UpGate

Blog

  • KLACUSDT Perpetual Contract Now Live with 20x Leverage

    KLACUSDT Perpetual Contract Now Live with 20x Leverage

    Bybit Lists KLACUSDT Perpetual Contract, Offering Up to 20x Leverage

    Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced the listing of the KLACUSDT Perpetual Contract, making it available for trading with leverage of up to 20x.

    The new contract can also be accessed through Bybit’s Futures bots, including Futures Grid, Futures Martingale, and Futures Combo.

    Contract Details:

    • Contract Type: USDT Perpetual Contract
    • Trading Pair: KLACUSDT
    • Underlying Asset: Kla Corp (KLAC)
    • Settlement Asset: USDT
    • Tick Size: 0.01
    • Maximum Leverage: 20x
    • Capped Funding Rate: 2.5%
    • Funding Fee Settlement Interval: Every 8 hours
    • Trading Hours: 24/7

    Further information can be found on the official Kla Corp website at https://www.kla.com/.

  • ASMLUSDT Perpetual Contract Launches with 25x Leverage

    ASMLUSDT Perpetual Contract Launches with 25x Leverage

    Bybit Lists ASMLUSDT Perpetual Contract, Offering Up to 25x Leverage

    Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced the listing of the ASMLUSDT Perpetual Contract, enabling traders to speculate on the price movements of ASML Holding (ASML) using Tether (USDT) as the settlement asset. Trading for the new contract is now live, with users able to access leverage of up to 25 times.

    The ASMLUSDT Perpetual Contract is also integrated into Bybit’s suite of Futures bots, including Futures Grid, Futures Martingale, and Futures Combo, providing automated trading strategies for users.

    Key details of the ASMLUSDT Perpetual Contract include:

    • Underlying Asset: ASML Holding (ASML)
    • Settlement Asset: USDT
    • Tick Size: 0.01
    • Maximum Leverage: 25x
    • Capped Funding Rate: 2%
    • Funding Fee Settlement Interval: Every 8 hours
    • Trading Hours: 24/7

    ASML Holding is a Dutch company that designs and manufactures photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry.

  • Ripple Faces Crucial Juncture, Pi Network Delivers Key Updates in June 26 Recap

    Ripple Faces Crucial Juncture, Pi Network Delivers Key Updates in June 26 Recap

    The cryptocurrency market is experiencing another sharp downturn, with several major digital assets seeing significant losses. Ripple’s XRP has fallen to its lowest point since late 2024, while Cardano’s ADA has fared even worse.

    Meanwhile, the Pi Network team has issued key announcements, hinting at major updates expected later this week.

    XRP Faces Critical Market Juncture

    Ripple’s cross-border token has shed another 21% of its value over the past month. Several hours ago, it plummeted to just above the psychologically significant $1 mark.

    Analyst CasiTrades, using the X platform, identified key support levels should bearish sentiment persist. She suggested $0.93 as a potential buying opportunity and $0.87 as a primary target. The analyst further posited that XRP is at its “most critical moment in the market cycle.”

    “Correction is approaching its final level. The fear will be LOUD! People will likely start calling for lower and lower prices as the level is reached. They’ll tell you the market is going to zero. But don’t let someone else’s fear cause you to miss your own opportunity. Every major trend begins when sentiment is at its worst. The correction is doing exactly what it should. This is a perfect market structure,” she stated.

    Another X user, Gerla, offered a similar outlook, claiming XRP is nearing the end of a seven-year wedge pattern and predicting that “the next move could be the biggest one in years.”

    Pi Network Teases Major Updates for Pi2Day

    The Pi Network’s Core Team has been actively releasing protocol updates and ecosystem advancements. The community, however, is anticipating more significant announcements that could potentially drive a price rally for PI. Attention is now focused on Pi2Day, a symbolic date celebrated annually on June 28.

    Earlier this week, Pi Network amplified speculation by referencing last year’s Pi2Day event, which featured the launch of Pi App Studio, Directory Staking, and node updates, among other releases.

    “Stay tuned on June 28 for what’s to come,” the team teased.

    The team also reminded users that June 28 serves as the final deadline for the Vibe Coder campaign, an initiative aimed at integrating AI-powered applications into the project’s distribution network via Pi App Studio. Furthermore, June 28 will mark the conclusion of the Pi Launchpad testing period, which includes the debut of the SLICE test token.

    Cardano’s ADA Struggles Amidst Broader Market Weakness

    Cardano’s ADA has fallen out of crypto’s top 20. Earlier today, its price briefly dipped below $0.14 for the first time since 2020. Contributing factors to its decline include the broader market collapse, concerning comments from Charles Hoskinson, and an exploit within the Cardano ecosystem project SecondFi.

    Popular analyst Ali Martinez noted that Cardano’s ADA TD Sequential indicator has flashed a buy signal, potentially indicating a resurgence to as high as $0.176. However, he cautioned that this revival might be short-lived and could be followed by another downward movement.

    “While this indicator signals a near-term bounce, the broader market structure suggests caution. This localized push may act as a trap to lure in buyers before hitting immediate resistance and continuing lower,” Martinez advised.

  • Polymarket Refunds Users After $3M Hack

    Polymarket Refunds Users After $3M Hack

    Polymarket Confirms $3 Million Stolen in Frontend Attack, Promises Full Refunds

    Polymarket confirmed Friday that a compromised third-party vendor allowed attackers to inject malicious code into its frontend, resulting in the theft of approximately $3 million from fewer than 15 user accounts. The platform has pledged to fully reimburse all affected users.

    Security Researcher Flags Breach

    The attack was initially identified by on-chain security researcher Specter, who reported that an apparent phishing campaign had drained funds from over 11 victim wallets holding Polymarket’s PUSD stablecoin. At the time of Specter’s report, estimated losses stood at $2.94 million. PeckShield later corroborated this figure, noting that the attacker had bridged the stolen funds from Polygon to Ethereum and converted them into 1,893 ETH.

    Polymarket Acknowledges Incident

    The prediction market platform acknowledged the breach through one of its official communication channels, Polymarket Traders. “This morning we discovered a 3rd party vendor had been compromised, injecting a malicious script into our frontend for some users. We’ve contained it and removed the affected dependency,” the statement read on X. “We’re contacting impacted users and refunding them in full.”

    William LeGate, who works closely with Polymarket, reiterated the commitment to compensation, confirming that the issue had been resolved and that affected users would receive their full funds back.

    Supply Chain Attack Identified

    Other blockchain security firms, such as GoPlus Security, characterized the incident as a supply chain attack. They reported that the malicious code impacted approximately 15 accounts, with total losses amounting to $3 million. Bubblemaps reached a similar conclusion and commended Polymarket’s swift response in containing the losses.

    Previous Security Incidents

    This is not the first security breach to affect Polymarket. Last month, the platform disclosed an incident where an admin wallet used for employee rewards was drained of about $700,000, likely due to a private key compromise. Initially, crypto investigator ZachXBT estimated the losses at around $520,000, with Bubblemaps later revising the figure upwards after tracing the funds.

    Developer Josh Stevens confirmed at the time that a six-year-old private key had been exposed through an internal configuration error. The company subsequently rotated credentials and transitioned to key management services. Importantly, that prior incident did not affect user funds or core contracts.

    Broader Reputational Challenges

    While the two incidents involved distinct attack vectors, both targeted systems external to Polymarket’s core prediction markets. The latest breach occurs as the platform faces other reputational challenges. A recent report by The Wall Street Journal alleged that Polymarket paid college-age creators between $2,000 and $3,000 per month to post videos of staged bets on dummy versions of its website, with none of the over 1,100 clips demonstrably linked to real blockchain activity.

    Adding to recent controversies, an early-this-month claim by a trader alleged a $500,000 loss after the prediction service purportedly altered resolution rules for a market tied to Strategy’s Bitcoin sale.

  • Pi Network: Major Update for Pioneers Before Pi2Day

    Pi Network: Major Update for Pioneers Before Pi2Day

    Pi Network Launches New Campaign Ahead of Pi2Day

    With the second most anticipated day of the year for Pi Network users just days away, the protocol’s development team has unveiled a new “vibe coder” campaign. This initiative invites users to engage with creator and developer communities for a chance to win Pi merchandise.

    March 14 and June 28 are considered pivotal dates for the Pi Network ecosystem, largely due to their association with the mathematical constant π, the namesake of the project. Both dates are met with significant community anticipation, often fueled by expectations of major announcements, such as the token listing on Kraken, which was rumored around March 14.

    All eyes are now on June 28, widely known as Pi2Day. In a recent announcement, the Core Team detailed the new campaign: “Pioneers can participate by joining relevant creator or developer communities and sharing why Pi may be useful for builders who already have prototypes or working apps built through AI platforms. Then submit your public post link in the Pi app for a chance to win Pi Network merchandise!”

    The campaign encourages users to direct Pi vibe coders to the Pi App Studio. Participants are asked to explain how externally developed applications can integrate with the Pi ecosystem, highlighting the network’s user base, payment systems, advertising platform, and “broader infrastructure available.”

    The team reiterated the project’s value proposition for developers: “In the Pi ecosystem, vibe coders building web apps with AI can make their app accessible to 60M+ engaged users, and run their app on built-in payments, identity, and ads infrastructure, by simply plugging their service or product into Pi Network.”

    Furthermore, Pioneers are encouraged to introduce Pi to creator communities, illustrating how the Pi App Studio simplifies integration for content creators. They are also advised to share statistics on organic Pi app adoption and explain the benefits for developers and creators exploring the ecosystem.

    Despite the enthusiasm surrounding Pi2Day and ongoing project updates, the Pi token has mirrored the broader market’s recent downturn. The token faced rejection at the $0.14 mark last week, subsequently falling to just over $0.12 yesterday. However, it has managed to stay above its all-time low of $0.1189, recorded on June 6. The token has since seen a notable rebound and is currently trading at $0.13.

    The token unlocking schedule continues to favor Pi’s price trajectory. For the upcoming month, the average daily release of tokens is projected to remain below 4.3 million. This, in theory, should help mitigate immediate selling pressure from investors who have been awaiting their token allocations.

  • Crypto Markets Brace for $11B Options Expiry

    Crypto Markets Brace for $11B Options Expiry

    Massive $11 Billion End-of-Quarter Options Expiry Could Rattle Crypto Markets

    Approximately 153,500 Bitcoin options contracts, with a notional value of around $9.3 billion, are set to expire on Friday, June 26. This expiration is significantly larger than usual, coinciding with the end of the month and quarter, and could inject further volatility into already struggling spot markets.

    This week has seen cryptocurrency markets plunge to nearly two-year lows, with the total market capitalization shedding over $180 billion since Monday as the bear market intensifies.

    The current batch of Bitcoin options contracts exhibits a put/call ratio of 0.73, indicating a slight dominance of sellers of long (call) contracts over sellers of short (put) contracts. The “max pain” level, a theoretical price at which most options would expire worthless, is estimated at $72,000. This is approximately $13,000 above current spot prices, suggesting that the majority of these contracts are likely to expire out-of-the-money.

    Open interest (OI), representing the total value or number of outstanding Bitcoin options contracts, remains highest at the $80,000 strike price on Deribit, totaling $1.4 billion. However, short sellers still hold $1 billion in OI at the $60,000 strike price. According to Coinglass, total BTC options OI across all exchanges has been on an upward trend over the past week, reaching $34 billion.

    Deribit observed that Bitcoin is heading into this expiration well below its $72,000 max pain level. The exchange also noted that while max pain is a closely watched metric, recent quarterly expirations have shown limited evidence of a consistent “pinning” effect on prices leading up to settlement.

    Derivatives provider Greeks Live reported this week that puts continue to command a significant premium over calls across all major tenors. This suggests persistent demand for near-term downside protection, while pricing for longer-dated options remains relatively stable.

    Q2 Options Expiry Alert

    At 08:00 UTC on Friday, approximately $10.8 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are scheduled to expire on Deribit. This marks the largest expiry event on Deribit so far in 2026.

    In addition to the substantial Bitcoin options expiry, roughly 1 million Ethereum contracts are also set to expire, with a notional value of $1.6 billion. For Ethereum, the max pain level is $2,000, and the put/call ratio stands at 0.54. Total ETH options OI across all exchanges is currently low, at around $5.7 billion.

    Cumulatively, the total notional value of crypto options expiring this week reaches approximately $11 billion, positioning it as one of the largest expiry events of the year.

    Spot markets have experienced a further 3% decline today, reaching their lowest levels since September 2024. Bitcoin lost 4% during the Friday morning Asian session, dropping to just over $58,000. It saw a slight rebound towards $60,000 as of press time, following this fresh low for the current market cycle. Analysts had warned this week of an imminent significant sell-off in this price zone.

    Ethereum briefly lost its market capitalization rank to Tether, falling more than 5% to $1,522 on Friday morning. This marks its lowest point since a dip in April 2025 and returns it to levels seen during the 2023 bear market. Meanwhile, altcoins are broadly in the red, continuing a significant downturn.

  • DATA Foundation Tackles AI Training Data Bottleneck

    DATA Foundation Tackles AI Training Data Bottleneck

    Story Rebrands as The DATA Foundation, Launches DATA Network with Flagship Kled AI Integration

    Palo Alto, United States – June 25th, 2026 – Story has announced a significant strategic pivot, rebranding as The DATA Foundation (“DATA”) and launching the DATA Network, a new infrastructure layer for AI training data. The initiative includes a flagship integration with Kled, a prominent opt-in human data marketplace, which has already registered 1.5 billion user-contributed records on the network.

    The DATA Foundation is also introducing Trace, its inaugural public audit layer designed for consent, licensing, and data provenance at scale. Andrea Muttoni has been appointed CEO of The DATA Foundation, while Kled’s founder, Avi Patel, will serve as Chief Data Officer in an advisory capacity.

    AI’s Training Data Faces a Critical Bottleneck

    The transition to The DATA Foundation reflects a pronounced shift in market demand, with AI training data emerging as a highly valuable yet largely unresolved intellectual property challenge. Leading AI laboratories are encountering a multi-billion-dollar data bottleneck, as the readily available data on the internet has been largely exhausted through scraping. The remaining data sources are either prohibitively expensive and custom-made, or lack proper documentation and legal standing, leaving AI labs struggling to source data at scale, verify its origin, or ensure its quality.

    The legal ramifications are escalating, as frontier AI labs are developing market-defining products based on data acquired through opaque channels, often without clear consent or jurisdictional clarity. The era of scraping and using undocumented data is rapidly concluding for enterprise-grade AI development.

    “The primary challenge in AI has moved from computational power and architecture to data sourcing and provenance,” stated Andrea Muttoni, CEO of The DATA Foundation. “As the easily scrapable web fragments, the critical question for AI labs is who is meticulously documenting their data sources. With Kled, we are uniting complete data transparency and auditability with the world’s most extensive repository of AI training data.”

    Building the Infrastructure for Trusted AI Data

    DATA builds upon its original mission to establish a data and intellectual property (IP) layer for the internet, recognizing that AI training data is the most crucial form of data and IP in the current technological landscape. The DATA Network provides essential infrastructure for AI training, anchored by its integration with Kled. Effective immediately, Kled’s licensing protocols and contributor records will operate on the DATA Network, with enhanced support for stablecoin payouts. This integration encompasses the registration of an impressive 1.5 billion user-contributed records, fortified with programmatic legal safeguards.

    “Frontier AI labs have depleted the supply of high-quality, human-generated public text available on the open web,” said Avi Patel, CEO and founder of Kled and part-time advisory CDO of The DATA Foundation. “Suppliers who can demonstrate data sourcing provenance will dominate the deals of the next decade, and that is our strategic focus. Instead of sourcing data blindly, Kled’s data marketplace and DATA’s auditable chain of custody converge to provide labs with exactly what they need to license data confidently and transparently.”

    Trace Launches as the Public Audit Layer for AI Training Data

    Trace, The DATA Foundation’s public audit and search platform, also debuts today, coinciding with the Kled integration. Trace generates immutable, confidential receipts for every data contribution, enabling AI labs to verify the legitimacy of datasets within seconds. For each record uploaded by users globally, a receipt will be generated on DATA, facilitating upstream compensation for contributors’ data and intellectual property. This addresses a pressing need for a verifiable and compliant market for AI training data, which has become a complex legal and operational minefield.

    A Wider Contributor Network

    DATA’s foundational principles have been validated by Poseidon, an AI data processing project incubated by Story. Poseidon cleans, normalizes, and scores raw human data for authenticity and quality, ensuring that every record delivered to buyers is ready for AI model training. Poseidon’s early success with frontier labs underscored the significant opportunity in the AI training data sector. Now operating entirely on DATA and backed by a16z, its contributor application, Numo, is live, onboarding thousands of contributors into the AI economy in exchange for real-time payouts.

    “We founded Story with the vision of building an IP layer for the internet, and the most vital IP of this era is the data that cannot be scraped – the nuances of a surgeon’s movements, the way a robot grips an object, or how people speak, drive, and work in real-world scenarios,” commented SY Lee, CEO of PIP Labs and strategic advisor to The DATA Foundation. “DATA represents the evolution of that conviction: an end-to-end network that proves the origin of real-world data, licenses it, and compensates the individuals who create it.”

    Token Migration and Ecosystem Continuity

    The $IP token will be migrated to the $DATA token on a one-to-one basis, with no action required from existing holders. Guidance on the migration process, exchange timing, and a comprehensive FAQ are available.

    About The DATA Foundation
    Data represents the most significant bottleneck in frontier AI development. The data models that AI requires are often siloed within individuals and companies, or do not yet exist and will not be created without aligned incentives. The DATA Network serves as the world’s AI audit rails, designed to answer the three fundamental questions every AI lab faces: can data be sourced at scale, can its origin be proven, and can its quality be guaranteed? Contributor applications, including Numo and Kled, provide opt-in human data; Trace offers a public, tamper-proof receipt for every data record; and Poseidon transforms this data into model-ready datasets, enabling frontier AI to advance on a foundation of trust. The $IP token is now $DATA. Further information can be found at datafdn.org.

  • DEXE Surges Amidst Record Whale Activity and User Boom

    DEXE Surges Amidst Record Whale Activity and User Boom

    DeXe (DEXE) has seen a significant surge in on-chain activity, solidifying its position as one of the top-performing large-cap cryptocurrency assets in recent months.

    On-Chain Activity Reaches All-Time Highs

    Data from Santiment reveals that DEXE recorded 18 whale transactions exceeding $100,000 and 298 active addresses, both marking all-time highs for the protocol. Furthermore, the network welcomed 86 new wallets, representing its most robust wallet growth in seven months.

    Market Performance and Driving Factors

    This surge in activity coincides with a strong market performance for DEXE, which has experienced a market capitalization increase of over 600% in the past four months. Santiment attributes this growth to heightened interest in DeXe’s DAO governance infrastructure, increasing speculation regarding broader protocol adoption, and a rise in spot accumulation as more tokens have reportedly moved off exchanges.

    The analytics firm suggests that the latest on-chain data is actively supporting the price rally rather than merely reacting to it. New wallets are joining the network at their fastest pace in months, while both active participation and whale transactions have reached record levels.

    Santiment further noted that this combination of increased user activity, network expansion, and substantial transactions could indicate genuine engagement within the ecosystem, moving beyond purely speculative trading. Investors are closely watching to see if DeXe’s expanding governance ecosystem can sustain its current momentum.

    Exchange Support and Market Context

    At the time of writing, DEXE was trading near $23.5, marking a nearly 36% increase for the month. A contributing factor to this rally may be the support from MEXC, a cryptocurrency exchange that recently integrated the token into its futures market, offering traders leverage of up to 50x. In the preceding 24 hours alone, DEXE saw a 4% rise.

    These gains occurred despite a broader market downturn. Bitcoin briefly dipped to $59,000, its lowest point since early June, before recovering to approximately $61,700 by Thursday morning.

    Technical Outlook and Future Potential

    Meanwhile, pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst CW indicated that DEXE is currently testing its “final major sell wall.” A breakthrough above this resistance zone could potentially lead DEXE to set a new all-time high. CW added that once this final barrier is cleared, overhead resistance would be minimal, potentially allowing the rally to continue without significant selling pressure.

  • Grok AI’s Grim Bitcoin Forecast for Next 30 Days

    Grok AI’s Grim Bitcoin Forecast for Next 30 Days

    Grok AI has issued a short-term Bitcoin price forecast, eschewing the typical year-end horizon for a much more immediate outlook. The model predicts a surge to between $68,000 and $72,000 within the next 30 days, a significant leap from its current trading level.

    The bullish scenario hinges on a confluence of familiar factors. Bitcoin is currently trading around $61,200, with sustained institutional demand via spot ETFs remaining a cornerstone of this optimistic view.

    An increase in corporate and sovereign adoption is expected to provide another layer of consistent buying pressure, independent of retail investor sentiment. The post-halving supply shock also continues to be a relevant factor, as a reduced influx of new coins into the market can amplify any surge in demand. On a technical level, the model identifies oversold conditions and strong support at the 200-week moving average, a level that has historically signaled major turning points in previous market cycles.

    Any positive macroeconomic shifts, such as a weaker dollar or a change in interest rate sentiment, could act as a catalyst, triggering short-covering and a renewed wave of FOMO (fear of missing out) buying.

    Considering these elements, the model suggests that current price levels represent an opportune moment for accumulation, with a base case target of $65,000 to $70,000 over the next month, even factoring in typical volatility of 10% to 15%.

    The Bearish Outlook

    The bearish case remains anchored by the same risks that have pressured Bitcoin’s price for months. Persistent outflows from ETFs could continue to dampen demand. Macroeconomic uncertainty poses a wildcard that could quickly erode risk appetite. The risk of deleveraging also persists if market positioning becomes excessively one-sided. In such a scenario, the model anticipates Bitcoin testing the $55,000 to $58,000 range before any substantial reversal takes hold.

    Despite acknowledging this downside potential, the model still views the broader path of least resistance as upward.

    Technical Analysis and Chart Patterns

    On the weekly chart, Bitcoin is trading at $61,182 following a sharp pullback from a recent peak near $82,000 in May. This downward movement has been steady, breaking through several minor support levels en route to current prices.

    When viewed in a broader context, this pullback appears to be a retest of the overall uptrend established from the 2023 lows, rather than a complete trend reversal at this juncture. The chart displays a clear pattern of higher highs and higher lows extending back over two years, even with the recent dip impacting this structure. Immediate resistance is observed around $70,000, a level that capped multiple rallies earlier this year, with a more significant ceiling near $82,000, where the most recent bounce faltered.

    Pinpointing exact support levels without indicator data is challenging, but the $59,000 area and the broader zone between $55,000 and $58,000 align with prior consolidation ranges from earlier in the cycle, directly supporting the bearish scenario.

    Recent price action over the past few weeks has shown consistent red candles with limited buying response, suggesting that sellers currently hold the short-term advantage. Overall momentum on this chart appears weak and is still seeking a floor, rather than confirming any reversal. If Bitcoin can maintain levels above $59,000 and reclaim $70,000 in the coming weeks, the kind of short-covering rally Grok predicts becomes more plausible on the chart.

    Beyond Large Caps: The Case for Infrastructure Plays

    The largest cryptocurrencies are not in distress, but rather have temporarily paused their ascent. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP have been testing the same resistance levels for weeks without a decisive breakout.

    Macroeconomic catalysts and institutional adoption timelines are frequently subject to change. Holding assets whose next move is entirely dependent on external decisions can feel like waiting in a holding pattern rather than actively trading.

    The capital that truly drives market cycles often moves discreetly, relocating before its destination becomes widely known. Smaller market capitalization infrastructure projects operate on different dynamics than their larger counterparts. A rotation that would be negligible for Bitcoin could significantly reprice an undiscovered project.

    The opportunity lies in the discrepancy between an asset’s intrinsic value and its current market valuation. This gap closes upon discovery, and prior to that moment, it is fully capturable.

    LiquidChain: Addressing Interoperability Challenges

    Multi-chain fragmentation remains a persistent and costly issue in decentralized finance (DeFi), one that has yet to be effectively solved. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana exist as isolated ecosystems with no shared architecture or native interoperability. Each time value is transferred between them, the disconnection incurs costs through fees, slippage, and failed transactions.

    LiquidChain aims to eliminate these crossing costs, as predicted by Copilot AI. It proposes integrating these three networks within a single execution environment, enabling single deployments and complete ecosystem access without transaction taxes.

    The project’s presale is currently priced at $0.01454, with over $860,000 raised, indicating an early and undiscovered stage.

    While the execution and adoption of LiquidChain remain unproven, established assets offer predictability within a market that already recognizes their ceiling. LiquidChain, conversely, represents an entry point that ceases to exist once it gains market recognition.

  • Zuckerberg’s Meta AI Forecasts Major XRP Surge by 2026

    Zuckerberg’s Meta AI Forecasts Major XRP Surge by 2026

    Meta AI Offers Multifaceted XRP Price Outlook for 2026

    Meta AI has presented a 2026 price prediction for XRP that diverges from a single figure, instead outlining a scenario with multiple potential outcomes. The model suggests a base price range of $2.50 to $5.00, with a bullish case that could see XRP reach $5.70 or even $8.00 under optimal conditions.

    Bullish Catalysts Converge for XRP

    The optimistic outlook hinges on the convergence of three key catalysts, rather than a singular event. XRP is currently trading around $1.06. The prediction begins with the impact of Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) inflows. In their inaugural month, U.S. spot XRP ETFs attracted $1.3 billion in assets under management, supported by an unprecedented 55-day inflow streak.

    This inflow carries greater significance for XRP than it did for Bitcoin, given XRP’s market capitalization is approximately one-eighth the size of Bitcoin’s at the time of its ETF launch. Consequently, the same dollar inflow has a more pronounced relative effect on XRP.

    Furthermore, exchange reserves are at seven-year lows, standing near 1.7 billion XRP. This suggests that institutional ETF buying is encountering limited retail supply, a dynamic that typically amplifies price movements. On the institutional payment front, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin has experienced a remarkable 1800% surge, reaching a $1.38 billion market cap in less than a year. Concurrently, RippleNet continues its expansion into remittance corridors across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, processing billions of dollars annually.

    The addition of regulatory clarity further bolsters the positive outlook. With the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropping its appeal against Ripple and the Trump administration maintaining a pro-cryptocurrency stance, the legal uncertainties that have long shadowed XRP have largely dissipated.

    Wall Street Echoes Optimism

    Wall Street analysts also reflect this optimism. Standard Chartered has projected XRP to reach $8 by December 2026, while 21Shares forecasts a bullish case of $2.69. Bitwise, meanwhile, anticipates a price range of $4.94 to $6.53 if the XRP Ledger (XRPL) can capture just 1% to 2% of the $10.9 trillion tokenization market.

    Bearish Scenario Presents Significant Downside

    Conversely, the bearish scenario is notably stark. Near-term technical indicators are currently weak, with XRP trading below its 200-day moving average of $1.53 and facing significant resistance between $1.11 and $1.12. Should ETF inflows falter, macroeconomic conditions tighten, or XRPL lose ground to competitors like Solana or Canton in the real-world asset tokenization space, 21Shares projects a bear case of $1.60. Bitwise, however, flags a more severe outcome of $0.13 if adoption fails to materialize.

    A breakdown in momentum and a failure to hold the $1.06 support level could pave the way for such a decline.

    Technical Analysis Highlights Downtrend

    The weekly chart illustrates XRP at approximately $1.07009, following a prolonged and steady decline from highs exceeding $3.65 reached in mid-2025. This downtrend has been one of the most persistent in the current market cycle, with minimal significant bounces interrupting the downward trajectory.

    The 200-day moving average, cited in the prediction at $1.53, remains substantially above the current price, underscoring the extent of XRP’s deviation from its longer-term trend. Immediate resistance is observed between $1.11 and $1.12, the zone currently capping price action. A more substantial barrier is located near $1.60, where historical price action has encountered multiple rejections.

    Support levels are less clearly defined by price structure alone. However, the current $1.06 level aligns with the support threshold identified as critical for the bearish scenario. The chart exhibits a consistent pattern of lower highs and lower lows for nearly a year, indicative of a textbook downtrend.

    Momentum indicators on the weekly candles appear weak, with a predominance of red weeks and limited follow-through buying on occasional green candles. Overall, the chart suggests an asset still in search of a bottom rather than poised for a breakout. A sustained recovery above the $1.11 to $1.12 resistance zone and a subsequent push above the 200-day moving average would provide a technical foundation for the catalyst-driven price movements envisioned by Meta AI.