TL;DR

• Hoskinson confirmed active discussions with Ripple’s leadership on RLUSD integration, with potential big news in March.
• Ripple’s stablecoin crossed $100M market cap, with major exchanges like Bitstamp embracing it.

One Step Closer?

The interactions between Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, and some of Ripple’s executives in the past months have caused some members of the crypto community to speculate about a potential collaboration between the two ecosystems.

In November last year, the bosses exchanged kind words, while Brad Garlinghouse (Ripple’s CEO) said, “Now is the time for the crypto community to come together, push for a level playing field and clear rules of the road.” 

Earlier this year, Hoskinson took part in a heated discussion on X in which he hinted that Cardano might integrate Ripple’s stablecoin – RLUSD – into its system. “We’ve already had a call with the RLUSD people. We are actively talking,” he stated at the time.

The chances of a partnership have seemingly gone up, considering Hoskinson’s most recent disclosure. He said Cardano’s team keeps an active conversation with Ripple’s leadership regarding the implementation of RLUSD. Hoskinson also indicated that big news might be announced next month:

“We talk to David Schwartz and Brad Garlinghouse. Strong possibility we can negotiate (RLUSD). Ripple told us to wait till March as they just finished NYDFS. We’ll see if there’s a roadmap and how they’ll get that done.”

A potential partnership between Cardano and Ripple (two of the most recognizable entities in the crypto world) may positively impact the prices of their native tokens. As of writing these lines, ADA and XRP are both in the red weekly following the severe market correction witnessed on February 3.

RLUSD’s Advancement

Ripple made the headlines in April 2024, revealing its plans to design a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the American dollar. The product passed through a testing phase in the following months before being officially approved by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in mid-December. 

At first, it received support from the cryptocurrency exchanges Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, Moonpay, CoinMENA, and Bullish.

Monica Long (Ripple’s president) said at the beginning of January that people should expect such a move from other popular platforms “imminently.” Shortly after, Bitstamp hopped on the bandwagon, listing the following trading pairs: RLUSD/EUR, RLUSD/USD, RLUSD/USDT, RLUSD/BTC, RLUSD/ETH, and RLUSD/XRP. 

Despite being far away from the leaders Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), RLUSD recently hit an important milestone: its market capitalization crossed $100 million. It will be interesting to see whether the product will keep progressing throughout 2025 and whether it will erase the big gap between itself and the leaders in its field. 

The cryptocurrency market experienced a significant selloff following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, along with threats of increased duties on goods from the European Union. This triggered billions in liquidations, with Bitcoin briefly dropping below $92,000 while altcoins suffered even steeper declines.

Although the market has posted a modest rebound, fears about the bull market losing momentum have surfaced. However, recent data indicates that this may simply be another routine shakeout and “isn’t out of the ordinary.”

Crypto Shakeout or Bull Market Breakdown?

In its latest market update, IntoTheBlock revealed that Bitcoin’s recent sharp decline has pushed 7% of holders into a loss. In previous cycles, BTC experienced multiple pullbacks, with the percentage of underwater holders approaching or slightly surpassing 10%.

These events, however, failed to derail the broader uptrend. It is important to note that the true mid-cycle slump only began when this figure crossed the 20% threshold, as per the on-chain analytic platform.

Even during the 2017 bull market, Bitcoin witnessed several steeper corrections but continued its upward trajectory. As such, ITB stated that this week’s drop fits within the historical norms of bull market volatility.

“So while it’s wise to stay alert, today’s drop isn’t out of the ordinary. Keep the bigger picture in focus.”

Market Cleanse

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant analysis revealed that the market has undergone a significant cleansing following a sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price. The latest market shock rivals the intensity seen during the FTX collapse and the COVID-19 crash, which highlighted the overconfidence that had built up among investors.

The sudden breakdown in open interest trends depicted the extent of the disruption, as it marked the first such event since August of last year.

Interestingly, despite the panic-induced sell-off, the Coinbase Premium Gap (CPG) data indicates aggressive buying activity, which essentially points to the fact that institutional players or whales are absorbing the excess liquidity.

While market sentiment remains fragile and heightened volatility is expected, this aggressive accumulation hints at a potential reversal, as large investors often capitalize on such downturns to strengthen their positions.

[PRESS RELEASE – Victoria, Seychelles, February 4th, 2025]

Margex, a cryptocurrency trading platform that offers accessible and user-friendly copy trading, announces an addition of the BASE blockchain network to the platform. With this update, 5 more collateral types are added:

including new collaterals:

The new addition to other existing collateral options on the Margex platform enables its users to perform different instant deposits and withdrawals on the BASE blockchain network.

BASE Network, a layer-2 blockchain, is known for fast transactions, low fees, and high scalability.

New Margex Features to Improve User Interaction

Margex has also added new features to its platform to improve user interaction and usability. These features include advanced charting tools, a zero-fee converter, and instant deposit and withdrawal options using collaterals like Trump coin and Ripple stablecoin (RLUSD).

About Margex

Established in 2019, Margex is a boutique cryptocurrency exchange offering a secure, efficient, and convenient copy trading platform. Margex’s copy trading feature allows users to replicate professional traders’ strategies, making trading accessible to all experience levels. Professional traders can also earn rewards by sharing their strategies.

With a minimum deposit of $10, traders can access all of Margex’s copy trading functionality, it remains the most user-friendly platform in the crypto industry.

Users can follow Margex on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube, or join the Margex team