Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

Several fundamental and regulatory developments have pushed the <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/xrp" target="_blank">XRP price</a> to levels not seen since April 2021, with bulls now <a href="https://x.com/search?q=xrp%20%242&src=typed_query&f=top" target="_blank">eyeing the $2 mark</a> in a sign of renewed strength for the previously embattled token.

XRP surged 14% in the past 24 hours, outpacing bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, extending a month-long run that has seen the <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/xrp" target="_blank">price rise 200%</a> to make the token the best-performing major token alongside dogecoin (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/dogecoin" target="_blank">DOGE</a>).

Prices approached $1.70 in the European morning, with 24-hour trading volume rising 30% to $10 billion. Volume was led by South Korean exchange UpBit.

There was no immediately apparent cause for Friday's jump, though several factors have contributed to XRP's appeal in recent weeks.

The rise started in early November after Republican victories in the U.S. elections renewed investor confidence in tokens with links to U.S. companies, such as XRP's closely related Ripple Labs.

XRP advanced again in mid-November when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said he would step down in January — boosting hopes of a more relaxed regulatory environment.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.

Some traders also expect an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., especially those anticipating a more-lenient regulatory environment. A money-market fund launched on XRP Ledger, the network that uses XRP as fees to confirm and process transactions, boosting expectations of institutional usage.

Ripple has said it plans to invest an unspecified amount in the newly rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (earlier called the ETC Group Physical XRP), <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/xrp-rally-sees-record-profit-taking-as-ripple-labs-plans-to-invest-in-bitwise-xrp-etf" target="_blank">as reported</a> Wednesday. The announcement sent XRP higher by 10% at the time.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

A streak of inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether (<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/ethereum/ " target="_blank">ETH</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), rising activity on the Ethereum blockchain and increased institutional trading interest could help the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap surpass its three-year-old price record in the coming months.

“ETH spot ETFs continue to record strong net inflows, totaling $90.1 million yesterday and marking a 4-day winning streak," QCP Capital said in a note referring to Wednesday trading. "Despite this week's retracement, these healthy inflows highlight the market's growing optimism. ETH was the main outperformer Wednesday as it rallied 11.65% to a high of 3,688. This is aligned with our thesis of capital rotation from BTC to ETH."

The ether ETFs attracted over $220 million in the Nov. 22-27 period, data shows, the second-longest streak of inflows since they went live in July. That has helped bring cumulative flows to a positive $240 million.

“Given that ETH has lagged behind BTC and SOL in the current rally, its recent strength supports the case for it to retest its all-time high of 4,868 (+35.4%),” QCP said.

Fundamental factors and money flows are further boosting ether’s growth prospects.

A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week noted that cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion.

Activity in the ether options market listed on Deribit is also picking up, with over 2 million contracts active or open at press time, the most since late June.

Other data shows a jump in revenue, fees, new wallets and Ethereum blockchain volumes, with the past month registering elevated levels of activity compared with the period from May to September.

<a href="https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether" target="_blank">Stablecoin data</a> further shows that Ethereum has more USDT hosted than Tron, with $60.3 billion on Ethereum versus $57.94 billion on Tron, the first time that's happened since June 2022.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.

Bitcoin zoomed above $97,000, bringing hopes of breaching the landmark $100,000 level on social media, before paring gains to nearly $95,500 in Asian morning hours on Thursday. BTC added 3.3% in the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/" target="_blank">data shows</a>, ahead of a Thanksgiving weekend that has historically recorded sudden price dumps. Strength in BTC buoyed major tokens, with ether (ETH) outperforming with a 7% surge, XRP and BNB Chain rising 6%, and dogecoin (DOGE) adding more than 5%. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/think-ethereum-s-eth-is-dead-surging-metrics-show-otherwise" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> on Wednesday pointed out rising activity on ETH-linked futures and on-chain movements, indicative of traders expecting volatility to the update on the second-largest crypto asset. Data shows a bump in revenue, fees, new wallets and on-chain volumes on Ethereum, with the past month showing elevated levels of activity compared to the period from May to September. Meanwhile, cumulative open interest in perpetual and standard futures contracts has surged to a record 6.32 million ETH, worth over $27 billion — all signs that support higher ETH prices ahead. Elsewhere, DeFi tokens aave (AAVE) and uniswap (UNI) surged 9%, and memecoins pepe (PEPE) and mog (MOG) jumped more than 8% on their tendency to act as ether beta bets, as a <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/27/ethereum-meme-coins-pepe-mog-hit-lifetime-highs-on-ether-etf-filing-approvals/#:~:text=Frog%2Dthemed%20pepe%20(PEPE),in%20related%20networks%20or%20protocols." target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> noted in May. Traders at QCP Capital said in a Thursday broadcast that money flows are shifting to ETH, with broader equity markets supporting growth in risky asset classes. “The market is shifting flows to ETH, as evidenced by a 13% surge in the ETH/BTC pair to 0.0366 from its post-election low of 0.0318,” QCP said. “ETH even outperformed the broader CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose just 0.5%.” “Wall Street achieved record highs after President-elect Trump nominated Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, lifting market sentiment. Bessent’s market-friendly approach and potential willingness to moderate Trump’s tariff policies fueled optimism, driving a broad rally across markets, with risky assets leading the charge,” QCP added. Bessent runs Key Square Group, a macro investing firm. He worked for prominent investor George Soros three decades ago and is <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/11/22/trump-plans-to-name-pro-crypto-hedge-fund-manager-scott-bessent-as-treasury-secretary" target="_blank">considered to be</a> "one of the driving forces" behind Soros Fund Management's famous bet — that netted a more than $1 billion profit — that the British pound would collapse. In a July interview, Bessent said crypto “is about freedom” and that the crypto economy was “here to stay,” pointing out the asset class’ appeal among younger people who may have previously not participated in markets.

XRP rose over 5% in the past 24 hours to drive gains among majors in the past 24 hours as a Thanksgiving holiday saw bitcoin (BTC) avoid a feared historical “massacre,” with a slight uptick across the market. BTC was changing hands above $96,000 in the early hours Friday, a steady rise from Thursday’s lows of $93,500. Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and BNB were little changed, while Cardano’s ADA was 3.5% higher, and dogecoin (DOGE) lost 1.2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid fund tracking major tokens, added 1.3%. Algorand’s ALGO and Worldcoin’s WLD jumped as much as 21% to lead gains among midcaps amidst no immediate catalysts. The crypto market’s moves in Asian hours came as the Japanese yen broke a key level against U.S. dollars. The yen briefly crossed 150 against the dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected Tokyo inflation data. The movement was likely accentuated by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving. Market sentiment leans towards a 63% chance of a BOJ rate hike, contrasting with a 67% likelihood of a Fed rate cut, which could reduce the attractiveness of yen carry trades. Yen is colloquially known as an "anti-risk" currency and is seen as a safe-haven currency that investors turn to during times of stress. Yen's outperformance at the end of July and September has previously catalyzed the unwinding of carry trades, or bullish risk-on bets, financed by relatively cheap yen-denominated loans as it became more expensive to borrow the Japanese currency. A <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/27/bitcoin-bulls-lose-steam-aussie-yen-dips-hinting-at-broad-based-risk-aversion-ahead" target="_blank">CoinDesk analysis</a> earlier this week signaled bitcoin's bullish run has weakened, with the Aussie dollar/Yen exchange rate dropping, signaling a risk-off mood. The AUD, linked to global economic health, and the yen tend to affect risk assets like BTC inversely. This scenario echoes an earlier period when a yen surge due to BOJ rate hike rumors led to an 8% drop in AUD/JPY and a $20,000 fall in BTC, showing the potential impact of FX movements on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin layer-2 network GOAT will soon let dogecoin (DOGE) users stake their tokens to earn fixed yields in BTC, with plans for additional memecoin-based financial applications later for users to earn “even greater rewards” on DOGE holdings.

GOAT Network, whose mainnet is yet to be released, has so far let users lock up BTC to earn network rewards in a process colloquially called staking. The network’s ecosystem — when built — will let bitcoin holders participate in various decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending or trading, without giving up ownership of their assets.

DOGE prices have more than doubled in the past 30 days on an <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/11/10/dogecoin-flips-xrp-as-elon-musk-linked-trade-keeps-on-giving/" target="_blank">Elon Musk-linked trade</a> and the virality of non-governmental agency Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.)

Besides its “long, colorful, and wildly successful history,” the GOAT Network team said it chose dogecoin for its strong “community vibe that has now a U.S. government agency called D.O.G.E. named after it,” and the coin being “ready for the next phase of its journey.”

“This way, Dogecoin investors can weather the volatility of crypto without paper-handing DOGE before its time has come and, in the process, earn digital gold, which is now being adopted by corporations, institutions, and nation-states,” the team said in a release shared with CoinDesk. “So, by adding Dogecoin to its rapidly-growing ecosystem, GOAT Network is positioning itself as the ‘home of The People’s Coins.”

Bitcoin DeFi has surged in the past months on various catalysts. Just a month ago, the total value locked (TVL) in the space was near $900 million, which has now surged past $4 billion, per DefiLlama data.

GOAT Network uses a system (called a sequencer) where transactions are sorted and grouped off the main blockchain before being sent there for final processing. To operate a node in this system, an entity needs to lock up at least 100 BTC. However, those with smaller holdings can still link their assets to a sequencer to help run the network and earn yields.