Constitutional scholars use the “autocratic signaling” when leaders test public tolerance by “just wondering” if dictatorship might be preferable. Trump did exactly that today when he complained about Illinois Governor Pritzker’s resistance to his plans for a military takeover of Chicago. He said, “A lot of people are saying maybe we’d like a dictator.”

When a president jokes, flirts, or wonders out loud whether Americans might want a dictator — even if he immediately walks it back — he is testing the boundaries of what the public, the press, and other power centers will tolerate. Dictatorships rarely arrive with tanks in the streets; they arrive when the language of democracy is hollowed out from within.

Minutes later, Trump signed an order criminalizing flag-burning with a one-year jail term, a statute twice voided by the Supreme Court. Such knowingly illegal directives force civil-liberties defenders to burn political capital, cast courts as deep state saboteurs, and stockpile grievances for future court-stacking or emergency decrees. The stunt also diverts attention from renewed scrutiny of his Epstein-Maxwell ties, a classic authoritarian feint: flood the zone with shit so critics chase the latest outrage.

From Rolling Stone:

It shouldn’t be surprising considering the praise Trump has long lavished on autocratic rulers around the world — from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kim Jong-un of North Korea, or what some of his own former administration officials have said about him. John Kelly, who served as both secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and White House chief of staff during Trump’s first term, said ahead of the 2024 election that Trump “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” Kelly toldThe New York Times, when asked if Trump is a fascist. “So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America.”

Previously:
• How Serbian activists used humor to topple a dictator
• Dictator Trump declares it’s ‘illegal’ to criticize him the way CNN does (video)

SOL Charts Hint At Retrace To $140 As Bullish Pattern Forms

In an X post on August 1, Pillows outlines a Solana price prediction based on a forming cup-and-handle pattern on the monthly chart. In general trading, the cup-and-handle represents a classic bullish continuation pattern. As observed in the chart below, it begins with a tea cup formation where price first declines and then gradually recovers, forming a “U” or bowl-shaped curve.

After the cup, the price pulls back slightly, creating the “handle.” Pillows’ analysis indicates that Solana is currently at this stage of the bullish pattern following a previous price rally to $235 earlier in January 2025. Solana is now undergoing a long-term descending consolidation movement, which Pillows project will lead the altcoin to trade as low as $140-$150.

Presently, SOL trades around $159, indicating the altcoin may still undergo an additional estimated 11% price loss despite the registered heavy corrections in the past week. However, being a bullish continuation pattern, Solana’s successful return to $140-150 price range would also signal a potential price rally.

However, Pillows’ analysis also indicates that the altcoin must first break past the neckline price at $235 to validate such bullish intent. If this scenario plays out positively, the top market analyst predicts Solana to trade as high as $1,000, suggesting a potential 532.91% gain on present spot prices.

Despite recent price corrections, Ted Pillows strongly supports Solana’s bullish potential, noting the altcoin continues to record high levels of network activity, signalling a substantial level of market interest.

Solana Market Overview

At the time of writing, Solana trades at $159.34 after a 3.84% decline in the past day. Meanwhile, the asset’s daily trading volume is also down by 37.85% and valued at $4.98 billion. However, in line with Pillows’ prediction, Solana holds immense potential for future price appreciation, especially as a potential altseason approaches.

The bullish sentiment among SOL investors is also driven by substantial institutional interest in the altcoin among many others. NewsBTC has earlier reported that several asset managers, including Grayscale, VanEck, and Fidelity, have also revised their Solana Spot ETF applications with the SEC, indicating ongoing dialogue between both parties in view of a potential approval.

According to market analyst Common Sense Crypto, a $1,000 bet on XRP today could turn into between $10,000 and $50,000 during this cycle.

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He pointed out that the same stake in Bitcoin would likely top out at around $1,300–$1,500. That claim has caught the eye of many investors who are weighing where to put their crypto dollars.

Strong ROI Comparison

Common Sense Crypto ran the numbers. At XRP’s current price of $3.18, a $1,000 buy-in nets roughly 315 tokens. To hit $10k, each XRP would need to trade at $31.80.

If XRP somehow climbed to $160, that small stake would swell to $50k. By contrast, a $1k purchase of Bitcoin at $120,000 today would only need BTC to rise to about $154k–$178k to yield the same $1,300–$1,500 returns.

Here’s a quick fact to ponder, if you put $1,000 into $xrp today you will most likely end up with at least $10,000 – $50,000 in this cycle, if you put the same $1,000 into $btc you will most like only end up with $1300 – $1500. ROI (return on investment) is more important than…

— Common Sense Crypto (@TheCSCrypto) July 12, 2025

Those are gains in the 30–50% range. This puts XRP’s upside in a very different league when viewed purely as percentages.

Still, size matters. XRP’s market cap sits near $188 billion. Bitcoin’s floats around $2.37 trillion. To push XRP to $159, its valuation would need to balloon to roughly $9.5 trillion—nearly four times Bitcoin’s current size. That would require massive new inflows and adoption on a scale we’ve never seen in crypto.

XRP Tops $3; CEO Sets Sights On 14% Of SWIFT

Ripple’s XRP finally breached the long-awaited $3 mark after US President Donald Trump announced a new US strategic crypto reserve, including XRP and other digital assets​.

As one of the most traded cryptocurrencies, XRP enjoys high daily trading volumes, ensuring price stability and ease of entry for institutional investors.

Ripple’s chief executive, Brad Garlinghouse, predicts that within five years, Ripple will handle about 14% of SWIFT’s worldwide cross‑border transaction flows.

Related Reading

Past Cycle Performance

Other voices have made similar points. In June, Edoardo Farina of Alpha Lions Academy noted that between November 2024 and January 2025, XRP jumped from $0.50 to $3.40.

That’s a 7x return in just two months. Bitcoin, in that same window, climbed from $68k to $112k, a 60% gain. Farina calculated that $50k in XRP would have grown to $340k while the same investment in Bitcoin would have become about $82,352.

The XRP 50x Challenge

XRP’s promise of turning $1,000 into as much as $50,000 is eye‑catching. Its past leap from $0.50 to $3.40 in just two months shows what’s possible. But growing its market cap from $188 billion to $9.5 trillion means a tidal wave of new money and clear legal rules.

Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView

$110K appears as a key Bitcoin support zone – this is why

In a post on July 26th, Ali Martinez assumes that Bitcoin may be on track to a significantly higher leg, based on recent data on the MVRV price range by GlassNode. However, the best cryptocurrencies must ensure that they do not lose certain support zones to prevent this bullish paper from being invalidated.

The MVRV band comes from the market value and realised value (MVRV) ratio, which can be useful for visualizing Bitcoin when it is overvalued or undervalued compared to its historical realised price. These bands act like Bollinger bands, but are based on on-chain basis and track statistical deviations regarding the average MVRV value.

As of July 23, 2025, Bitcoin had been trading at around $118,782 after steadily rising in recent weeks. According to the MVRV pricing model, the cryptocurrency is $130,756 just below the +1.0σ deviation band, representing the next major price resistance and target: In particular, the +1.0σ band is also interpreted as a key zone of extreme market optimism, often leading to the local top (+2.0σ).

Meanwhile, the +0.5σ band on the model served as a critical support threshold at $109,858 above the current market price. Ali Marinez explains that Bitcoin should maintain a price level higher than this band and that it is likely to continue towards a target at +1.0σ level based on historical patterns. However, a breakdown below $110,000 could indicate a deeper correction, potentially lowering to around $88,960 for the average band, or as low as $68,062 (-0.5σ).

Bitcoin investors are profiting from growing market trust

More data from the MVRV model shows that the realised price growth distance for BTC is around $50,831, with current market prices reflecting the growing convictions of investors. In the context, the realised price represents the average cost basis for all coins in the circulation, thereby indicating how much profit the average Bitcoin holder is currently making.

At the press conference, the premier cryptocurrency trades at $118,178, following 0.73% on the past day. However, daily trading volumes are down 53.39%, valued at $479.8 billion. According to price prediction site CONCODEX, the Bitcoin market sentiment is largely bullish, with a fear and greed index approaching extreme greed with a 72.

CONCODEX analysts forecast key cryptocurrencies to maintain their current rebound, rising to $122,019 over five days and $141,075 per month.

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Bitcoin enters the weekend in an uncertain position, struggling to break above its all-time high of $112,000, while altcoins face increasing pressure and retrace to lower levels. After a week of volatility, BTC failed to close Friday above the key resistance, casting doubt on immediate bullish continuation. However, analysts remain cautiously optimistic as price action still holds above major support, and a strong weekly close could shift sentiment decisively.

Top analyst Daan highlighted that since the market’s recovery two weeks ago, we’ve seen a consistent Coinbase premium—a bullish signal often linked to spot buying pressure from US-based investors. This premium had previously traded down amid heightened uncertainty surrounding Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions but has since rebounded, reflecting improved market confidence.

Now, traders are closely watching the weekend price action to determine whether Bitcoin can reclaim $112K and enter price discovery, or if another rejection will send it into a deeper consolidation phase. With key macro narratives easing and on-chain signals improving, the weekend could provide a critical clue about Bitcoin’s short-term trajectory—and whether altcoins can follow with renewed strength.

Bitcoin Range Tightens As Market Awaits Breakout Signal

Bitcoin is preparing for a decisive move, one that could trigger renewed bullish momentum across the crypto market, particularly for altcoins. For the past several days, BTC has been consolidating in a well-defined range between $103,000 and $110,000. A clear breakout above this resistance or breakdown below support is expected to spark a swift move, as traders await confirmation of the next directional trend.

The broader macroeconomic environment has become more favorable. With uncertainty from global geopolitical tensions subsiding and US fiscal policies gaining clarity, the stage appears set for Bitcoin to enter a bullish phase over the coming months. However, risks still linger. US Treasury Yields are rising again, and inflation has not stabilized, factors that could inject volatility and hesitation into risk markets.

Daan pointed out a consistent Coinbase premium since the recovery began two weeks ago—a bullish indicator suggesting persistent spot demand, particularly from US-based buyers. This premium had weakened during the wave of Middle Eastern concerns, but it has since rebounded and held steady. Daan adds that this is supported by strong ETF inflows, a sign of institutional confidence.

Still, caution is warranted. If Bitcoin stalls while ETF inflows remain high, that could mark a local top, as seen in previous cycles. For now, as long as price continues to follow the strength of inflows and maintains support above $103K, the bulls remain in control. A break above $110K could open the gates to new all-time highs, while a loss of support could lead to a sharp correction and delay broader recovery across the crypto landscape.

BTC Daily Chart Analysis: Eyes On $112K Breakout

Bitcoin continues to trade within a key range between $103,600 and $109,300, consolidating just below its all-time high near $112,000. As shown on the daily chart, BTC has held above the 50-day simple moving average (SMA), which currently sits at $106,469, acting as dynamic support during recent pullbacks. This indicates ongoing strength in the trend, despite short-term volatility.

The chart also reveals that price has tested the $109,300 resistance level multiple times since March, but without a decisive breakout. Volume during these retests has been relatively muted, suggesting that bulls may be waiting for stronger confirmation before committing to a sustained breakout move. On the downside, $103,600 remains a crucial support level, historically providing a springboard for rebounds throughout the last two months.

The 100-day and 200-day SMAs at $98,544 and $96,364, respectively, are still trending upward, reinforcing the long-term bullish structure. If Bitcoin can decisively close above $109,300 on strong volume, price discovery could quickly follow, with $120,000 and beyond as potential targets. However, failure to hold current levels may open the door for a retest of $100K or lower, making this range-bound phase critical for the market’s next direction.

Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView

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Payment-centric cryptocurrency XRP

It has grown by more than 3.5% over the last 24 hours, and the amount of options markets placed on the Delivery Bit list suggests bullish expectations.

According to data source Amberdata, high-level July 25 call options on July 1, and September 28 expiration call on a $2.80 strike appeared as the most traded bets.

The call option grants the buyer the right to purchase the underlying asset at a given event price at a later date. This option represents a bullish view of the market. For example, the $3 Strike Call buyer bets that spot prices for XRP will surpass that level by July 25th. In Delibit, one option contract represents one XRP.

A closer look at the flow shows that the mass ranking of $3 calls is primarily due to purchase transactions. Over the past 24 hours, a $3 strike call saw a $2 million contract change hands in investor purchase transactions (The opposite market maker). Conversely, investors were primarily sellers or writers on a $2.8 call.

The $3 call is also the most popular bet in the past seven days in terms of increased open profits or increased number of active or open contracts.

According to Bloomberg analysts Eric Barkunas and James Sefert, increased activity on higher strike calls has resulted in a 95% chance that the US SEC will approve the SPOT XRP ETF, as expectations for a spot ETF debut in the US are tightening.

On Wednesday, Ripple, Fintech’s company that uses XRP to promote cross-border transactions, announced it had applied for a national banking license at the office of the Secretary of Currency. (occ).

“If approved, there are both states (via NYDFS) And federal government surveillance, new (And unique!) Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in X, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is a benchmark of trust in the Stablecoin market.”

XRP/BTC Breakout

Bitcoin for XRP, represented by the Binance-Listed XRP/BTC pair, is facing higher as it is divided from falling wedge patterns.

Falling wedges are bullish inversion patterns, featuring two convergent trend lines that show a narrow range of price movements. The convergence of the trendline suggests that sellers are slowly losing steam. Therefore, subsequent movements above the top trend line are said to confirm the control of the new bull.

XRP/BTC surpasses the top trend line, confirming a bullish breakout. This pattern shows that the correction from the April highs has ended and the broader XRP bullish trend has resumed.

Wedge breakouts show that the path with minimal resistance is on the higher side, but the average popularity, 50 days, 100 days, 200 days SMA disagrees.

Both the 50-day and 100-day SMAs are heading south, far worse than the 200-day SMAs recently. However, be aware that the moving average is behind and takes the back seat for a bullish wedge breakout.

Read more: Ripple applies to Federal Bank Trust Charter, XRP Jump 3%

Crypto analyst StockMoney Lizards has provided the latest updates Bitcoin price actionpredicting that the flagship code could reach $145,000 later this year. Analysts hinted at a doji pattern that supports this bullish prediction.

Analysts predict a rise in Bitcoin price to $145,000

in xPostStockmoney Lizards said the medium-term target for Bitcoin prices ranges between $135,000 and $145,000. He’s hoping BTC reaching these targets Later this year, between September and October. The analyst also touched on current price action and why he believes the flagship code will reach such a high height.

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Stockmoney noted that Bitcoin prices are traded at the higher levels of the correction channel, forming some doji at this level. He admitted that market participants didn’t know how many bounces they saw from BTC or at what level the cipher tested. He increased the chances of a local bottom being in BTC can retest $90,000 Up to $94,000.

Analysts said if he had to bet, he would probably predict that Bitcoin prices would again cause a height in the $90,000 range. BTC fell to a minimum of $98,000 last week, despite escalating Tensions between Israel and Iran. Bitcoin then recovered following a ceasefire between the two countries.

Stockmoney confirmed that the latest Bitcoin price action was a bullish formation as the flagship code had an impulsive move. He added that the current price measures are not the usual rotation of money that older traders sell and newer traders stack up at low ranges. Analysts also showed that BTC’s rally It is not even driven by the derivatives market.

BTC reaching at least $135,000

Crypto-analyst Crypto’s Titan It reflects Stockmoney’s prediction that Bitcoin could reach at least $135,000. in xPostanalysts declared that BTC’s path to this price target remains the same. He said Bitcoin is currently challenging its first Fibonacci expansion for $107,000 after breaking the key level and retesting.

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Once Bitcoin prices clear this Fibonacci extension, Titan from Crypto believes the next stop will be $135,000. He made it clear that the market structure supports this move, but it remains to be seen whether the momentum will continue. His accompanying charts showed that BTC could reach this Fibonacci Extension $135,000 By September, we will collaborate with Stockmoney’s forecast. The chart also suggests that BTC can be as much as $150,000 at some point.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin prices have been traded for around $108,200 over the past 24 hours. data From CoinMarketCap.

Pixabay featured images, charts on tradingView.com

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The Ethereum price struggled to break out of the $2,500 – $2,700 range over the past week, mirroring the sluggish condition of the general market. On Friday, June 20, the altcoin succumbed to a fresh wave of bearish pressure, falling toward the $2,400 mark to close the week.

Unsurprisingly, this latest downturn appears to be forcing the hands of investors who have been banking on the $2,500 support level over the past few weeks. Here’s how the falling ETH price and the resulting sell-off could affect the altcoin’s future trajectory.

ETH Price At Risk As Taker Sellers Unload Their Tokens 

In a recent post on the social media platform X, on-chain analyst Maartunn revealed that a set of Ethereum traders might be on the move again. This on-chain observation revolves around a jump in the Taker Sell Volume, a metric that estimates the total volume of sell orders filled by takers in perpetual swaps of a specific cryptocurrency (ETH, in this case).

To provide some context, a taker refers to a market participant who places an order matched with an existing order on the order book. With this definition, the Taker Sell Volume represents the total amount of a cryptocurrency offloaded or sold by these market participants within a specific period.

In the post on X, Maartunn highlighted in his post that sell pressure is mounting in the Ethereum market, as taker sellers are beginning to dominate the buyers on exchanges. According to data from CryptoQuant, the ETH Taker Sell Volume on all centralized exchanges surged to around $321.3 million within a minute on Friday.

Source: @JA_Maartun on X

Typically, significant spikes in the Taker Sell Volume have often been followed by a period of downward pressure on the price of Ethereum. If history is anything to go by, investors might expect the second-largest cryptocurrency to struggle over the next few days.

Ethereum Price Overview

As of this writing, the price of ETH sits just above the $2,410 level, reflecting an almost 5% decline in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the altcoin is down by nearly 6% over the last seven days.

The Ethereum price has been stuck in consolidation within the $2,500 – $2,800 range over the past few weeks. With the token’s price now beneath a major support in $2,500 and the rising bearish pressure, the odds of ETH embarking on a sustained rally look slimmer.

The price of ETH on the daily timeframe | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

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On-chain data shows the Bitcoin Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) Ratio is currently still below historical market peaks.

Bitcoin MVRV Ratio May Not Be That Overheated Yet

In a new post on X, the institutional DeFi solutions provider Sentora (previously IntoTheBlock) has discussed about the latest trend in the MVRV Ratio of Bitcoin. The “MVRV Ratio” refers to a popular on-chain indicator that compares the BTC Market cap and Realized cap.

The Realized Cap is an on-chain capitalization model for the asset that calculates its total valuation by assuming the value of each individual token in circulation is equal to the price at which it was last moved on the network. This is different from the usual Market Cap, which just takes the current spot price as the value for all coins.

The previous transaction of any token is likely to represent the last time that it changed hands, so the price at its time could be considered as its current cost basis. Thus, the Realized Cap is essentially the sum of the acquisition values of all coins.

One way to interpret the model is as a measure of the amount of capital that investors as a whole initially put into the cryptocurrency. In contrast, the Market Cap represents the value that they are holding right now.

As the MVRV Ratio takes the ratio of the two models, its value basically tells us whether the investors are holding more than they put in. In other words, the indicator contains information about the profit-loss balance of the entire network.

Now, here is the chart shared by Sentora that shows a long-term view of the Bitcoin MVRV Ratio:

The trend in the BTC MVRV Ratio over the past ten years | Source: Sentora on X

As is visible in the above graph, an extreme peak in the Bitcoin MVRV Ratio has historically coincided with tops in the asset’s price. The explanation behind the pattern lies in the fact that investors become more tempted to take their gains the larger that they grow.

At a high value of the MVRV Ratio, the Market Cap significantly exceeds the Realized Cap, so the average investor can be assumed to be holding onto a notable profit. This often leads to holders participating in mass selloffs to realize their gains, but the bull run keeps going as long as enough demand continues to flow in to absorb the selling pressure.

From the chart, it’s apparent that this balance seems to have been reaching a turning point earlier with each cycle, showcasing that as Bitcoin matures as an asset, its returns are becoming smaller. At present, the MVRV Ratio is sitting at a value of 2.25, which suggests the Market Cap is more than double the Realized Cap. However, even after taking into account for shrinking gains, this value is notably lower than previous cyclical tops.

“This indicates the market still isn’t as overheated as it was during earlier peaks,” notes the analytics firm. It now remains to be seen how the rest of the cycle will play out, and whether BTC will make use of this potential room or not.

BTC Price

Bitcoin has erased its recent recovery as its price has come back down to the $104,200 mark.

Looks like the price of the coin has plunged during the last couple of days | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView

Featured image from Dall-E, IntoTheBlock.com, chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.