News
This Week In Crypto: Ripple’s Stablecoin, Cardano’s GameFi Push, Solana ETFs, Missouri’s CBDC Ban & More
Missed the top crypto news this week? No worries, I got you!
I’m Wendy O with The Street and Roundtable to give you top crypto news you might have missed for the week of December 2nd 2024.
Firstly, there were rumors online that Ripple was ready to launch its new dollar backed stablecoin, RLUSD. However in a post on X, the Ripple said they are still waiting for it to be approved by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The stablecoin, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, will initially operate on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum, with plans for future expansion to other blockchains and DeFi protocols. RLUSD is designed mainly for institutions, and will complement Ripple’s cross-border payment solutions by offering price stability through its dollar backing, while XRP will provide liquidity for transactions.
In other Ripple and XRP news, the XRPL has reduced its base reserve requirement from 10 XRP to 1 XRP, dramatically lowering the cost of account activation by 90%. This change has sparked a surge in new accounts, with over 30,000 new accounts activated in a 24 hour period. This update enhances liquidity and lowers the barrier to entry, making it more accessible to new users, which could be why there were so many new accounts activated. (Memecoins on the XRPL are now a thing too, so this could also be bringing new users over to the ecosystem).
Cardano is making waves in the gaming space with its Hydra Doom Tournament, a global online gaming event featuring a $100,000 prize pool. The tournament is a part of Cardano’s efforts to boost its presence in the GameFi space.
In regards to Cardano price action this week, some large holders offloaded 55.96 million ADA, worth around $69M at the time, marking a shift from prior accumulation. There is also an ADA token unlock scheduled for December 6th which will release 18.53 million tokens, worth $22.79M into circulation. Some analysts are saying that this unlock could disrupt ADA’s recent rally. This isn’t actually bearish in my opinion, because people have to take profit, and it is very common for whales or accredited investors to practice this before re-entering the market. Overall, with Bitcoin moving lower, the entire crypto market may also start correcting.
Meanwhile, the Solana ecosystem is seeing significant developments, as Grayscale has filed to convert its Solana Trust into a spot ETF, a move that would bring in institutional investors. The SEC has yet to approve any spot ETFs tied to Solana or other altcoins.
Finally, Missouri’s state Senate has introduced a bill that seeks to prohibit the use of CBDCs as legal tender in the state, further fueling the ongoing debate around the future of digital currencies.