Connect with us
  • tg

Cryptocurrency

DeFi as a solution in times of crisis

letizo News

Published

on

The 2020s have been a challenging decade so far, yet the transformative power of blockchain technology offers a better path forward.

Born from crisis

Around the globe, times are tough for many everyday people. Increases in cost of living minimized any growth in wages last year as inflation continues to take its toll. Additionally, world powers such as China and Russia are increasingly challenging the dominance of the USD as geopolitical tensions flare up.

In this precarious new world, decentralized cryptocurrencies can potentially be a source of stability and freedom. Bitcoin first emerged in the wake of the 2008 banking crisis and the impact of events like the Lehman Brothers collapse is evident in the writings of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

While the subprime mortgage crisis was in full swing in February 2009, Nakamoto proposed an “e-currency based on cryptographic proof” that enables secure and effortless transactions without the need for a trusted third-party middleman. But has crypto lived up to its promise so far, and can DeFi help solve the ongoing instability of the 2020s?

A better system is possible

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin indeed help overcome issues with the current banking and monetary system in several different ways. For example, self-custody of DeFi assets protects individual investors against risks like institutional insolvency and bank runs. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023 shows that even large banks are still vulnerable to failure. But instead of requiring trust that their money is still there, Web3 users can verify their holdings directly on chain.

Additionally, blockchain technology allows for a more efficient and decentralized financial landscape. The peer-to-peer network pioneered by Bitcoin means that investors can hold their own assets and transact directly with no middlemen and significantly lower fees. And unlike with traditional banks, the rise of DeFi sectors like DEXs, lending and liquid staking means individuals can now have full control over exactly how their deposited assets are used.

Inflation is yet another ongoing problem that crypto and DeFi help solve. Unlike fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have a fixed total supply. This means that your holdings in BTC cannot be easily diluted like if you hold a currency such as USD. While a return to the gold standard of years past is sometimes proposed as a potential solution to inflation, adopting crypto as legal tender would have a similar effect while also delivering a range of other benefits like enhanced efficiency.

CBDCs: A potential alternative?

As global superpowers battle for financial supremacy, everyday people around the world can benefit from decentralized and censorship-resistant assets like Bitcoin. Yet because cryptocurrencies pose a threat to the dominance of the current monetary system, many governments are taking measures to issue their own centralized digital currency.

Institutions such as the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have been actively exploring the issuance of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). In some ways, it is possible to equate the benefits of CBDCs with the utility of crypto. For example, a so-called digital dollar could help deliver faster and cheaper transactions while expanding access to the financial system.

However, CBDCs lack several of the key benefits of cryptocurrency. For one, they are still highly centralized like traditional fiat currencies. This means that true self-custody is not possible and your assets can be frozen by financial authorities at any time. CBDCs may also not help stem issues with inflation since they still allow central banks to print money through measures like quantitative easing. Overall, CBDCs only deliver a fraction of the benefits of decentralized cryptocurrencies.

Why not CEXs?

The Web3 community proposes a better alternative. With decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, ordinary people can enjoy the benefits of digital money without facing the same problems that plague existing fiat currencies. Especially in times of crisis, DeFi is a great way to keep your money secure and under your direct control. Yet in order for DeFi to truly explode, the user experience needs to catch up with centralized finance.

Currently, the easiest way to buy and send crypto is with a centralized exchange (CEX). Like CBDCs, users of platforms like Coinbase and Binance must sacrifice some transparency and decentralization for a streamlined user experience. But events like the FTX collapse show centralized exchanges can become over-leveraged and insolvent just like traditional banks. Since many users are unaware of the advantages of DeFi and self custody, further education is key.

While writing down your seed phrase in a secure location is harder than quickly making an account on a CEX, the benefits are definitely worth it. When you have self custody, you can always track your assets directly on the blockchain and even move your funds to a hardware wallet for extra security. Plus, investors can make solid passive income on their investments at the same time with low-volatility DeFi strategies such as stablecoin farming.

DeFi could be the answer

In addition to continued instability within our financial system, the 2020s have also featured a heightened level of geopolitical turmoil. However, decentralized finance offers the chance to safeguard our financial freedom. We must stand up together to build a fair digital economy and a better fiscal world. While DeFi already offers a range of revolutionary opportunities for small investors, the community needs to keep pushing for more applications, improved education and a better user experience in order to achieve worldwide mass adoption.

Bitcoin helped pioneer this new era, but the future envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto requires our continued efforts. Once the mainstream population can access DeFi as easily as walking into a traditional brick and mortar bank, the sky is the limit for Web3 adoption. In the meantime, it’s important to maintain a critical lens about the potential downsides of CEXs and government attempts to replace crypto with their own watered-down digital currencies.

The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.

Wolfgang Rückerl is the CEO of Istari Vision and Entity.global. His expertise is in Web3 startups, DeFi and GameFi. 

This article was published through Cointelegraph Innovation Circle, a vetted organization of senior executives and experts in the blockchain technology industry who are building the future through the power of connections, collaboration and thought leadership. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Cointelegraph.

Cryptocurrency

5 Rocket Boosters for Ripple (XRP) Prices in Q2

letizo News

Published

on

The following five factors are more rocket fuel for prices to rally in XRP markets at the right time in 2025, even though the asset remains far from its early 2025 peak.

1. Bullish 15-Day Cup and Handle Pattern

XRP’s daily trading price continued in mid-April to trace a 90-day falling flag pattern visible at the 1Y view. Moreover, the indicator exhibits the classic declining trend in daily exchange volume. This pattern often signals an end to corrective bear markets and a reversion to the broader bullish trend.

Furthermore, at the 1M view, XRP’s price rounds out converging trend lines on the falling flag trace with a textbook bullish cup and handle pattern over 15 days from Apr. 2 to Apr. 17.

The cup formation spans 10 days from Apr. 2 to Apr. 12 and the slightly downward listing range channel forming the handle appeared from then until Apr. 17, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Ripple token trading exhibited declining 24H trade volume from above $16 billion in the cup’s middle to below $3 billion during the handle portion of the chart technical indicator.

According to Investopedia, “The cup and handle is considered a bullish signal, with the right-hand side of the pattern typically experiencing lower trading volume.”

2. HNWI Manager: Institutions Quietly Stockpile XRP

There’s no doubt of institutional interest in XRP because of the spot ETF applications at the SEC and Ripple’s partnerships with big global financial clearinghouses.

But Cheyenne, Wyoming-based family office wealth director Jake Claver had a hot tip for altcoin investors on Apr. 10. He said in a note on X that, “Major institutions are stacking up #XRP behind the scenes while keeping the public in the dark.”

“The current price is merely a shadow of what’s coming,” Claver added. “In my opinion, nothing in crypto space offers this level of certainty and potential for massive returns.”

Some repliers challenged Claver to show any evidence of the provocative claim.

While part of the claim is that the major players are keeping such evidence scant, one bit of circumstantial evidence is the frequent sightings in 2024 and 2025 by blockchain explorers of tremendous whale-sized XRP transactions.

More direct evidence would be the public knowledge that banks like Santander, American Express, SBI Holdings, PNC, and Commonwealth Bank use XRP to make large international transfers.

That’s what XRP is built for.

3. XRP ETF Applications Top Ten at US SEC

Bitcoin’s price cranked up 166% within two quarters from $27,400 in Oct. 2023 to $73,000 in Mar. 2024. The rally revolved around the first Bitcoin ETF approvals by the SEC in Jan. 2024.

In mid-April, XRP had 10 spot ETF applications in the queue at the SEC, according to Paris, France-based blockchain research firm Kaiko. That highlights impending demand for Ripple tokens by institutional investors.

The second-most applications out of the crypto segment was five for Solana. Dogecoin and Litecoin had three each pending at the SEC in mid-April. Kaiko projects XRP will be the next blockchain currency to get a spot ETF in the US.

4. X Buzz Over Possible SWIFT Partnership

Meanwhile, popular Crypto X provocateur John Squire, “The Crypto Squire,” famous to over half a million followers, suggested on Apr. 13 that SWIFT could start using XRP as soon as April.

“In 2023, Ripple already participated in interoperability pilot programs led by SWIFT,” Squire wrote. “More recently, SWIFT published a report discussing the integration of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)… XRP was part of that conversation.”

Popular Crypto X #XRPArmy booster Amonyx fanned the flames with a video of YouTube business podcaster and motivational speaker Patrick Bet-David pumping XRP in terms of SWIFT payments market share.

Even without a SWIFT partnership, as Ripple captures any significant portion of forward market share growth in SWIFT’s trillion-dollar payments businesses, XRP prices are apt to skyrocket once more.

5. XRP Price Support From Froggy Bitcoin Market

Finally in this list, there’s the support for XRP prices from directly adjacent Bitcoin exchange markets that cyclically draw up vast amounts of capital inflows.

Brokers make BTC sales to individuals and organizations from all walks of life across the planet, at all levels of wealth from third world laborer individual investors to the US government.

Because XRP is a direct trading pair with Bitcoin on dozens of highly liquid currency exchange platforms, BTC generates an enormous long-term support for the former’s value.

While stocks continued to swoon in April over Trump tariffs realigning global trade deals, Bitcoin decoupled from other “risk” markets and went for a cool mid-month rally.

Wall Street Bitcoin ETFs joined the rally in a potential preview of price support from mainstream financial integrations with XRP via the pending Ripple ETFs.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse remarked in April that he sees Bitcoin’s price topping $200,000 in 2025. Another analyst noted that in March and April, Bitcoin whales have been buying BTC like never before.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Continue Reading

Cryptocurrency

Important Ripple (XRP) Price Update: Critical Metric Plunges as Crypto Market Slumps

letizo News

Published

on

The cryptocurrency market took a sudden dive in the past couple of hours, with the XRP price making no exceptions.

XRP Price Tumbles but Funding Rates Surprise

XRP tumbled by around 2% in the past hour, bringing its total losses to about 8% for the last day. At the time of this writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at around $2.04.

XRPUSDT_2025-04-20_15-21-01
XRP Price Chart. Source: TradingView

That said, the funding rates on XRP derivatives positions are currently positive. What this means in Layman’s terms is that traders who have long positions are paying those who have short positions. In other words, the sentiment on the derivatives market is currently positive.

Could this mean that the XRP price is about to rebound? Not necessarily – positive funding rates only indicate the prevailing sentiment but sentiment is not necessarily tied up to the short-term price action. Short positions could pile up to “farm” the positive funding rates until the market regulates itself into an equilibrium.

Crypto Markets Plunge

Elsewhere, the broader crypto market is also declining.

Screenshot 2025-04-20 at 15.03.21
Source: Quantify Crypto

As seen in the heatmap above, Bitcoin’s price is trading at around $84,000, down by around 1% on the day, but the losses some altcoins are charting are considerably higher.

For example, Dogecoin (DOGE) is down 8%, Cardano (ADA) is down 6.6%, and so forth.

SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

Continue Reading

Cryptocurrency

Ripple Price Analysis: Will XRP Plummet Below $2 This Week?

letizo News

Published

on

XRP continues to consolidate with low volatility across its BTC and USDT pairs. Price action is tight, holding above major support but struggling to gain bullish momentum.

By Edris Derakhshi

XRP Price Analysis: The USDT Chart

XRP is holding just above the $2.00 support zone and the 200-day moving average, located around the same price mark.

The $2.00 level has acted as key demand throughout April, with multiple wicks into that zone being bought up quickly. However, bullish follow-through has been weak, and the price remains compressed between $2.00 and the $2.40–$2.60 resistance zone.

Momentum is neutral as the RSI hovers around the 50 mark. Bulls need to reclaim $2.60 to confirm strength and open the way toward the $3.00–$3.10 resistance. If the 200 DMA fails to hold, the next major supports are at $1.40 and $1.

xrp_price_chart_2004251
Source: TradingView

XRP Price Analysis: The BTC Paired Chart

XRP is still in a downtrend against BTC, with a clear sequence of lower highs since the peak in January. The price is now just above the 2,400 SAT level but well below the 2,800 SAT resistance zone.

The 200 DMA near 2,100 remains a key level to watch if the decline continues.

This pair continues to show relative weakness, and reclaiming 2,800 SAT is critical to shift the short-term trend. As long as XRP/BTC fails to break above that structure, upside will likely remain capped.

xrp_price_chart_2004252
Source: TradingView
SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).

LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!

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.

Continue Reading

Trending

©2021-2024 Letizo All Rights Reserved