. This scenario—rising Open Interest and falling prices—usually signals bearish sentiment, possibly driven by aggressive shorting. However, the pace of sales and realized losses has begun to stabilize, suggesting a possible transition to consolidation.

Bob Diamond, the former Barclays CEO and now head of Atlas Merchant Capital, views the recent turmoil in global asset markets as a healthy correction—not the start of a full-blown bear market. Diamond points out that investors are still working out how to price risk assets amid rapid technological shifts.

As Bitcoin searches for a bottom in late 2025, the split between whale accumulation and retail selling forms a classic market structure. The coming weeks should reveal whether institutional confidence is enough to stabilize the market or if fear continues to rule trading.

Ethereum price failed to stay above $3,050 and tested $2,950. ETH is now attempting to recover but faces resistance near $3,150.

• Ethereum started a fresh decline after it failed to stay above $3,150.
• The price is trading below $3,120 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance at $3,150 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair could continue to move down if it settles below the $3,065 zone.

Ethereum Price Attempts Recovery

Ethereum price failed to continue higher above $3,200 and started a fresh decline, like Bitcoin. ETH price dipped below $3,150 and entered a bearish zone.

The decline gathered pace below $3,050 and the price dipped below $3,000. A low was formed at $2,941 and the price is now correcting some losses. There was a move above the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $3,217 swing high to the $2,941 low.

Ethereum price is now trading below $3,120 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If there is another recovery wave, the price could face resistance near the $3,150 level and the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $3,217 swing high to the $2,941 low. There is also a key bearish trend line forming with resistance at $3,150 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

The next key resistance is near the $3,220 level. The first major resistance is near the $3,250 level. A clear move above the $3,250 resistance might send the price toward the $3,320 resistance. An upside break above the $3,320 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $3,450 resistance zone or even $3,500 in the near term.

Another Decline In ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $3,150 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $3,065 level. The first major support sits near the $3,020 zone.

A clear move below the $3,020 support might push the price toward the $2,950 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,880 region in the near term. The next key support sits at $2,750 and $2,740.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now above the 50 zone.

Major Support Level – $3,065

Major Resistance Level – $3,150