First Huge 500,000,000 XRP Transfer in 2025 Occurs, Ripple CEO Says He's 'Excited' for 2025, Shibarium Might Hit First Major Milestone of 2025 in Days: Crypto News Digest by U.Today
2025-01-03
Category: None

Here are the top three news stories from the past day presented to you by U.Today.
First huge 500,000,000 XRP transfer in 2025 occurs — What's happening?
According to prominent blockchain tracker Whale Alert, the very first significant XRP transfer in 2025 took place Jan. 1. The transaction involved half a billion XRP coins valued at over $1 billion and was completed between two unidentified blockchain addresses. Per Bithomp's data, the transaction was initiated by Ripple blockchain giant. Typically, Ripple unlocks a substantial amount of XRP at the start of each month, though it remains uncertain if this transfer is related to that routine. Notably, Whale Alert recorded only this single massive transaction unlike the usual two or three transfers of similar size observed in previous months. At the moment of writing, XRP is changing hands at $2.42, up 1.26% over the past 24 hours, per CoinMarketCap.
Ripple CEO says he is "excited" for 2025
Yesterday, Jan. 2, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, took to X platform to express his excitement for 2025. "Excited for the year ahead! Momentum and increased focus on real world utility continues to build," he wrote in his X post. Even amid Ripple's legal battle with the SEC, 2024 was a pivotal year for the company, as it achieved such significant milestones as acquiring Standard Custody and entering the stablecoin market. The company's fortunes improved further when SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced his resignation back in November. By December, Ripple launched the RLUSD stablecoin, and XRP's market capitalization surpassed that of USDT, reaching $137 billion after a significant rally. Looking ahead, XRP is expected to benefit from potential spot ETF approvals and a more favorable regulatory landscape.
Shibarium might hit first major milestone of 2025 in days: Details
Shiba Inu's Layer-2 solution Shibarium is experiencing a resurgence in adoption, with daily transaction counts rebounding to peak levels of 4.78 million. The protocol has achieved significant milestones, surpassing 670 million transactions within 18 months of its launch; according to Shibariumscan, it is currently on track to reach 750 million transactions shortly. Shibarium's growth is further evidenced by its production of 8,741,336 blocks, with expectations to exceed 9 million soon. Additionally, the network hosts 2,070,381 wallet addresses, indicating a growing user base. The recent uptick in Shibarium's activity has positively impacted the price of the SHIB token, which has risen by 4.31% to $0.00002364.