Economists, those so-called wise men, are betting on headline inflation ticking up just a smidge, month-over-month. Annual inflation? They’re pegging it at around 2.5%. Core CPI, the one that ignores the whims of food and energy, is expected to show prices as sticky as a summer day in the valley. No relief in sight, it seems.
Imagine, if you will, a world where stablecoins, real-world assets, and institutional transactions are no longer left to fend for themselves in the wild west of blockchain. No, no! With XLS-85, they are cradled in the warm embrace of the XRPL’s escrow system, secure and serene. What a time to be alive!
There ain’t no official confirmation from SWIFT or Ripple that such a meal ever took place, nor a solemn proclamation of partnership. Still, the mere possibility keeps the town talkin’ and the ledger tickin’ like a clock that’s forgot to wind down.
Ce cher Peter, ardent défenseur de l’ or, a partagé sur le réseau social X le 11 février que notre bon vieux dollar se dirige droit vers une chute vertigineuse, prophétisant des prix d’ or, d’argent, et du pétrole qui vont exploser, tout en exhortant les investisseurs à abandonner leurs actifs américains pour des marchés plus prometteurs. Quelle comédie!
Now, let’s talk about them bigwigs like BitMine [BMNR], sittin’ pretty with $8 billion in unrealized losses. That’s right, $8 billion! Enough to make a man weep into his whiskey. But hey, who’s counting? Certainly not the HODLers, who’ve been dragged kicking and screaming into the unrealized loss zone faster than a catfish on a hook.
Binance Coin [BNB], that once-dazzling star of the ball, is no exception. Down 28% in the young year of 2026, it stumbles through critical support zones, its longs taken out with the precision of a duelist’s blade. Retracing to the levels of Q2 2025, it clings to the hope of a revival. The BNB/BTC ratio, too, has plummeted by 7.12%, a silent sigh of muted rotation. Ah, the market FUD-that omnipresent specter, whispering doubts into the ears of even the bravest investors.
Bitcoin has taken a nostalgic journey back to last week’s lows, relinquishing nearly all its recent triumphs above the ethereal $70,000 mark, as it recommences its waltz alongside the faltering tech sector, resting comfortably at $65,000.
Now, while the punters can still fiddle about with their trades, moving actual money in or out is as likely as finding a decent cup of tea in the colonies. This, naturally, has sent the investors into a bit of a tizzy, especially with the ghost of 2022’s crypto calamities still rattling their nerves.
On Thursday, Bitcoin (BTC) retreated to $66,000, hovering precariously just above this year’s nadir of $60,000. This decline has been a curious affair, as Bitcoin and American stocks have embarked on a remarkable divergence, with venerable indices like the Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 gallivanting near their record highs while Bitcoin wallows in its self-imposed exile.
Aviva Investors, the global arm of Aviva plc that measures its worth not in bells of church towers but in the accumulation of asset management, joined itself to Ripple in a pact to give token form to traditional fund structures. On the XRP Ledger, a first in European corridors of asset management, they would attempt to render old instruments into something that moves with a rhythm familiar to the youth who worship at the shrine of speed and novelty. One could not help but smile at the notion: a venerable institution patting the shoulder of a bright, gleaming blockchain as if it were a nervous son whom one hopes to instruct in the ways of prudence and profit.