XRP stirring

Wallowing near or below $0.55 since the start of the month, XRP turned slightly green (+1.4%) overnight amidst some partnership revelations and positive energy coming out of this week's Swell conference put on by Ripple, the ledger technology company that is closely associated with XRP.

Hikes in development activity and active address metrics together point to "bullish potential," AMBCrypto said earlier this week. XRP has gained 5% in the past seven days.

Meanwhile, traders are bedazzled by Solana-bred Goatseus Maximus (GOAT), an AI-abetted memecoin which rocketed by several thousand percent and supposedly produced a $1M score for at least one prescient speculator. GOAT was conceived by an experimental chatbot, "Terminal of Truth," nudged along (goaded, if you will) by humans into converting the vulgar "goatse" meme (go ahead, Google it) into an odd, faux religion that inevitably led to a tokenization concept, which was then later actualized, via Pump.fun, by an unknown creator. GOAT was approaching thirty cents last night. It's the 223rd-largest digital asset with a market capitalization of $286 million.

"Artificial intelligence-powered robots may not be human overlords just yet," CoinDesk said. "But one bot has managed to persuade people to pour millions into a crypto token it was trained to endorse."

Turbo (TURBO), also a memecoin created via chatbot, has hit the brakes after scorching to an all-time high and cracking into the Top 100. Since Tuesday's pinnacle, TURBO, has lost 18%. It's market capitalization is about $750 million, making it the 109th-largest digital asset, per CoinGecko. Still, TURBO, as of 7:40 a.m. (EST), remains up 65% since last Thursday.

A crypto project backed by former president Donald Trump — currently the Republican nominee and who is favored in digital betting markets to regain the White House — began selling tokens yesterday. It didn't go as planned.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) describes itself as the “only DeFi platform inspired by Donald J. Trump” and aims to lead a “financial revolution."

According to Decrypt, citing Dune, the project sold 819 million WLFI tokens out of 20 billion earmarked for the general public. 

Nansen analyst Edward Wilson told Decrypt it was “surprising” that the launch was “so underwhelming.” Strict net-worth-related requirements, mandated by regulators, and multiple prolonged website outages, were factors blamed for bridled enthusiasm. 

WLFI is priced at $0.015, implying that the tokens available for public sale were expected to be worth $300 million. After the first day, only 4% of the target allotment found buyers, or roughly $12 million worth of WLFI (The Daily Hodl).

Chirping nonstop, Bitcoin champions view the $70K mark as bound to come back into view, possibly even later this week or by month's end.

How are XRP enthusiasts feeling? Cautiously optimistic, perhaps, all things considered.

The token (seventh-biggest by market cap, per CoinGecko) has been stuck in a low gear, down 5% since mid-September and appears wholly disinterested in ever again crossing seventy cents (last visited in March). But vibes, not unlike regulatory developments, can change on a dime.

While the price of the token closely associated with Ripple has been consolidating below $0.55 (and faces stiff resistance looming out at $0.64), XRP's on-chain metrics are "promising enough to suggest the altcoin could soon break this barrier," AMBCrypto said.

Ripple's annual Swell conference, which just wrapped up in Miami, focused in part on the subject of U.S. banks leaning into crypto, as well as topics such as custody, regulation, and the stablecoin market, which taken all together connect with ongoing efforts by Ripple to launch a stablecoin, RLUSD, under the auspices of a trust company charter issued by New York State regulators. This approval process is ongoing but apparently on track, even as Ripple's legal battle with the SEC drags on.

Adrienne Harris, head of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), appeared at the Swell conference, sitting down with Stuart Alderoty, Ripple's chief legal officer, to discuss crypto regulation. Avoid surprising us, she implored when asked what industry members can do to foster better rapport with watchdog types.

Not only is a clear regulatory path for RLUSD being paved but Ripple has revealed a slew of platform partnerships — including one with Uphold — aimed at ensuring RLUSD is utilized and stays sufficiently liquid. To that end, B2C2 and Keyrock will act as market makers, Ripple said.

Ripple’s experience providing ledger technology to banks could, according to Ledger Insights, ultimately help stablecoins go mainstream for payments, expanding use of the XRP Ledger.