Although the past seven days saw leading cryptocurrencies and the broader crypto market drop in value, several coins are defying the downturn. While Bitcoin (BTC) faces a red trend today, Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) and Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) are up 12.11% and 15.63%, respectively.

Besides established meme coins, investors are showing their trust in projects that are yet to realize their full potential and Flockerz (FLOCK) is receiving more attention than most. FLOCK has now raised over $8.4 million for the launch of its token and the world’s first vote-to-earn DAO, with only three weeks remaining before its presale wraps up.

PENGU Shows Resilience and Potential for Future Growth

Pudgy Penguins is a Web3-born brand that features NFT collections, merch, and a clothing brand, all themed around penguins. Since 2021, Pudgy Penguins gathered over 552,000 followers on its X (Twitter) page, and the project has recently released its own token, PENGU.

Designed to provide its holders with governance rights and utility, PENGU entered the market priced at $0.003375 on December 17th, but its price immediately skyrocketed to $0.05019 following the distribution of airdrop rewards to the Pudgy Penguins community and NFT owners.

Although profit-taking saw its price drop to the $0.027 level just a day after its launch, PENGU currently stands at $0.034, representing a 573.53% jump since its launch day.

With its explosive entry into the market, PENGU managed to flip BONK and take its place as the 4th largest meme coin. Although BONK retook its place since, PENGU is just $100 million away from flipping it again, and crypto analyst 0xENAS believes it’s capable of getting closer to PEPE in early 2025.

$PENGU – a new narrative for a new year

Something I haven’t really seen across the timeline despite it being a clear market leader for multiple verticals (NFTs / consumer / meme?)

Pengu is basically a rehash of APE back in the day, except that we’ve got a proper functioning… pic.twitter.com/4BzTK7xCKh

— Eugene Ng Ah Sio (@0xENAS) December 31, 2024

He believes that the launch of Abstract Chain, scheduled to happen this month and developed by Pudgy Penguins, will act as a catalyst that will help propel PENGU to new heights, pointing to a target that exceeds its previous ATH.

Fartcoin Surpasses $1B Market Cap as it Outperforms Most Leading Meme Tokens

Fartcoin entered the market in October 2024, priced at $0.00005908, and reached the $0.02 level by November, with a market cap of $22 million. After crossing the $1 billion market cap milestone for the first time on December 19th, the token reached its ATH of $1.30 the day after, but it halved in value over the next three days.

Although it soared back above the $1 billion market cap during the Christmas rally, fueled by a listing on Binance Futures, it spent most of the second half of December hovering below that level.

Today, Fartcoin crossed above the $1 mark and $1 billion market cap again, which places it well above its 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), signaling strong potential for further short-term gains.

Market expert ChartLord believes the previous dip and Fartcoin’s current price are excellent buy zones, predicting the token will soar to the $1.7 mark over the next few days.

Still interested in this $Fartcoin https://t.co/0o8hII6q9s pic.twitter.com/zjbyAdgdg3

— ChartLord (@Call_me_Cypher) December 31, 2024

The token’s technical indicators support that sentiment, with Fartcoin’s long/short ratio of 1.27 showing a slight preference for long positions among traders. Plus, its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 57.71, suggesting the token has room for upward movement without being overbought.

New Meme Coin Flockerz Hits $8.4M in Presale – 21 Days Left to Join

Flockerz is preparing for the release of its token and the subsequent launch of its DAO, FlockTopia, which will distribute the world’s first vote-to-earn rewards to those using it to vote on key project decisions.

To become eligible for vote-to-earn rewards, users will need to hold FLOCK and cast their votes, which could turn Flockerz into a community-driven token. Investors can currently get FLOCK with a credit or debit card or swap their ETH, BNB, and USDT for the token, which currently costs $0.0065823.

With 21 days left to join the presale, investors also have plenty of time to stake FLOCK and maximize their investment, and the project currently offers a 327% staking APY.

Popular analyst Nass Crypto, followed by over 1 million YouTube users, has pointed out the strength of FLOCK’s community and robust security, often called the two pillars of a meme coin’s success.

Flockerz currently has over 28,000 subscribers across X (Twitter) and Telegram, and its smart contract’s code has been audited by Coinsult and SolidProof, two security firms that found no threats to investor security.

As the end of FLOCK’s presale nears, its per-token price will increase in the following stages, leaving investors with limited time for a low entry point.

Visit Flockerz Presale

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TL:DR;

• Ripple’s native cross-border token was among the top performers in the crypto market, especially in Q4 after the US presidential elections.
• The question now arises of whether the asset soared by triple digits due to ‘buy-the-rumor’ speculations or if it will maintain its run during the Trump administration.

XRP’s Spectacular End of 2024

It’s safe to say that XRP had a very quiet 2024, at least until November. The cryptocurrency traded in a dull range between $0.4 and $0.6 for the most part after entering the year at just over the latter.

However, it all changed a few weeks after Donald Trump was re-elected on November 5. The token, backed by the US-based blockchain enterprise, skyrocketed from under $0.6 all the way to nearly $3 within less than a month. Although there were numerous bullish developments on the Ripple horizon, the most probable reason behind this spectacular surge was the upcoming change in the regulatory landscape in the US.

After all, Trump promised to fire Gary Gensler, who led the SEC’s charge against Ripple for years, upon his inauguration on January 20. However, Gensler didn’t wait to be fired and announced his resignation before the year’s end.

XRP reacted with immediate price gains to the news and spiked toward $3 on a couple of occasions. Although it was rejected there and pushed south to under $2, it managed to recover some ground and ended the year at $2.08 (on most exchanges). This means that its yearly surge stood at around 225%.

What About 2025?

Cryptocurrencies tend to react to news in a more volatile manner than actual developments. As such, it’s interesting to see what will transpire once Trump indeed enters the White House later this month and if there will be a substantial change in the SEC leadership.

ChatGPT answered the question about XRP’s potential in 2025 by outlining several key factors that could help the token continue with its rise toward a new all-time high of over $3.4 (CoinGecko). Paul Atkins, who is Trump’s choice for the new SEC Chair, takes the first place as he has a rich history with crypto and could be the key behind an upcoming resolution in the legal case between the agency and Ripple.

Next, the AI chatbot highlighted the growing possibility of an XRP ETF in the States, similar to the funds that were approved for BTC and ETH in 2024. Such products not only validate the underlying asset but also attract fresh funding that could result in price increases for them.

Citing popular analysts, technical indicators, and the potential of the aforementioned reasons, ChatGPT concluded that XRP’s price could go to a high of $7, which would be double the previous peak. In case the token reaches such a price, its market cap would go to roughly $400 billion – or similar to ETH’s current one.

The Syrian Center for Economic Research (SCER) has presented a proposal for the transitional government to legalize Bitcoin and digitize the Syrian pound in a bold strategy to address the country’s economic crisis.

This proposal aims to build a strong digital economy and develop both centralized and decentralized banking infrastructures across the country.

SCER’s Vision for Syria

If implemented, the initiative would mark a crucial shift in Syria’s monetary policy, aiming to curb inflation, stabilize the local currency, and attract foreign investment in a war-torn economy struggling with hyperinflation and currency devaluation.

The proposal details a regulatory framework that would legalize the exchange, trading, and mining of Bitcoin and other digital assets in compliance with both domestic and international standards. Central to the plan is the digitization of the Syrian pound, which would involve minting it on a blockchain backed by liquid assets such as gold and other reserves. This will be done with the oversight of the central bank and relevant regulatory authorities.

Such a move could potentially improve the security and transparency of transactions, facilitate cross-border remittances, and spur e-commerce growth.

In addition to addressing monetary challenges, the initiative seeks to empower Syrian entrepreneurs and innovators by granting them access to a free-market environment unrestricted by monopolistic practices. The focus will also be on fostering private property rights and enabling citizens to exercise full self-custody of their digital assets. Meanwhile, the initiative also seeks to modernize financial institutions and encourage startups to deliver Bitcoin and blockchain-related services.

Despite its promise, the proposal stated that it faces significant hurdles, including a lack of technological infrastructure, limited public awareness, and geopolitical challenges that have long hindered Syria’s recovery.

The SCER also clarified that the transitional government has neither approved nor considered this proposal. The volunteer-driven initiative said that they “do not expect them to do so anytime soon” and added that the transitional government has more “pressing issues to address at this time.” It went on to say,

“We also emphasise that this is NOT meant to circumvent international sanctions. We believe that sanctions should be lifted URGENTLY through legal and political processes in accordance with international law.”

Growing Calls for Lifting Sanctions

The latest development comes amidst Syria’s new Foreign Minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, who is calling for an urgent lifting of international sanctions. Speaking just weeks after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, al-Shibani outlined the interim administration’s goals and progress while simultaneously highlighting efforts to stabilize the country and engage with regional and global stakeholders.

Al-Shibani argued that sanctions, originally imposed by Western nations to pressure the Assad regime during its brutal repression of protests in 2011, have outlived their purpose. With the regime dismantled and thousands of political detainees freed, he urged the international community to reconsider the measures, stating that they now hinder Syria’s recovery and harm ordinary citizens.