Ethereum prices are back in the doldrums after slumping more than 11% over the past week. The network is also facing inflationary pressures as the ETH supply returns to pre-merge levels due to low demand.

Nevertheless, the Ether bulls remained upbeat and confident that this year will see a new all-time high for the asset.

In a post on X on Jan. 12, crypto trader ‘Mister Crypto’ said he was accumulating because “Ethereum is about to send hard.” The analyst posted a chart from the previous year with uncannily similar patterns which preceded a large move upwards.

Ethereum is about to send hard.

I’m accumulating. pic.twitter.com/GoWjHp4rVS

— Mister Crypto (@misterrcrypto) January 12, 2025

Deflationary Supply to End

Meanwhile, popular crypto commentator ‘CRYPTO₿IRB’ posted a similar chart asking their 698,000 X followers, “Would you be surprised if ETH hit $20,000 this cycle?” which got mixed reactions.

Would you be surprised if $ETH hit $20,000 this cycle? pic.twitter.com/6s9yZRVLLh

— CRYPTO₿IRB (@crypto_birb) January 13, 2025

On Jan. 12, YouTuber ‘Crypto Rover’ said, “This breakout will teleport Ethereum to $8,000,” while analyst ‘Crypto Caesar’ said it was time for the ETH/BTC ratio to bounce, renewing calls for altseason.

The ratio, which measures the price of ETH in terms of BTC, is at a three-year low of 0.034, according to Tradingview.

Another concern is the network returning to an inflationary supply, which has been the case since April 2024. Over the past nine months, the Ethereum supply has increased by 0.35% and is currently 120.4 million, according to Ultrasound.Money.

“The supply of ETH will likely reach the pre-merge supply within the next few weeks,” observed ITC founder Benjamin Cowen on Jan. 13.

“It is currently increasing by about 45k ETH/month, but the supply is only 32k ETH away from the pre-merge supply.”

“Up until this point, though, demand has remained so low that the supply of ETH has been inflationary for about the last 10 months,” he added.

The narrative at the time of the Merge in late 2022 was that Ethereum fee burning through EIP-1559 would outpace production, and that was the case until April 2024, when supply had shrunk by almost 0.4%.

ETH Price Outlook

Ethereum has remained flat over the weekend but dropped alongside the rest of the market early on Monday to under $3,200.

The asset has tanked almost 15% since its 2024 high of just over $3,700 around a week ago.

ETH has been consolidating at current levels for the past five days and needs to hold them to prevent a larger price collapse below $3,000.

$ETH might dump all the way to $2,800 under this bearish scenario! In that case, it would be a golden opportunity to BUY more #ETH for the long term!

Trade #Ethereum on Bybit – https://t.co/TsSnqpda67 pic.twitter.com/yZ0aSYEpyl

— The Moon Show (@TheMoonCarl) January 12, 2025

TL;DR

• Analysts predict XRP could hit new highs, citing flipped resistances and strong chart patterns.
• $2.5 billion in XRP accumulated by whales recently signals confidence, reducing supply and boosting price potential.

Where Next?

It has been another interesting week for the cryptocurrency market, during which numerous leading digital assets experienced enhanced volatility. Ripple’s XRP was no exception, with its price plunging below $2.25 on January 9 but soaring to almost $2.60 two days later. The most recent market decline affected XRP, and it is currently worth approximately $2.41(per CoinGecko’s data), representing a mere 1% increase on a weekly scale.

One popular X user who has observed XRP’s recent performance is CRYPTOWZRD. The analyst suggested that the token “has flipped previous resistance to support” of around $2 and is now ready to pump to a new all-time high of $4 and then $8. The X user said such a scenario would mirror the pre-bull run in 2017 and the subsequent rally the following year.

For their part, WSB Trader Rocko described XRP’s price chart as “the most bullish in crypto.” The X user claimed that the recent launch of Ripple’s stablecoin (RLUSD) and the company’s potential connections with Donald Trump’s upcoming administration could fuel a fresh peak for the token’s valuation. 

Last month, the veteran trader Peter Brandt also maintained that XRP has “the most powerful chart in all of crypto world.” Earlier this month, he chipped in again, predicting that the asset’s market capitalization could explode above $500 billion, citing the formation of a “half-mast flag.”

It is interesting to note that Brandt’s renewed optimism about XRP contrasts with his predominant skepticism in the past. In November 2020, shortly before the US SEC issued the lawsuit against Ripple, he opined that the asset “would have been declared as a security” if the watchdog “understood cryptos.” 

Brandt continued his bashing manifest in the following years. Last spring, he assumed the XRP/BTC chart “is headed toward zero.”

XRP Whales on the Move

One important factor signaling that Ripple’s native token could indeed head north in the near future is the whale activity. As CryptoPotato reported over the weekend, such large investors accumulated roughly one billion XRP (equaling almost $2.5 billion) in the span of 48 hours. 

Continuous efforts in that field will reduce the circulating supply of the asset, potentially triggering upward pressure on the price (assuming demand doesn’t decline).

Additionally, this move signals confidence in the coin, possibly encouraging retail investors to follow suit and direct further capital into the ecosystem.

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has disclosed ownership of spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) holdings worth as much as $500,000.

If confirmed for the position, the investor who co-founded Key Square Group says he will resign from the company and divest his investments.

Bitcoin Exposure Through IBIT

A document released on Saturday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) revealed Bessent’s ownership of the stake in a BTC ETF. It showed that the prospective government official held between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) shares.

The document also highlighted other investments made by the 62-year-old, including interests in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust, Invesco’s QQQ Trust, and its S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF. It also listed a residential property in the Bahamas worth $5 million and an art collection priced at at least $1 million.

In total, Bessent revealed holdings estimated at about $521 million, although analysts believe his portfolio could be worth much more as he is only required to list the value of his assets within broad ranges.

U.S. laws require high-ranking government officers to disclose their investments as well as plans for divestments if any of their holdings may pose a conflict of interest. Bessent, who was nominated to the powerful Treasury docket by Trump on November 22, 2024, is a well-known crypto supporter, previously describing digital assets as “integral to economic freedom and innovation.”

He beat out a long list of contenders, including Cantor-Fitzgerald CEO and co-chair of the Trump transition team Howard Lutnick, ex-Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, Tennessee lawmaker William Hargety, and Apollo Global executive Marc Rowan. Lutnick was picked to lead the Commerce Department.

Trump has also appointed several other crypto supporters to key positions in his administration, including Robert F. Kennedy as Secretary for Health and Human Services, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead a new department to streamline government efficiency, and David Sacks as his crypto and AI czar.

Will Bessent Liquidate BTC Position?

According to the OGE filing, Bessent will resign from his position as Chief Investment Officer at Key Square Group immediately following his confirmation by the Senate as Treasury Secretary and wind down his interest in the company within 90 days.

A Bloomberg report also indicates that, like the assets held through his macro hedge fund, Bessent will liquidate his crypto ETF position. However, Matthew Sigel, head of digital research at VanEck, has questioned Bloomberg’s reporting, pointing out that while Bessent footnoted his divestment of other assets, he did not do the same for his IBIT holdings, suggesting he might be keeping it. This view was reinforced by Swan Bitcoin’s Steven Lubka, who asserted in a January 12 post on X that the Treasury Secretary nominee will not be disposing of his Bitcoin position but will continue to hold it.