Cryptocurrency
ETF filings changed the Bitcoin narrative overnight — Ledger CEO
Over the past 12 months, some investors learned the hard way why they needed to move their crypto offline. Those who kept Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins on crypto exchanges like FTX lost control of their assets, sometimes forever. Events drew a red line under the storied crypto adage: “Not your keys, not your coins.”
FTX’s loss was hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger’s gain, however. The Bahamas-based exchange’s November 2022 bankruptcy filing delivered to Ledger “our biggest sales day ever,” the firm’s chief experience officer, Ian Rogers, told Cointelegraph, and “November turned out to be our biggest sales month on record.”
Paris-based Ledger has been on a strong growth curve recently, though the past year has not been without controversy. In May, for instance, the firm drew industry ire when it launched a new secret recovery phrase storage service called Ledger Recover. Still, it remains one of the best-known and most-used crypto wallet makers in the world.
Cointelegraph recently caught up with Rogers and Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier in New York City to discuss the new crypto climate in the United States, the latest trends in crypto storage and differences in doing business in the U.S. and Europe, among other topics.
Cointelegraph: Many think that the crypto/blockchain sector is still in the doldrums or moving sideways at best, but you see reasons to be cheerful even here in the U.S.?
Pascal Gauthier: What happened in 2023 — and went virtually unnoticed — is a change of tone regarding Bitcoin. When the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] implied that Bitcoin was a utility and/or commodity — and not a security [like other altcoins] — this triggered two things: large companies like BlackRock began their ETF [exchange-traded fund] application process, and then the media narrative around Bitcoin changed almost overnight.
As 2023 began, Bitcoin was for drug dealers, terrorists, bad for the planet, etc. — and suddenly it became completely kosher. The biggest financial institutions in the U.S. are suddenly doing Bitcoin.
CT: The BlackRock application for a spot-market Bitcoin ETF was a turning point?
PG: Big money is coming into crypto; it’s been announced. It may take a few years to really finally arrive, but if you look at Fidelity, BlackRock, Vanguard…
CT: What about U.S. regulations? Aren’t they still a barrier?
PG: The next administration will decide the fate of crypto in the United States. If Biden stays in power, this administration could continue to be aggressive toward crypto. If it’s someone else, we’ll see what happens.
CT: Let’s talk about offline storage devices. Mark Cuban said in 2022 that crypto wallets were “awful.” Did he have a point?
PG: A lot of our early customers used our [cold wallet] product to “buy and hold.” You would purchase a Ledger [device], you put your Bitcoin in it, and then you put it someplace and forget about it. But that’s not what we recommend now.
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Today, you can connect your wallet to Web3 and use your private keys to do many things, including buying, selling, swapping and staking crypto, as well as engaging with DApps [decentralized applications] and even declaring your taxes.
CT: On a 1 to 10 scale, where would you put cold wallets today in terms of user experience (UX)?
PG: For the industry, it’s a three. For Ledger, maybe a four — and we’re striving to be a 10. The industry has a lot to do in terms of UX and UI [user interface].
Ian Rogers: Your hardware-software combo today is not just about hardware and software. It’s an end-to-end experience.
When you’re buying an Apple iPhone, for instance, you’re not buying a piece of hardware; you’re buying into the Apple experience. We would ultimately like that to be the same thing with Ledger. Our approach is to do the absolute best user experience possible without compromising on security or self-custody.
CT: Still, there’s these UX issues like the 24 seed words you need to recover your private key if you lose your Ledger device. Some users go to great lengths to safeguard those words, even engraving them in steel just in case their house burns down. Doesn’t that sound sort of extreme?
PG: It is a little backwards to have something like a metal plate in your home. It’s not very 21st century. But we came up with a solution for this.
When you use a Ledger product, you end up with your Ledger device and a PIN code. And you will also have those 24 words that become your master password, basically. You need to keep those 24 words safe, and this is a major barrier to entry for a lot of people. They don’t trust themselves with those 24 words. They don’t trust themselves not to lose them.
So, we came up with a service called Ledger Recover [i.e., an optional paid subscription service provided by Coincover that is expected to launch in October] to deal with that. It allows you to shard your private key into three encrypted shards and then send them to three different custodians. They cannot do anything with the [single] encrypted shard. Only you can bring your 24 words together again if necessary.
CT: Don’t we already have something like that with “social recovery,” where you entrust your cold wallet recovery to several friends or “guardians?”
PG: Social recovery doesn’t really work. We’ve done something that resembles social recovery — but with businesses [i.e., Ledger, Coincover and EscrowTech]. You will have to present your ID if you want to initiate the shard recovery.
CT: You were criticized when you first announced the Ledger Recover service in May. Then, the launch was postponed amid the “backlash.” There were security concerns. People said these three shard-holding companies could reconstruct your private key.
PG: There is still a lot of education to be done for people to understand really how security works. People said [at that time] that it might be a good product if it were more transparent and easier to adopt. So we didn’t go live in May, as planned, in order to make the product ‘open source,’ which adds something in terms of transparency though not security,
CT: But couldn’t three sub-custodial companies, at least in theory, collaborate and reconstruct your privacy key?
PG: It’s not possible. They don’t have the necessary tools necessary to decrypt and reconstruct.
CT: Moving on to Ledger’s business model, do you sometimes worry that as big institutions like Fidelity Investments or banks like BNY Mellon enter the crypto space that users may simply park their crypto with them? If they get hacked, those giant custodial institutions will then make them whole again. Or at least that is sometimes the thinking.
PG: We’re a pure technology company. So when Fidelity decides to become a [retail] crypto custodian, they’ll probably come to us and buy a part of our technology to build their own technology stack.
CT: Your business strides several continents. You’re based in France, but you sell many of your devices in the United States. You have first-hand experience of those two business climates — the U.S. and Europe. Are there key differences when it comes to crypto?
PG: Europe has a tendency to over-regulate or regulate too fast, generally speaking. Sometimes people say, well, you know, Europe has clarity because it has MiCA [Markets in Crypto-Assets, the EU’s new crypto legislation], while in the U.S., there is a lack of clarity and lots of lawsuits.
But in the U.S., the way that the law is designed is slow and bumpy. It takes time to change laws in the U.S., but when change finally does come, it’s often for the better.
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If you look at the biggest tech champions in the world, they’re mostly American or Chinese. Zero are European.
CT: Are you linking heavy regulation with a lack of innovation?
PG: It’s hard to say if they are directly linked, but Europe has always had a heavy hand in terms of taxation and regulation.
Ian Rogers: To me, there’s no question they are linked. At LVMH [the French luxury goods conglomerate where Rogers served as chief digital officer for five years], we worked with a lot of startups. Every European startup wanted to get to the U.S. or China to “get scale” before they came back to Europe. Europe is not a good market if you’re a startup.
CT: But Ledger remains positive about the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology overall?
PG: Things are not necessarily what they seem to be. It was our [late] French president François Mitterrand, who said: “Give time for time.” There’s something going on now, and only the future will be able to make clear what is happening.
Cryptocurrency
The Open Platform is the first unicorn in Web3 ecosystem in Telegram at $1bn valuation
[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 3rd, 2025]
The Open Platform raises $28.5M in Series A equity funding round, showcasing investor confidence in TON’s ecosystem
- The equity round was led by Ribbit Capital, a leading fintech and crypto investor, with Pantera Capital also participating.
- The investment underscores strong confidence in The Open Platform’s continued development of the blockchain ecosystem in Telegram, being built on TON.
- The involvement of prominent investors and the raised capital will support the launch of TOP’s portfolio companies across the U.S., EU, and other key regions.
The Open Platform, the leading tech company developing TON-based innovations in Telegram, has announced the completion of its Series A and subsequent extension funding rounds, reaching a $1 billion valuation and becoming the first unicorn in the TON-based ecosystem in Telegram.
The Open Platform raised $28.5 million in an extended Series A funding round, led by Ribbit Capital, with Pantera Capital also participating. Including this latest raise and previous seed investments, The Open Platform has now secured over $70 million in total funding. These investments demonstrate the confidence that leading investors have in The Open Platform’s ability to spearhead the growth of the blockchain ecosystem in Telegram. This ecosystem is being built on TON Blockchain – a fully decentralized and highly scalable blockchain that is the exclusive blockchain partner of Telegram Messenger.
The current strategic focus of The Open Platform centers on geographical expansion. The involvement of prominent investors, along with the newly raised capital, will support the launch of TOP’s portfolio companies across the U.S., EU, and other key regions — in alignment with TON Foundation’s global vision. This expansion will involve significant investment in go-to-market strategies, regulatory licensing, compliance infrastructure, and security enhancements, all aimed at ensuring sustainable growth and long-term success in these new jurisdictions.
Andrew Rogozov, CEO and Founder of The Open Platform, said, “This investment supports our long-term strategy to scale the adoption of blockchain-based products by leveraging the power of Telegram as a distribution channel. By combining TON Blockchain with Telegram’s global reach, we’re building both the infrastructure and the consumer-facing apps needed to onboard a billion users to crypto.”
The Open Platform is driving the growth of the TON-based ecosystem within Telegram, building both core infrastructure and consumer-facing apps across finance, gaming, and entertainment. Products that The Open Platform has powered include Wallet in Telegram, a digital asset solution seamlessly embedded into Telegram’s interface; Tonkeeper, TON’s leading non-custodial crypto wallet; STON.fi, the leading swap dApp on TON and the developer of a liquidity aggregation protocol, Omniston; Getgems, TON’s foremost NFT marketplace; Tribute, a monetization platform for creators in Telegram; and Notcoin, a viral Tap-to-Earn game, along with many more products.
By integrating blockchain technology into everyday digital experience, The Open Platform is creating a seamless, scalable platform designed for a billion users, accelerating the mainstream adoption of crypto — expanding global access to financial services, and enabling a new generation of builders and developers to build the next wave of consumer dApps.
This latest investment from Ribbit Capital, which has previously provided early-stage investment to Coinbase, Nubank, and Revolut, amongst many others, and Pantera Capital, is a testament to the potential these investors see in the integration of blockchain technology into a messenger application with over a billion users.
Micky Malka, Founder of Ribbit Capital, said, “We back teams that reimagine how the world experiences money and technology. The Open Platform’s vision of building an intuitive and open platform that enables a robust digital ecosystem to form within Telegram — a platform used by hundreds of millions — opens a new frontier of opportunities for builders and users on a global scale.”
“We’re thrilled to back this exceptional team led by Andrew. The opportunity to support groundbreaking tech and financial products that reach 1 billion people is inspiring,” said Ryan Barney, Partner at Pantera Capital. ”We’re excited to collaborate with the TOP team and strengthen our commitment to TON and Telegram’s ecosystems.”
TON Blockchain has been the subject of increased institutional interest throughout this year. In March, TON Foundation announced that several leading investors, including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, SkyBridge, Hypersphere, and Karatage, have acquired and now hold $400 million worth of Toncoin, signaling growing interest in the TON-based ecosystem in Telegram.
About The Open Platform:
The Open Platform (TOP) is the leading tech company developing Web3 innovations in Telegram. TOP is fueling the Telegram economy through both foundational infrastructure and consumer-facing apps. By integrating blockchain technology into day-to-day digital experience, TOP is building a seamless, scalable platform designed for a billion users — accelerating the mass adoption of crypto.
For more information, users can visit: top.co
Stay connected on: LinkedIn | X | Telegram
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TL;DR
Analysts remain bullish on XRP, with some eyeing a move to $2.65 or even $3, while others dream of a historic surge to $30.
Binance added NEWT and SAHARA to its VIP Loan program, removed several trading pairs (impacting FIO the most), and launched new staking options for SOL-related tokens.
After closing Q2 at a record $107,500, BTC hovers near $109K; while some foresee a rally toward $120K, Arthur Hayes warns of a short-term drop to $90K due to US liquidity shifts – though he stays bullish long term.
XRP Forecasts
Despite its daily decline of around 2.5%, the XRP price is up 6% on a weekly scale and remains the subject of bullish predictions.
Just a few days ago, the X user World of Charts argued that an XRP breakout and retest has already been confirmed, anticipating a pump above $3 sometime in July.
For their part, Maxi thinks the token could mirror its impressive performance from the end of 2017 and experience a 1,200% rise in a matter of days. A jump of that type would push the price to a new historic peak of around $30, which, as of the moment, seems quite unlikely.
Other popular analysts who made more realistic forecasts include Ali Martinez and Crypto Beast. The former claimed XRP could be forming an inverse head and shoulders pattern, “potentially setting the stage for a 15% breakout to $2.65.” Crypto Beast expects the price to make a 3x during the ongoing bull run.
What’s New Around Binance?
The world’s largest crypto exchange recently added Newton Protocol (NEWT) and Sahara AI (SAHARA) as new loanable assets on its VIP Loan program. Despite the support, the tokens witnessed substantial price corrections.
Additionally, Binance scrapped the following spot trading pairs: ACT/EUR, FIO/BTC, TNSR/FDUSD, and TST/FDUS. Such actions usually have a negative effect on the involved coins due to reduced liquidity, less visibility, and reputational blow. FIO took the biggest blow, plunging by 8% after the announcement.
Earlier today (July 4), Binance came up with another disclosure. It informed its users that they can stake their SOL, HODL BNSOL, sBNSOL, or bzSOL holdings and earn up to 6.5% APR, with boosted LAYER, ACE, and DYM airdrops distributed automatically.
“But that’s not all, something new is launching soon,” the exchange teased.
How’s BTC Doing?
Last but not least, we will delve into the leading cryptocurrency and explore some interesting price forecasts. Bitcoin (BTC) made history in May, reaching a new all-time high of almost $112,000. In the weeks that followed, it saw a slight pullback but still closed Q2 at around $107,500 – the highest quarterly finish in its history.
The crypto community remains quite bullish that the asset, currently trading just south of $109,000, could be on the verge of a rally toward a fresh peak. X user CRYPTOWZRD thinks a breakout above $110,500 could push the price to $120,000.
On the other hand, Arthur Hayes (co-founder of BitMEX) predicted a short-term pullback to $90,000 due to a potential liquidity drain from the US Treasury issuing new debt following Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.“ However, he remains a bull for the long term, viewing the possible pullback as just a temporary event.
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This Friday, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Solana, and Hyperliquid in greater detail.
Ethereum (ETH)
ETH closed the week with a 4% price increase and is currently sitting comfortably above $2,500. This is impressive considering that only two weeks ago it was at $2,100.
With buyers returning, optimism is increasing across the market which may finally allow it to test and break the resistance at $2,800. As long as the price is above $2,500, bulls have the advantage and higher price levels are likely.
Looking ahead, ETH shows a clear bullish bias across momentum indicators such as the MACD and RSI which are making higher lows. The only missing piece to make a breakout possible is buy volume which still lags behind and has not made higher highs yet.
Ripple (XRP)
Bulls had a good week and tested the resistance at $2.3 again. While they did not have the strength to break this level yet, the price still managed to increase by 6%.
With clear higher highs and lows, XRP is found in an uptrend which may eventually break the key resistance. If successful, the buyers may aim to initiate a rally towards $2.6 next, which is a key target as soon as $2.3 falls.
This long consolidation above $2 indicates that this cryptocurrency may experience a sharp increase in volatility as soon as it leaves its current range. The bias is bullish and a quick rally to $2.6 and beyond is likely if buy volume explodes later.
Cardano (ADA)
After a difficult period in June, ADA appears to have finally found a local bottom above 50 cents. Most recently, the price made a higher high and managed to close the week with a 5% increase. This is encouraging and may allow it to reverse its downtrend.
With buyers in control, theh altcoin has a good chance to test the resistance at 64 cents which used to act as a key support in the past. To turn the bias bullish, ADA will have to move its price above $0.64.
This cryptocurrency has a difficult road ahead since it has been making lower lows for over six months. To reverse this, buy volume has to increase significantly. A first step towards that is to reclaim $0.64.
Solana (SOL)
Solana managed to return above $150 which is a key psychological level. This allowed the price to close the week 6% higher. While this is encouraging, buyers have to keep the price above this level if they want to maintain control.
Considering the recent rally, the price action may be forming an inverted head and shoulders reversal pattern on the daily timeframe. However, to confirm it, SOL has to move above $170 and secure a higher high.
Moreover, the volume has to increase since it has been flat for months. Right now, the momentum indicators are bullish, but without increasing volume it will be hard for buyers to push this cryptocurrency higher. As long as $150 holds, bulls still have the upper hand.
Hype (HYPE)
HYPE had a good week and increased by 5%. However, the price action shows buyers are becoming exhausted. Every time it tried to reclaim and stay above $40, sellers returned to push it lower.
With weakening momentum and volume, HYPE appears to struggle right now and is not able to make higher highs. On the contrary, if the price cannot move above $40, sellers will have an opening to push it lower.
Looking ahead, HYPE could be establishing a complex local top formation that may prolong its current correction after its most recent ATH at $46. Based on this, it is unlikely for this cryptocurrency to make new price records any time soon.
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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.
Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.
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