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Bitcoin trades around $102,800 after dipping to $100,700 overnight. The $100,000 zone acted as the first meaningful defense after a two-week downtrend that erased nearly $20,000 from the highs.
Ethereum remains the main liquidation driver, with $86.5 million in leveraged positions wiped out in the last 24 hours, followed by $61.6 million in Bitcoin losses. Total cross-market liquidations reached $305 million, as CoinGlass data shows, with shorts making up 60% of the damage.
Despite bears taking a hit, the general tone remains uncertain with the macro background — especially the Fed’s return to money expansion — making the current conjecture turbulent.
TL;DR
- Ripple confirms Mastercard partnership and closes $500 million round at $40 billion valuation.
- XRP DEX activity spikes to record 954,000 transactions amid sell pressure.
- Bitcoin consolidates near $103,000 as Ray Dalio calls it a global safe haven.
- $305 million in liquidations hit the market, mostly ETH and BTC longs.
Ripple lands Mastercard partnership after $40 billion valuation achieved
Ripple’s enterprise expansion reached a new milestone. In collaboration with Mastercard and Gemini, the company will pilot RLUSD stablecoin payments over the XRP Ledger (XRPL) for credit card settlements. WebBank — the issuer behind Gemini’s credit card — is part of the test, making it one of the first regulated U.S. banks to process card transactions through a public blockchain using a stablecoin.
The announcement followed a revelation that Ripple’s valuation now stands near $40 billion, following a $500 million strategic round backed by top-tier funds.
However, President Long told Bloomberg that Ripple remains in a "fortunate position" to self-fund its expansion and that the company has no plans to go public, dismissing renewed IPO rumors.
For investors, the Mastercard partnership effectively reintroduces Ripple to the American financial mainstream — but this time, under a fully compliant, tokenized settlement model.
Abnormal XRP activity puts $2 at risk
CryptoQuant analysts have raised a red flag after XRP Ledger’s decentralized exchange (DEX) registered a record 954,000 daily transactions, the highest in months. What's bad is that, historically, such spikes in on-chain trades have coincided with XRP price drops.
The data overlay shows a clear bearish divergence between user activity (blue) and XRP’s market price (black). Similar patterns in July were followed by rallies, but this time, the reaction is inverted. Since early October, as transaction counts rose, XRP’s price slipped from $3 to $2.30, even touching $2 this week.
Analysts warn that this behavior likely reflects portfolio rebalancing and mass selling, rather than organic trading growth. Large holders appear to be repositioning, and traders are closing positions both ways — consistent with a liquidity-driven flush.
CryptoQuant suggests that the downside is not over yet: unless XRP can hold above $1.90, the network activity points to continued distribution pressure. The current divergence resembles previous predump phases, not a recovery setup.
Billionaire Ray Dalio names key benefit for Bitcoin right now
Bridgewater Associates billionaire founder Ray Dalio publicly reaffirmed Bitcoin’s place alongside gold as capital starts to migrate out of overheated markets. In his latest commentary, Dalio warned that the Federal Reserve’s shift from quantitative tightening (QT) to easing (QE) marks the start of another debt-monetization cycle.
He highlighted that the central bank’s balance sheet may soon expand again, a signal historically correlated with strong rallies in limited-supply assets like gold and Bitcoin.
Dalio summarized the setup:
- Inflation remains above target.
- Stock indexes are near highs.
- Unemployment is stable around 4%.
- The economy is not in recession.
- Yet the Fed is preparing to launch a "money printer."
"This isn't QE for rescue," Dalio said. "It's QE in the middle of a bubble."
According to him, the policy mix of high deficits, political cycles and falling real yields is pushing global investors to tangible scarcity assets — "hard stores of value immune to dilution." Gold has already reclaimed the $4,000 zone, and Bitcoin’s retracement to the low $100,000s might represent what he calls a "flight to scarcity."
Crypto market outlook
The market remains reactive to macro rhetoric and liquidity perturbations. Ripple’s headline partnership provides optimism on institutional adoption, but the on-chain tone and liquidation metrics confirm that the speculative massacre has not yet cooled off completely.
- Bitcoin (BTC): Holds near $102,900, first support sits at $100,000, then $93,500. Any break below opens a path toward $87,000. Resistance cluster $108,000-$112,000 remains key for pivot to "the north."
- Ethereum (ETH): Trading near $3,400, vulnerable after $86 million liquidations. Support at $3,300, extended floor $3,000. Resistance at $3,700.
- XRP: Around $2.30, short-term rebound from $2.0, but DEX divergence and CryptoQuant data suggest continued downside risk toward $1.90.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team