29,532,534 XRP Stun Coinbase, BlackRock Hits Historic BTC Milestone, Solana ETFs Underway: Crypto News Digest by U.Today

U.Today - U.Today has prepared a summary of the top three news stories over the weekend.

29,532,534 XRP stun crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), what's happening?

According to an X post by Whale Alert from Sunday, Jan. 26, a large XRP transfer was spotted, carrying 29 million XRP. This transaction, valued at approximately $92.7 million, originated from an unidentified wallet. Such transfers often indicate a potential sale, but there may be other reasons at play, including providing additional liquidity to Coinbase. Another reason could be a strategic reshuffling of XRP for diversification purposes. That said, it remains unknown what served as the rationale behind the move. At writing time, XRP is trading in the red as it lost its key level of $3; the asset's current value stands at $2.88, and it is trading down 7.49% over the past 24 hours, per CoinMarketCap data.

$60,000,000,000 in Bitcoin: BlackRock hits historic BTC milestone

BlackRock's Bitcoin holdings have recently surged to an unprecedented value of $60 billion across its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with 574,118.84380 BTC recorded on the ETF's balance sheet. According to data from Farside Investors, Bitcoin ETFs have attracted a total of $188.7 million in inflows, with BlackRock accounting for $154.6 million, representing 81% of the net inflows. This aggressive accumulation positions BlackRock as one of the largest institutional holders of Bitcoin, surpassing even MicroStrategy's notable holdings. Last week, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink sparked discussions about Bitcoin's potential, suggesting a price target of $700,000 if institutional adoption increases. He has also been talking with a sovereign wealth fund about allocating 2% to 5% of their assets to Bitcoin.

Solana ETFs underway: What to expect

Grayscale has submitted a filing to the SEC to launch ETFs for Litecoin and Solana, among other crypto-related products. Following Grayscale's lead, several firms, including VanEck, 21Shares, Bitwise and Canary Capital, are also seeking to launch spot Solana ETFs, with preliminary SEC decisions expected by late January 2025. Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store, expresses optimism regarding the timeline, which reflects broader market sentiment. Some in the industry speculate that potential changes in U.S. administration and the SEC leadership may create a more favorable regulatory environment for crypto ETFs. According to Polymarket's recent estimation, there is a 77% chance of Solana ETF approval in 2025; such approval is anticipated to serve as a significant price catalyst for Solana, although its effects may not yet be fully reflected in the current market valuation.

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