hodler

30 May 2026, 07:02

Market Pundit Issues Critical Warning to XRP Holders. Here’s why

Crypto analyst Steph Is Crypto has issued a strong warning about XRP’s short-term price structure, claiming the asset may be approaching a potentially severe correction if key support levels fail to hold. In a tweet accompanied by a video analysis, the analyst described the current market setup as an “emergency” and urged traders to monitor XRP’s next move closely. At the beginning of the video, Steph Is Crypto stated that he had been reviewing the XRP chart over the previous hour and noticed what he called a “really scary” development. According to the analyst, the current technical structure could lead to a major downside move in the short term if XRP fails to recover above an important price range. The analyst focused primarily on XRP’s weekly and daily chart formations. He explained that XRP has respected a long-term upward trend line since 2017 , with the asset historically rebounding each time it touched that support level. Steph Is Crypto noted that XRP is once again sitting directly on top of this long-term support zone, which he believes still keeps the broader trend technically bullish. $XRP WARNING!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/eZPIW6MY05 — STEPH IS CRYPTO (@Steph_iscrypto) May 28, 2026 Breakdown Pattern Raises Concern Despite maintaining a positive long-term outlook, the analyst argued that short-term price action has become increasingly concerning. He pointed to a trading range that XRP has reportedly remained inside since February 2026. According to his analysis, XRP repeatedly faced rejection at the upper boundary of that range while continuing to find support near the lower boundary. Steph Is Crypto then highlighted what he described as a new and potentially dangerous development. He stated that XRP appears to be breaking below an upward support structure that had previously held for several months. The analyst explained that he had warned his followers in recent weeks about the possibility of such a breakdown forming. We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 He added that the bearish setup would only become fully confirmed if XRP remains below the broken support level for at least two consecutive days. Specifically, he said XRP would need to reclaim the $1.31 level within the next 24 to 48 hours to invalidate the bearish signal. Sub-$1 XRP Target Mentioned According to Steph Is Crypto, failure to recover above the identified support zone could trigger what he described as the “final bear market drop” for XRP . He warned that the cryptocurrency could fall below $1 in the coming days if selling pressure continues. While discussing downside risks, the analyst also clarified that the broader trend remains structurally intact as long as XRP continues respecting the decade-long weekly support trend line. He emphasized that the current concern is focused mainly on the short-term outlook rather than the long-term market structure. Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Market Pundit Issues Critical Warning to XRP Holders. Here’s why appeared first on Times Tabloid .

30 May 2026, 02:00

Anchorage Warns Bitcoin Yield Trade Could Cap Gains If BTC Rips Higher

Anchorage Digital says Bitcoin covered-call strategies can generate synthetic yield for BTC holders, but only when managed with strict discipline. The firm’s new research warns that selling upside on Bitcoin can cushion drawdowns in weaker markets, yet cap gains sharply when BTC enters one of its violent bull-market phases. The analysis, written by Anchorage Digital Head of Research David Lawant, examines systematic covered-call writing on Bitcoin using hourly simulations across the Deribit implied-volatility surface. Anchorage said the study includes more than 37,000 individual backtests across every possible entry point in its October 2021 to April 2026 dataset, making it one of the more detailed attempts to define where BTC options income works and where it breaks. Anchorage Puts Bitcoin Yield Strategy To The Test Anchorage argues that Bitcoin options have moved from a niche derivatives segment into an institutionally relevant market. Notional BTC options open interest has grown roughly ten-fold over the past five years, briefly rising above $100 billion at the end of 2025 before sitting around $60 billion in the study. That level, the paper notes, is above the open interest of the entire BTC futures market. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Famous CME Gap Playbook May Be Nearing Its End IBIT options have also changed the structure of the market. Launched in late 2024, they have grown quickly enough to rival Deribit as a leading venue for BTC options open interest and trading activity. For Anchorage, that means the market institutions are evaluating today is deeper, more accessible and materially different from the one that existed 18 months earlier. The research centers on Bitcoin’s volatility risk premium. Anchorage compares 25-delta call implied volatility with subsequent realized upside volatility over the next 21 trading days for BTC, SPY and QQQ. BTC’s upside volatility risk premium, according to the paper, has averaged roughly two to three times what the equity benchmarks delivered, with the gap persisting for most of the post-2024 period. That premium is the attraction. Covered calls allow BTC holders to collect option income while keeping exposure to the underlying asset up to a defined strike. The cost is just as important: if Bitcoin rallies through the strike, upside participation is capped. Anchorage frames this as the central tension in the strategy, not a footnote. A simple 20-delta, 30-day covered-call strategy performed well in the most recent 12-month window tested. From April 30, 2025 to April 30, 2026, it generated a net yield of 5.5% on the underlying BTC position while spot BTC fell 19.4%. In Anchorage’s simulation, the overlay offset almost a third of the BTC drawdown. The blended portfolio’s annualized volatility also fell from 40.6% to 35.0%, while maximum drawdown improved from 49.7% to 44.5%. But the full-cycle results were much less flattering. When the same unfiltered strategy was extended across the entire October 2021 to April 2026 period, it produced a negative yield of 0.5%, or minus 0.1% annualized. That happened despite a favorable win/loss ratio of 4.38 to 1, with 57 winning trades against 13 losing ones. Anchorage describes the problem as “picking up pennies in front of a steamroller.” The steamroller is Bitcoin’s tendency to stage sustained, autocorrelated rallies. During the late 2021 cycle peak, the 2023–2024 move from roughly $16,000 to more than $70,000, and the 2025 bull market that briefly pushed BTC above $100,000, short calls were repeatedly overrun as spot moved through strike prices. That is why the paper argues covered-call writing is an “active management strategy,” not a passive yield overlay. The unfiltered version sold calls regardless of regime. The disciplined version waited for better conditions. Anchorage tested a filter requiring BTC’s trend not to be strongly bullish, based on a 10-day, 30-day and 50-day moving-average stack, and requiring implied volatility to sit above its 90-day rolling average. On exit, the model used a 75% take-profit threshold, a delta stop-loss and a two-day buffer before expiry to reduce gamma risk. Related Reading: Cathie Wood Doubles Down On $1.25 Million Bitcoin Target The results changed materially. With those simple regime and implied-volatility filters, the covered-call contribution rose to 23.7% over the full period, or 5.2% annualized. The blended portfolio Sharpe improved from 0.20 to 0.30, but the strategy was in the market only 44% of the time. Anchorage’s parameter work also narrows the viable range. Deltas below 10 were consistent but too thin for many institutional mandates. Above 25-delta, directional exposure overwhelmed the strategy during BTC bull markets. Seven-day and 14-day expiries were structurally disadvantaged because BTC’s intraday volatility created stop-loss events before theta decay could do enough work. The paper identifies the productive corridor as 10- to 25-delta calls with expiries of at least 21 days. The strongest evidence came from the rolling-window analysis. At the one-year horizon, positive-yield rates across the productive corridor ranged from roughly 55% to 85%, showing meaningful regime sensitivity. At the three-year horizon, eleven of twelve configurations produced positive yield in at least 91% of rolling windows, with five reaching 100%. Median annualized yields clustered between 4% and 6%. For BTC investors, the takeaway is not that covered calls are broken. It is that the strategy is highly path-dependent. In slow or falling markets, it can generate meaningful income. In powerful upside regimes, the same trade can leave holders watching Bitcoin rally while their upside has already been sold. At press time, BTC traded at $73,113. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

29 May 2026, 20:15

Crypto VC Funding Falls 50% After Massive Q4 2025 Surge: Galaxy

Crypto venture capital activity slowed in Q1 2026 following the exceptionally strong pace recorded in Q4 2025, according to a new report from Galaxy Digital. Venture firms invested roughly $4 billion across 355 crypto and blockchain-focused deals during the quarter, which is a 50% decline in capital invested quarter-over-quarter and a 16% drop in deal count. VC Market Loses Steam Despite the pullback, activity remained well above many of the quarterly levels seen during the 2023-2024 market downturn. Galaxy Research found that the decline was driven mainly by the absence of the very large later-stage financings seen in Q4 2025, while smaller seed and early-stage rounds continued to close at a relatively steady pace. If annualized, Q1’s pace would imply approximately $16 billion invested during 2026, below 2025’s nearly $20 billion total but still stronger than much of the previous two years. The historical relationship between Bitcoin prices and crypto venture investing has weakened compared with earlier cycles in 2017 and 2021. While Bitcoin reached new highs in late 2025, venture activity remained uneven, and both Bitcoin prices and venture funding declined in Q1 2026, though the drop in invested capital was more severe than the decline in deal activity. Later-stage startups accounted for the majority of funding during the quarter, as this cohort captured roughly 57% of all invested capital, while earlier-stage companies received the remaining 43%. By deal count, however, early-stage activity remained significant, even as the share of pre-seed deals declined to 19% and later-stage transactions rose to one-quarter of completed deals. Galaxy said that this trend indicates the growing maturity of the crypto industry and the increasing presence of larger, revenue-generating companies. Meanwhile, median crypto deal sizes also reached new all-time highs above $4.5 million in Q1 2026, even as valuations pulled back slightly from the record levels reached in Q4 2025. Among the sectors tracked by Galaxy Research, the Trading/Exchange/Investing/Lending category attracted the most venture funding by a wide margin after raising roughly $2.6 billion, or nearly three-fifths of all capital invested during the quarter. The same category also led in deal count with 74 transactions. Wallet startups ranked second in capital raised with roughly $270 million. Galaxy also found that startups founded in 2018 received the largest amount of capital in Q1 at $1.3 billion, while younger startups founded in 2024 and 2025 dominated overall deal count. US Leads Crypto Deals Geographically, the United States continued to dominate crypto venture activity, as it accounted for over 70% of all invested capital and 43.5% of total deals completed during the quarter. Bahrain and Singapore followed the US in capital share, while the United Kingdom ranked second by deal count. On the fundraising side, investors allocated nearly $1.1 billion to eight new crypto-focused venture funds, the fewest new funds launched in a quarter since Q3 2020. Galaxy said fundraising conditions remain difficult due to macroeconomic pressures, lingering effects from the 2022-2023 crypto market turmoil, growing institutional interest in artificial intelligence, and competition from spot crypto ETFs and digital asset treasury companies for investor capital. The post Crypto VC Funding Falls 50% After Massive Q4 2025 Surge: Galaxy appeared first on CryptoPotato .

29 May 2026, 15:02

Analyst: Who Else Is Unable to Sleep With XRP At This Critical Moment?

XRP entered another decisive stretch this week as price action tightened inside a multi-month structure. Crypto analyst CasiTrades (@CasiTrades) stated that she was closely watching XRP at what she described as a critical moment for the market. Her latest chart focused on a narrowing wedge pattern as XRP traded near $1.30. The setup arrives after several months of consolidation . XRP has repeatedly tested both rising support and descending resistance since February. The latest move pushed the asset’s price back toward the lower boundary of the formation, placing attention on whether buyers can defend the current zone. Who else is unable to sleep with XRP at this critical moment?! #xrpcommunity pic.twitter.com/8svsikITAI — CasiTrades (@CasiTrades) May 28, 2026 XRP Compresses Inside Multi-Month Structure CasiTrades’ chart showed XRP trading inside converging trendlines with multiple Elliott Wave labels marked throughout the pattern. The structure appeared to complete several corrective swings between February and May before the price rolled over again near the upper resistance line. The chart highlighted two nearby resistance levels at $1.3697 and $1.4411. XRP recently failed to hold above both areas after another rejection near the descending trendline. That move sent the token back toward the lower support trendline around the $1.30 region. Price compression continued to tighten as the wedge approached its apex . Traders often monitor these conditions closely because volatility tends to expand sharply once the price exits the pattern. Fibonacci Levels Remain in Focus The analysis also included major Fibonacci retracement zones. A resistance region between the 0.5 and 0.618 retracement levels sat between roughly $1.53 and $1.64. XRP tested this area multiple times during the consolidation period but failed to break through decisively. Below the current price, the chart identified support near the 0.786 retracement at $1.0854. Another deeper level appeared near the 0.854 retracement around $0.8621. Those zones may become important if XRP loses the lower wedge support. We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 CasiTrades outlined a green zone within this range, suggesting that a strong recovery could follow after the correction phase completes. This area presents a buying opportunity if XRP fails to hold short-term momentum. XRP Approaches a Decision Point The daily RSI weakened as XRP declined, falling near 35 while staying above oversold territory at 30. The indicator also formed lower highs during May, signaling fading momentum as the price struggled near resistance and approached key structural support. The current structure leaves XRP at a technically important stage heading into June. A move back above the descending resistance line could place the $1.44 and $1.53 regions back into focus. Holding the lower support trendline may also strengthen the bullish structure shown on the chart. Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Analyst: Who Else Is Unable to Sleep With XRP At This Critical Moment? appeared first on Times Tabloid .

29 May 2026, 13:02

Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) Is the Next Dominant Duopoly In Financial Services. Here’s why

As blockchain adoption in the financial sector continues to develop, discussions around which networks could become foundational to future payment infrastructure are gaining momentum. Crypto researcher SMQKE recently drew attention to Ripple and Stellar, arguing that both projects are increasingly positioned to dominate blockchain-based financial services, particularly in cross-border payments and correspondent banking. In the post, SMQKE compared the long-term potential of Ripple and Stellar to the dominant role Visa and Mastercard hold in the traditional payments industry. The researcher presented both blockchain networks as infrastructure-focused systems that are actively pursuing institutional integration rather than relying solely on speculative cryptocurrency activity. The comparison centered on the idea that Ripple and Stellar already occupy a unique position in the blockchain industry due to their shared focus on international settlements, banking connectivity, and financial interoperability. According to SMQKE, this positioning could allow both networks to emerge as the strongest duopoly in digital financial services if institutional adoption continues to expand. Ripple and Stellar = The Next Dominant Duopoly in Financial Services. Here’s why. https://t.co/vNhGY5hEU7 — SMQKE (@SMQKEDQG) May 27, 2026 Academic Research Highlights Ripple and Stellar’s Financial Focus To support the argument, SMQKE shared excerpts from research publications examining the role of blockchain technology in payment systems and remittance infrastructure. The referenced material focused heavily on Ripple and Stellar as two of the most prominent blockchain projects targeting cross-border financial services. One section explained that the two networks pursue similar objectives through different operational approaches. The publication stated that Ripple primarily focused on partnerships with banks and financial institutions worldwide to reduce dependence on intermediaries for international transfers. By using blockchain infrastructure, Ripple aims to make transactions settle more quickly and efficiently. The same research also noted Ripple’s institutional reach, noting that the company had already formed relationships with more than 100 banks globally at the time of the publication. In contrast, Stellar was described as focusing more heavily on underserved and underbanked regions by creating lower-cost access to global financial systems. Another highlighted passage discussed how both ecosystems use their native digital assets during international transfers. According to the research, transactions can move through XRP or XLM as bridge assets before converting into local currencies within seconds. The papers suggested that this mechanism enables both networks to improve transaction efficiency while lowering settlement friction in cross-border payments. Growing Attention on Correspondent Banking Solutions SMQKE also emphasized another research section examining correspondent banking infrastructure, an area often viewed as one of the largest opportunities for blockchain integration within global finance. We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 The publication stated that Ripple and Stellar were among the most frequently cited blockchain applications within academic literature focused on remittances and payment systems. The paper further noted that the two projects stood out, directly developing distributed ledger technology solutions for correspondent banking networks. According to the researchers, Ripple had already established a significant track record through partnerships with banks and money transfer operators, while Stellar’s correspondent banking initiatives were still evolving. The paper added that Ripple became the primary subject of the study due to the availability of institutional partnership data and empirical material connected to the company’s operations. These observations formed a major part of SMQKE’s argument that Ripple and Stellar are separating themselves from many other blockchain projects by focusing on real-world financial infrastructure. Ripple and Stellar’s Institutional Direction Rather than positioning themselves as competitors to retail payment apps or speculative crypto platforms, Ripple and Stellar direct attention toward institutional finance, remittances, and banking efficiency. SMQKE used the academic references to reinforce the view that both projects are attempting to establish themselves as core settlement layers for international value transfer. Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) Is the Next Dominant Duopoly In Financial Services. Here’s why appeared first on Times Tabloid .

29 May 2026, 09:30

Unknown Wallet Destroys $8.5 Million In Bitcoin In Shocking Burn

An exchange may have accidentally torched $8.5 million worth of Bitcoin — that’s one of the leading theories after an unidentified wallet sent 107 BTC to an address from which the funds can never be recovered. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s 4-Year Rhythm Is Still Playing Out, Says Crypto CEO Conor Grogan, head of product business operations at Coinbase, said the burn was most likely caused by an exchange that made an error during a cold storage transfer. No Public Explanation From Anyone Involved Five separate Bitcoin addresses carried out the transfers on Monday, all sending funds to a long-established burn address beginning with “11111,” according to onchain data shared by Galaxy Research. The move brought the total amount of Bitcoin ever sent to that address to 807 BTC, now worth close to $60 million, based on data from blockchain platform Arkham. 1111111111111111111114oLvT2 corresponds to Hash160 = 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 (twenty zero bytes). Base58Check-encode that with the P2PKH version byte and you get this address. Because finding a public key whose Hash160 is all zeros would require either… pic.twitter.com/WAii2UbQ0U — Galaxy Research (@glxyresearch) May 27, 2026 The 107 BTC being destroyed made the event one of the biggest reported Bitcoin burns of 2026 so far. What made it more striking was the age of the coins — most of them had sat untouched for more than 12 years, acquired when Bitcoin was trading below $600. At today’s prices, that early buy had grown by 12,700%, according to TradingView data. What Happens When Bitcoin Gets Burned Bitcoin, unlike some other cryptocurrencies, has no built-in mechanism for removing coins from supply. Burning it means sending funds to an address that has no known private keys — the coins show up on the ledger but cannot be touched or moved by anyone. The burn address used in this case had been used before, including by the project Stacks, which sent 40 BTC to it in September 2015 for a namespace registration. Galaxy Research offered several possible explanations for why someone would walk away from an $8.5 million windfall. The firm raised the possibility of tax loss harvesting, funds destroyed because of ties to illegal activity, or even a mistaken transfer made by an artificial intelligence agent. This is fascinating to me. Someone bought 107 btc 12yrs ago, stomached nine, yes nine, 50%+ downturns, watched it grow to $8.5m only to send the coins this wk to a burn acct, permanently destroying. Smh. Theories incl: kidnapping, taxes, religion, divorce, rogue AI agent.. https://t.co/BWPk2eH1Dg — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 27, 2026 No clear connection was found between the burned coins and any known hacks or cyberattacks. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas weighed in as well, floating the idea of a rogue AI agent, a kidnapping scenario, or tax-related motives behind the destruction. Related Reading: Bitcoin Dip Attracts Big Money: Cardone Capital Buys $9.5M More BTC Theories Pile Up But No Answers Yet The burn address itself has a documented history. Reports say the address was used by Stacks years before this latest transaction, giving it a verifiable on-chain record as a destination for deliberate coin destruction — not just a random wallet. Analysts have yet to land on a definitive answer for what happened Monday. The identity of the sender remains unknown. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView