Khurram Dara, a former policy counsel at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, is considering a run for New York State Attorney General in 2026, aiming to replace Letitia James.

In comments to Cointelegraph, Dara said he had not yet decided whether to run for the state’s law enforcement office, but hinted that digital assets could play a role in his campaign if he chooses to do so.

With more than a year until the election, the Columbia Law School graduate has already posted to social media in support of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, found guilty in New York’s federal court in August, and gone after figures like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has often connected crypto with illegal activities. 

“My platform would be focused on ending lawfare across the board, which certainly includes crypto,” said Dara. “We just had an election where crypto was very much on the ballot. And we won. But as the federal regulatory environment has shifted and settled, some state AGs believe it’s their role to fill a perceived ‘gap’ in federal policy […] effectively acting as national policymakers or regulators.”

The current New York attorney general, who assumed office in 2019, has taken several legal actions against crypto entities on behalf of affected New Yorkers, including Genesis, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, trading company NovaTech and KuCoin.

The US state, as a commerce hub in the country, is home to the headquarters of Gemini, Galaxy Digital, Chainalysis and others, making the AG position significant for how the office handles rules and enforcement concerning digital assets.

Related: New York AG urges Congress to bolster protections in crypto bills

“We are seeing the real dangers of unregulated cryptocurrency platforms with schemes like these,” said James, referring to allegations against NovaTech in June 2024. “New Yorkers can rest assured that we will use the tools at our disposal to crack down on crypto fraudsters.”

Cointelegraph reached out to James’ campaign for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication. As of Wednesday, she had not announced that she plans to run for reelection in 2026.

Another Republican lawyer challenging a Democrat incumbent

Dara, a 36-year-old who works at the Council on Foreign Relations, has never held elected office. He was an intern in the New York State Senate in 2006, an intern for the office of Republican Thomas Reynolds in the US House of Representatives in 2008 and a law clerk for the US Attorney’s Office in 2012.

Should he decide to run as a Republican, he would not be the first candidate with experience litigating for crypto companies to challenge an established Democrat.

John Deaton, a lawyer who advocated for XRP (XRP) tokenholders in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs, ran against Warren in the 2024 election in Massachusetts. Warren defeated Deaton with about 74% of the vote.

“New York is where many people in crypto, tech and venture want to be. Incredible density of talent here,” said Dara. “I think the state should embrace that, rather than try to run from it […] the crypto community is not asking for special treatment or special policies that favor them. They just don’t want to be targeted unfairly with regulation by litigation.”

A Siena College poll from December 2024 reportedly gave James a 40% favorable rating among New Yorkers. As of August, the only other candidate to throw his hat into the ring for New York AG in 2026 is Republican Michael Henry, who lost to James in 2022 with about 45% of the vote.

Magazine: New York’s PubKey Bitcoin bar will orange-pill Washington DC next

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-lawyer-signals-challenge-to-ny-ag-with-lawfare-message/feed/ 0 53077 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/online-insurance-platform-handing-19000000-to-americans-to-settle-allegations-of-text-message-harassment/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/online-insurance-platform-handing-19000000-to-americans-to-settle-allegations-of-text-message-harassment/#respond Sun, 03 Aug 2025 06:24:11 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/online-insurance-platform-handing-19000000-to-americans-to-settle-allegations-of-text-message-harassment/

A firm that specializes in allowing people to compare insurance quotes is preparing to hand $19 million to Americans in a new settlement.

QuoteWizard is accused of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending text message solicitations to people on the National Do Not Call Registry.

According to the settlement, QuoteWizard is preparing to pay the $19 million without admitting guilt, and the deadline for people to exclude and object to their share is August 5th.

The case was filed by lead plaintiff Joseph Mantha back in 2019, and the final settlement approval hearing is set for September 29th.

No claim form is required for payments, and class members will automatically be paid as long as they don’t exclude themselves.

Class members are expected to receive a minimum of $76 per person, and a dedicated website and toll-free number will be launched with additional details.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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For years now, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been trying to guide the economy to a “soft landing.” After inflation spiked in 2022 following pandemic stimulus and supply chain crunches, the central bank raised interest rates to bring inflation down. It’s mostly done so, as inflation has fallen to under 3%, close to the Fed’s goal of 2%, without causing a recession.

The second part of that process was lowering the benchmark federal funds rate back to the neutral rate, which the central bank estimated to be around 2.5%. The Fed began doing that in September, but those efforts seem to have stalled as consumer sentiment has weakened and inflation has remained stubborn.

Now, with the economy at a crossroads after President Donald Trump kicked off a trade war with his tariff announcement on April 2, investors are keen to hear from Fed Chair Powell, who spoke today in his first public remarks since the global tariffs were announced.

Let’s take a look at a few key takeaways from Powell’s remarks, as well as the hidden message behind his comments.

Image source: Getty Images.

Powell: Inflation is likely to come back

Powell generally avoids commenting on policy from Congress or the White House. But speaking at a conference of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing this morning, he did acknowledge the impact of the blanket tariffs announced on Wednesday, noting that other policy changes around immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation are having an impact on the economy.

However, the question he had about tariffs wasn’t whether they would drive prices up or not, but for how long higher prices would persist. “While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation,” he said, “it’s also possible that the effects could be more persistent.” He added that the Fed’s obligations were to “make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that tariffs would introduce a one-time price increase across several categories in the economy, but the larger risk is that tariffs set off a vicious cycle of inflation as a global trade war intensifies and businesses raise prices to pass along the cost of tariffs. The Fed made the mistake in 2022 of dismissing inflation as transitory, and it’s reluctant to do so again.

Stagflation is a risk

The job market has thus far remained resilient, even as consumer confidence is waning and inflation has been sticky. The March employment report was stronger than expected, with the economy adding 228,000 jobs last month, but economists are anticipating a weakening job market.

Powell noted an elevated risk of higher unemployment and higher inflation, and though he didn’t use the word “stagflation,” those are its two components. The Fed’s tools are not well suited to fighting both at the same time.

The Fed’s primarily monetary policy tool is raising or lowering interest rates, to tighten or loosen the economy. In inflationary times, it would typically raise rates to control inflation, while in times o high unemployment, it would lower rates to stimulate borrowing and spending.

Powell said that if the Fed was faced with both inflation and unemployment pressure, it would focus on restraining the factor that was further away from its dual mandate of full employment and 2% inflation.

Image source: Getty Images.

Powell’s hidden message

Uncertainty was a recurring theme in Powell’s comments today, just as it was when he spoke in March following the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates steady. 

While he said that recent data shows the economy is still solid, he seemed to imply to investors that the economy could be in for some rocky times, as the stock market seemed to anticipate, considering a 10.5% slide in the S&P 500 (^GSPC -5.97%) in just a two-day span. While he didn’t tell investors to buckle up, his comments reference new risks to the economy and erred toward unemployment and inflation getting worse before they improve.

What it means for investors

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -5.82%) entered a bear market today, falling 5.8% to drop 22.7% off its all-time high set in December. The S&P 500 isn’t far behind, falling nearly 6% today and sitting 17.4% below its high from February. It’s been a painful couple of days for investors who check their portfolios regularly.

No one knows the short-term impact of the tariffs for certain, though Trump seems committed to keeping them.

For net buyers of stocks, it’s a good idea to think of the sell-off as a buying opportunity, as valuations are suddenly much cheaper than they were a few days ago, and strong companies are likely to emerge from the current chaos and return to solid and steady growth.

For others, it’s worth remembering that the U.S. stock market has endured much deeper drawdowns than this and then returned to new records. We’ll learn more about the implications of tariffs in the coming weeks, but investors should remind themselves that the S&P 500 is still undefeated when it comes to delivering growth over the long term.

Investors look to Warren Buffett for guidance because he’s proven he can weather any market storm. That’s even earned him the nickname the Oracle of Omaha (his hometown), as over time, he’s generally made just the right moves at just the right time. A recent example: Buffett sold positions in S&P 500 index funds in the fourth quarter, locking in gains before the benchmark went on to decline.

This top investor doesn’t look into a crystal ball when planning his moves, but instead considers key elements like valuation. And the index’s shift into one of its most expensive periods ever may have helped prompt him to hit the “sell” button on the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust in the quarter.

Of course, Buffett isn’t one to stand up and comment on the situation with each market movement. But over the years, the billionaire has offered many thoughts on his strategy, the market, and investing in general. For example, we know he appreciates quality companies trading for reasonable prices; we also know he doesn’t go for trends, and favors holding stocks for the long term.

Over the years, Buffett has repeated one particular idea several times, in different ways. This resounding message to Wall Street couldn’t be clearer, and it may change the way you see the market and invest right now. Let’s listen in.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

A changing investing environment

First, though, let’s take a quick look at the recent investing environment. Stocks soared over the past two years on optimism about a lower-interest-rate environment ahead, and the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform how work is done. Lower rates offer companies an easier path to growth — and AI has been seen as a technology that could unlock efficiency, cost savings, and more for companies.

All of this drove stocks to one of their most expensive levels ever as measured by the S&P 500 Shiller CAPE ratio, a metric that considers stock price and earnings over a 10-year period to adjust for shifts in the economy. It reached a level of 35, something it’s only done twice before since the S&P 500 launched as a 500-company index in the 1950s.

S&P 500 Shiller CAPE Ratio data by YCharts.

However, stocks have recently retreated on concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports will hurt companies’ earnings and the general economy. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both slipped into correction territory earlier this month, though the S&P 500 has since exited the correction zone.

Two key Buffett quotes

Now let’s turn to Buffett’s message to Wall Street, one that he’s repeated over the years. Two quotes in particular express it:

“The best chance to deploy capital is when things are going down,” he once said. And, in a letter to shareholders in the 1980s, Buffett wrote that he and his team at Berkshire Hathaway aim to “be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”

This message is particularly interesting right now, amid market declines. You may be asking yourself whether now is really a good time to buy stocks — as stocks and indexes slip, investing may seem scary. What if you buy a stock today and it falls even more tomorrow?

But Buffett tells us that times like these are actually the best moments to get in on the market. Why is this? Because as stocks fall, so do their valuations. As a result, some of the recently beaten-down players will offer you wonderful opportunities. This is the time to “be greedy … when others are fearful.”

Cheap tech stocks

For example, well-established technology stocks with bright future prospects — such as Nvidia (NVDA -1.51%) and Meta Platforms (META -4.22%) — have seen their shares drop into bargain territory. Today, Nvidia trades for 25 times forward earnings estimates, and Meta for 24. These could be fantastic buys for growth investors.

And even if the stock you buy today falls further in the coming days, that’s OK. When you hold on for the long term — and that’s the best way to invest — near-term fluctuations won’t crush your returns.

So now you may be wondering if Buffett, too, has been buying stocks in recent days. The billionaire was a net seller of stocks last year as the market soared, but it’s too early to know what moves he’s been making since the start of 2025. We’ll have to wait for his 13F filing in May for that information.

That said, he isn’t known for making rash decisions or jumping into something on a whim — so we may not see a sharp turnaround, with Buffett scooping up stocks like hotcakes. His words don’t mean that he piles into stocks during every market downturn. They just mean that during these times, he expects to find more opportunities to get in on quality stocks at the right price than he would in soaring markets.

All of this may ease your mind as you watch the indexes fluctuate these days. Buffett’s words may inspire you to seize this moment, and instead of fleeing the market, to look for smart buys that may boost your portfolio over time.

Plus: Ripple’s founder is leaving Earth

GM. Crypto’s fruit punch of the day: shaken, stirred, and prolly spiked with volatility.

Beware – not every Binance message is from Binance.

News drops: Ripple co-founder is literally shooting for the stars, ZachXBT identified the Hyperliquid whale + more

Market flavor today

The crypto market right now feels like dating someone with commitment issues – we get one good day, and then back to confusion

Yesterday gave us a little spark of hope, and today, we’re back to mid price action + fear.

Bitcoin briefly reached $87K but went right back to the $83K – $84K range just as quickly.

What happened? Well… Trump. Again.

He made a video appearance at the Digital Asset Summit in New York and became the first-ever sitting US president to show up at a crypto conference.

That alone is wild. And you’d think that kind of a headline would send prices flying. Obviously not.

See, before the video dropped, rumors were spreading around that Trump was gonna promise zero capital gains taxes on certain crypto or say something bullish about the strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Instead, he just repeated he wouldn’t sell the Bitcoin the government has confiscated and said Congress should finally do something about stablecoin regulations.

Cool… but nothing new.

So, what did traders do? The good ol’ buy the rumor, sell the news.

Trader Daan Crypto pointed out that Bitcoin’s stuck fighting some major technical levels – the 200-day moving average (MA) at $84.5K and the exponential moving average (EMA) at $85.2K.

(Quick refresher: the MA shows the average BTC price over the past 200 days, while the EMA does the same but responds more quickly to recent price changes.)

He says BTC needs to climb back above $89K – $90K if we want this rally to get serious again. Until then, it’s just sideways action.

Don’t worry tho’, we did bring a spoonful of hopium today, too.

CryptoQuant contributor Woominkyu noticed that the 30-day EMA of the Coinbase Premium Index is on its way to cross above the 100-day EMA.

Here’s what that means in non-nerd language:

• The Coinbase Premium Index tracks how much more people are paying for Bitcoin on Coinbase (a US exchange) compared to other platforms. When that premium rises, it often means US institutions and whales are buying;

• In the past, when this 30-day line crossed above the 100-day line, it usually translated to continued bull markets;

• If this pattern holds, it could mean we’re in an accumulation phase – where institutions are quietly loading up before the next leg higher.

So yeah, we’re not totally doomed. If that premium keeps climbing, BTC might break out of this boring zone and push the bull market forward.

For now, though? We wait. And maybe cry a little – ain’t no shame about it in this economy.

Memecoin harvest

These memecoins are mooning harder than my landlord’s rent hikes

Data as of 07:40 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

Sip of gains

Heads up, traveler – there’s a new BitDegree Mission live, and it’s got treasure at the end

Complete it, and you’ll get an exclusive 10% discount on the Trezor Model T and Model One – the kind of gear upgrade every crypto explorer needs.

You’ve got until April 2. You’ve got the quest. Go claim that loot.

The Australian Federal Police, the National Anti-Scam Centre, and Binance Australia have a message for you: at the end of the day, you can’t trust anybody.

Okay, maybe they didn’t say it exactly like that… but if they had, it would’ve been cold af.

Anyways, what they did say is that scammers are getting really good at what they do.

And here’s one scheme you need to know about:

Fraudsters slide into people’s text messages and encrypted chat apps pretending to be Binance support. They say there’s been a security breach on your crypto account and tell you to set up a new wallet to protect your money.

Yes, it sounds sketchy, but the thing is, these messages show up in an existing Binance chat thread – so they do look legit at first glance.

As you can see, they drop a support number.

When you call it, a “Binance representative” (wink wink ) tells you to transfer your crypto to a “trust wallet” (wink wink ) to keep it safe.

Spoiler alert: you’re actually sending money to an account the scammer controls.

Then, the scammer transfers your crypto through a network of wallets and money laundering accounts, which makes it super hard to trace or recover.

Authorities say over 130 Aussies have already been caught in this trap.

In response, they launched a mass warning campaign – sent out texts and emails to potential victims.

So, what’s the moral of the story?

NEVER give out sensitive info like your seed phrase, and NEVER move your crypto just because someone says it’s urgent – even if it seems legit.

When in doubt, double-check through trusted, official sources.

(Binance actually has a tool for that – called Binance Verify – where you can confirm if a source is verified.)

Stay safe out there

News drops

Australia plans to bring crypto exchanges under TradFi laws. They also wanna do something about banks randomly cutting off crypto businesses.

Jed McCaleb – the guy who started Mt. Gox and co-founded Ripple – is now aiming way higher. Literally. He’s working on launching a commercial space station by May 2026.

Bithumb’s in hot water. South Korean officials are investigating claims that ex-CEO now-advisor Kim Dae-sik used $2M of company funds to cover his apartment lease.

Officials from the Trump administration want to change how the US handles foreign aid – and their plan includes blockchain.

Crypto detective ZachXBT says he’s tracked down the whale who made $20M trading on Hyperliquid and GMX. He says it’s a British hacker named William Parker, who was arrested last year for allegedly stealing $1M from two casinos.

Juicy memes

I think it has to be implemented Readable and Writable For wire messages (+other things) in Rust-Lightning/Lightning/SRC/LN/MSGS.RS#L3673-L3698.

However, I did not make any difference using existing use ( WarningMessage (For example):

impl Writeable for WarningMessage {
    fn write(&self, w: &mut W) -> Result<(), io::Error> {
        self.channel_id.write(w)?;
        (self.data.len() as u16).write(w)?;
        w.write_all(self.data.as_bytes())?;
        Ok(())
    }
}

impl Readable for WarningMessage {
    fn read(r: &mut R) -> Result {
        Ok(Self {
            channel_id: Readable::read(r)?,
            data: {
                let sz: usize = ::read(r)? as usize;
                let mut data = Vec::with_capacity(sz);
                data.resize(sz, 0);
                r.read_exact(&mut data)?;
                match String::from_utf8(data) {
                    Ok(s) => s,
                    Err(_) => return Err(DecodeError::InvalidValue),
                }
            }
        })
    }
}

and:

impl_writeable_msg!(WarningMessage, {
    channel_id,
    data,
}, {});

Both pass the test.

cargo test --package lightning --lib -- ln::msgs::tests::encoding_warning --exact --show-output

Ethereum transactions burning over 500 ETH and sending 591 ETH to WikiLeaks drew attention on Tuesday.

Blockchain data show that an account identified as “Hu Lezhi” executed a series of transfers that included donations to WikiLeaks-designated addresses, transfers to null addresses representing token burns, and payments to grant providers. The transactions, totaling over 1,000 ETH over the past week, were accompanied by on-chain messages in Chinese that allege misuse of emerging brain-machine interface technologies.

Blockchain records indicate that one transaction burned 500 ETH on Feb. 17, while additional burns of 70 ETH on Feb. 15 and 33 ETH on Feb. 10 highlight a pattern of financial activity that appears intended to signal protest. Other transfers include donations of 591 ETH and several other transactions ranging from 25 to 300 ETH.

These transfers collectively signal a dual-purpose message: a reallocation of funds toward organizations associated with whistleblowing and a symbolic act of value destruction.

The combined translated burn messages read:

“The boss of Kuande Investment: Feng Xin and Xu Yuzhi used brain-machine weapons to persecute all company employees and former employees, and even they themselves are also under control.” – (500 ETH burnt on Feb 17.)

“As brain-computer interfaces and mind-reading technology continue to develop, a new form of crime has emerged: wild animals have become puppets or complete slaves to digital machines.” – (75 ETH burnt on Feb 15.)

“A new form of crime has emerged in which victims are gradually stripped of their desires and sensory experiences until they become complete slaves to digital machines. If one day I become a victim in the final stage, I would choose to leave this world.” – (33 ETH burnt on Feb 10.)

The accompanying messages allege that Feng Xin and Xu Yuzhi of Kuande Investment have employed “brain-machine weapons” to control employees and former staff. The text claims that as the brain-computer interfaces and mind–reading technologies develop, victims may gradually lose their desires and sensory experiences, eventually becoming “complete slaves to digital machines.”

Millions in donations to WikiLeaks

One message concludes with a personal statement indicating that if the sender were to reach the final stage of this alleged process, they would choose to “leave this world.”

The funds sent to WikiLeaks, an organization historically associated with disclosures and investigative journalism, suggest an attempt to channel resources toward entities perceived as counterweights to institutional control.

Simultaneously, burning ETH, a process that permanently removes tokens from circulation, appears intended to symbolize resistance or repudiation of technologies purportedly used for coercion.

Observers familiar with blockchain activity point to the public, irreversible nature of on-chain transactions as a mechanism to broadcast dissent and alert the community.

Although the allegations regarding brain–machine weapons and digital enslavement evoke elements more common to speculative fiction than established technology, the choice to incorporate these claims into financial activity gives them a degree of visibility that is rare in traditional media. However, the deployment of such messaging alongside sizable financial transfers may reflect personal distress as well as a political statement.

The message included in the donation to WikiLeaks reads,

[Editor’s Note: Trigger warning: Suicide]

“I am Hu Lezhi, an ordinary programmer and entrepreneur. Since October 2022, I have realized that I have been monitored and manipulated by brain-controlled organizations since birth. And when I realized the existence of brain-controlled organizations, they were also increasing the harm to me.

I have lived in great pain for the past two years, and now I have reached the point where my dignity as a human being has been completely lost. I decided to leave this world and hope that this ugly world will be destroyed soon.”

The mention of being “monitored and manipulated by brain-controlled organizations since birth” suggests Hu Lezhi may be experiencing some form of psychosis rather than legitimately whistleblowing, given that such technology would be considered frontier by today’s standards and the likelihood of its existence decades ago is extremely low.

Sadly, Hu Lezhi ends their donation message by saying, “I decided to leave this world and hope that this ugly world will be destroyed soon.”

These transactions occurred throughout the last week, although attention spiked today after the 500 ETH burn alongside the sizeable donation to WikiLeaks. Little is currently known about the wallet owner other than what is included within the messages.

As of today, the most advanced brain-controlled chip known to the public is the Neuralink brain implant, also known as “the Link.” This device represents a significant leap forward in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology and has recently made headlines for its successful human implant.

However, this device allows humans to control computers and other electronic devices, not the other way around.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially acknowledged the receipt of Grayscale Investments’ 19b-4 filing to convert its XRP Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The agency’s confirmation—disclosed by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart on 14th February—signals the start of the formal review process that could ultimately decide whether the product is cleared for public listing.

James Seyffart, who reported the news via his X account, stated: “There it is — The SEC just acknowledged Grayscale & NYSE’s 19b-4 filing to list an XRP ETF (this was mostly expected but officially means the clock will start soon for this and Dogecoin).”

Why This Is An ‘Enormous Message’ For Ripple

The SEC’s acknowledgment kicks off a regulatory timetable, opening a window for public commentary and multiple rounds of decision-making. The agency is expected to follow this step-by-step procedure to either approve, reject, or request additional information concerning the proposed XRP ETF.

Related Reading

Although formal acknowledgment does not guarantee an approval further down the line, it underscores that the SEC is sufficiently engaged to put the filing on the official docket. Nate Geraci, President of the ETF Store and Co-Founder of the ETF Institute, underlined the significance of this action in the context of the SEC’s ongoing legal dispute with Ripple.

He remarked: “SEC has acknowledged NYSE’s 19b-4 filing to list & trade Grayscale XRP ETF… Obviously a potentially huge statement re: SEC’s case vs Ripple.” Geraci further elaborated on what he perceives as a remarkable development: “Shocked more people aren’t talking about SEC accepting XRP ETF filing… They have open litigation w/ Ripple. Meanwhile, they just acknowledged filing of ETF holding asset in dispute (they easily could have rejected this filing). Enormous message IMO.”

Related Reading

These statements highlight how the SEC’s willingness to initiate the review process—rather than dismissing it outright—could indicate the SEC’s openness to settle or drop the Ripple case which is currently at the Court of Appeals.

Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett provided additional context on why the acknowledgment alone is noteworthy: “Because it means this SEC is being more open-minded and not flat out refusing to consider these products. Recall, exchanges pulled the SOL 19b-4 applications in December when the Gensler SEC signaled it would not engage with them. […] Next up, the SEC should acknowledge the XRP ETF applications from issuers that filed later than Grayscale — including Bitwise, 21Shares, Canary Funds, Wisdom Tree. The 240-day window for Grayscale’s approval starts when it gets posted to the federal register which should be in a couple of days from now.”

Following the announcement, XRP’s price rose by over 5% in a relatively muted overall market. However, technical analysis of the XRP/USDT 4-hour chart indicates that as of press time, the token failed to break through a major resistance level. The rejection occurred at the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement (Fib) around $2.58. If buyers manage to push XRP above this threshold, the next critical resistance is near $2.77 (the 0.618 Fib). A sustained rally beyond that point could see the token retest its January 25 high at $3.40.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com