Global Hive Buzz

XRP experiences a 5% drop following a security breach of one of its executives, fueling speculation about a potential network breach.

Ripple's XRP token experienced a decline of over 5% on Wednesday amid speculation about a potential $112.5 million hack on the network.

Chris Larsen, the Executive Chairman of Ripple, clarified in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the security breach pertained to his "personal XRP accounts" and not the Ripple network itself. Larsen reassured that they swiftly identified the issue, informed exchanges to freeze the affected addresses, and involved law enforcement.

The incident initially came to attention through Blockchain analyst ZachXBT, who reported on X that 213 million XRP tokens had been illicitly withdrawn from a substantial wallet on the XRP Ledger blockchain. Subsequently, the funds were reportedly laundered through various exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, and OKX.

Solana's transaction volume reached its highest level in several years in January.

As reported on The Block's dashboard, Solana's transaction volume has surged by 30% since December 2023, totaling $738.8 billion. Online transaction volume has reached a record high since September 2022, amounting to $1.55 trillion.

Experts highlight that the growth in blockchain activity on Solana is notably higher compared to both 2023 and much of 2022. For instance, in September 2023, the transaction volume on the Solana network hit a low of $40 billion.

In January, the Solana blockchain witnessed a multi-month high in the number of registered addresses. This month alone, the creation of new Solana addresses surpassed 10 million, marking the highest figure since May 2022, when the total number of addresses reached 11.72 million.

Despite challenging market conditions, Solana has demonstrated exceptional performance over the past year, outperforming Ethereum (ETH). Additionally, in response to the approval of the Bitcoin (BTC) ETF, Solana's price remained relatively stable, showcasing a distinctive market reaction compared to the broader market.

Bitcoin is adhering to the patterns observed in its historical price cycles.

A report from on-chain analysis firm Glassnode suggests that the current Bitcoin (BTC) price cycle is echoing patterns observed in the past three instances. While the performance trends exhibit a remarkable similarity to the 2016-17 and 2019-20 periods, the present cycle is managing to maintain a slight lead.

During upward trends, retests of the Short-Term Holder Cost Basis as support are common. However, a significant breach of this level could shift attention to the True Market Mean Price, a critical price level often viewed as the market's centroid and plays a pivotal role in distinguishing between bull and bear markets.

Bitcoin's Realized Cap is currently just 5.4% below its all-time high (ATH) of $467 billion, indicating robust capital inflows and a vibrant market. Nevertheless, a closer examination reveals that the pace of recovery to previous ATH levels is notably slower in the current 2023-24 cycle compared to its predecessors.

This gradual pace can be attributed, in part, to significant market headwinds associated with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). GBTC, a closed-end trust fund, gained prominence in the crypto market by accumulating an impressive 661,700 BTC in early 2021 as traders sought to exploit the net asset value (NAV) premium arbitrage opportunity.

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