TL;DR

• XRP recorded a 10% daily drop, with the broader market collapse adding pressure and sparking concerns about the end of the bull cycle.

• Pi Network’s native token bucks the bearish trend, surging 250% in a week, with speculation about a Binance listing fueling optimism.

• Meme coins, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Pepe (PEPE), face steep declines as the SEC’s recent statement cast doubt on their utility and increase investor caution.

XRP Struggles to Float Above $2

The cryptocurrency market’s collapse has escalated in the past 24 hours, with countless digital assets plunging by double digits. Ripple’s XRP is among the biggest losers, tanking by 10% on a daily scale. It traded slightly above $2 over the past several hours before tanking below that psychological level (according to CoinGecko’s data).

While some industry participants believe the bull cycle might be over, some factors suggest that a resurgence is not out of the question. 

One element that could bring back the green candles is the eventual resolution of the lawsuit between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The case remains ongoing for more than four years after its start, but some important developments signal that its outcome could be just around the corner. 

For instance, the regulator has recently suspended lawsuits against some crypto entities, including Coinbase, Uniswap, and others. This has caused speculation that the legal battle against Ripple might be the next to be dismissed.

Some experts, though, have argued that the complexity of the case might be a hurdle. The popular US lawyer Jeremy Hogan said:

“The SEC broke up with Coinbase after a couple of dates. Ripple and the SEC live together and have a baby.”

He thinks dismissing the lawsuit against the company is unlikely, forecasting a settlement instead.

PI’s First Trading Days

Contrary to the bearish environment in the crypto market in the last several days, the native token of Pi Network has charted impressive gains. It has surged by over 250% on a weekly scale, reaching an all-time high of almost $3 on February 27 and currently trading at roughly $2.13.

Some market observers believe PI’s rally has yet to reach its full potential. They based the prediction on the assumption that Binance is about to list the token on its platform.

Not long ago, the biggest crypto exchange held a community vote to determine whether its users would want to see PI available for trading. The results became official on February 27, with over 86% of the voters clicking the “yes” option.

The Memes Bleed Heavily

Last but not least, we will touch upon the meme coin niche, which is also deeply covered in red. Leading tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), and Official Trump (TRUMP) have collapsed by double digits in the past 24 hours alongside the overall market slump.

The poor performance comes shortly after the SEC classified most meme coins as non-securities. At the same time, the agency claimed that these tokens “typically have limited or no use or functionality,” warning investors that they sit at the furthest end of the risk spectrum. 

Around 58,000 Bitcoin options contracts will expire on Friday, Feb. 28, and they have a notional value of roughly $4.7 billion.

This week’s expiry event is larger than usual because it is the end of the month. However, the impact on spot markets is likely to be minimal as they’re already reeling from US President Trump’s trade war.

Bitcoin Options Expiry

This week’s big batch of Bitcoin options contracts has a put/call ratio of 0.71, meaning that there are slightly more call (long) contracts expiring than puts (shorts).

Moreover, open interest (OI), or the value or number of BTC options contracts yet to expire, still remains highest at the $120,000 strike price, which is $1.5 billion, according to Deribit.

There is also around $1 billion in OI at the $100,000 and $110,000 strike prices. Bearish sentiment is also seeping back as $800,000 in OI currently sits at the $80,000 strike price, which is where the asset stands now.

Crypto derivatives provider Greeks Live said the team was “predominantly bearish,” with traders watching $82,000 as a “critical support level that must hold to maintain the high timeframe trend.” However, that line has been broken to the downside as of press time.

“There’s significant concern about continued downside, with many members discussing the rapid 17% decline over three days and debating whether recent selling is controlled or indicative of a broader market shift.”

Technical analysis suggests if the price closes below the 2024 volume weighted average price (VWAP) bands, “the higher timeframe trend would be ‘cooked’ and could lead to $77,000 to $72,000 levels,” warned Greeks.

Around 526,000 Ethereum contracts are also expiring today, with a notional value of $1.14 billion and a put/call ratio of 0.52. This brings Friday’s combined crypto options expiry notional value to around $5.8 billion.

Crypto Markets Tank

This week’s market rout has continued into Friday, with total capitalization dumping a further 6% on the day to $2.76 trillion. It has now fallen through longer-term support and could return to October levels.

Bitcoin dumped 5% in a fall to $80,200 during Asian trading on Friday morning. The asset has now lost 18% in a week, and its correction has deepened to 25% from all-time highs. The last time BTC was below $80,000 was on Nov. 10.

Meanwhile, Ethereum has dumped 8% to its lowest level for more than a year, hitting $2,150 on Friday morning as its weekly losses amount to a whopping 22%.

The altcoins were a sea of red with them all bleeding out by similar amounts at the time of writing.

This week, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Solana in greater detail.

Ethereum (ETH)

The market turned bearish and Ethereum has lost its support at $2,400, falling by 21% in the past seven days. This market-wide drop impacted almost all cryptocurrencies with most in double digit losses in the past week.

In the case of ETH, it is critical that the price remains above $2,000 as a key psychological level. If lost, then Ethereum will have good support around $1,800, a level not seen since 2023 when crypto was in a bear market.

Looking ahead, Ethereum is quickly approaching a moment where its bullish uptrend is invalidated. A price under $2,000 would push it in a bear market with lower levels likely after that.

Ripple (XRP)

XRP did its best to remain bullish, but the overall market pushed its price back to $2 at the time of this post. While this support level appears strong, continued selling would eventually break it and that could quickly see the price fall much lower.

This cryptocurrency also had a difficult week, closing it with a 23% loss. If nothing changes in the coming days, then the next key support level is found at $1.6.

Looking ahead, if the price falls under $2, then the rally is over, and the top was likely already made at $3.4 back in January 2025. While it is still early to call it, the signs remain bearish based on this price action.

Cardano (ADA)

ADA lost its key support at $0.64 and closes the week with a 25% price drop. This is extremely concerning since the price could fall to $0.45 next. Such a price would return ADA to bear market levels.

Sellers are dominating, and if buyers don’t return soon to bring ADA back above $0.64, then lower price levels should be expected as the downtrend continues.

Looking ahead, ADA does not have the power to stop sellers at this time. Watch the key support at $0.45 since that level could bring back buyers if they don’t show up earlier.

Binance Coin tried to stay above $600, but buyers were unable to defend that level after a massive sell pressure in the past 24h. With this support lost, the asset fell by 12% in the past week.

If BNB continues to go lower, buyers could reappear between $550 and $500. Strong support at $500 has held well in the past when sellers spiked the price.

Looking ahead, this cryptocurrency shows more strength than most altcoins, considering it has not made a lower low yet. The price consolidates into a flat range above $500, and as long as that level holds, BNB can recover later.

Solana (SOL)

Solana had one of its worst weeks since 2024. The price appears in a free fall and registered a 27% loss in the past seven days. With the support at $134 gone, SOL may soon approach $100 at this rate.

It is critical to maintain a three-digit price since this is a psychological level. At the same time, any price closing on $100 is likely to attract new buyers since that level is also a key support.

Looking ahead, Solana must do its best to not drop under $100 as that would put an end to its uptrend. The next few days and weeks are decisive.