Solana [SOL] has swaggered past Ethereum [ETH] to claim the top spot in staking market cap. Move over, ETH, there’s a new sheriff in town, and it’s got better yields and fancier staking stats.
Indeed, it has swum circles and come to rest in the company of banks and remittance companies. These ventures have dared, tested, and integrated XRP’s mechanisms for the real-world settlement of funds. In a realm dominated by digital mirages, such tangible footsteps are precious, scantly wandered. While the crypto heavens chart expansive aspirations with decentralized finance, non-fungible treasures, and even delightful memes, XRP remains steadfastly pedestrian, ushering payments effortlessly across borders.
“They won’t be able to ignore it,” he proclaims, as if Ethereum were not a finicky adolescent but a seasoned statesman. Since 2014, institutions have been “experimenting,” he assures us-a euphemism for dabbling, like a cat with a ball of yarn. The learning curve? Less steep than the Alps, apparently. Yet, one wonders if these institutions are not merely humoring him, the way one humors a child convinced their Lego tower is the next Eiffel Tower. 🏗️😏
In a social media post that could’ve been titled “Crypto Therapy 101,” Changpeng Zhao (CZ to his adoring fans-or frenemies?) dropped some golden advice on Aug. 29, 2025. He reminded investors what *not* to do when the market takes a nosedive:
The “September Effect” is a tale as old as time, or at least as old as Wall Street’s grumbling about the S&P 500’s clumsy antics. For nearly a century, this month has proven to be the marketplace’s equivalent of a hangover, stumbling and sulking more than any other. Crypto, not wanting to feel left out, has joined the chorus. Since 2013, Bitcoin has taken an average 3.7% nosedive each September-eight spectacular belly flops to be precise.
Oh, the crypto rollercoaster! By the time the dust settled at the end of the week, the total market cap had taken a nosedive, plummeting nearly 7% from $4.124 trillion to $3.842 trillion by Aug. 30. And if you thought that was a wild ride, wait till you hear about the individual performances. 🎢
Elsewhere, M^0 (not to be confused with some elusive math theorem) snagged $40 million for its decentralized middleware protocol, as if to whisper, “Middleware is the new black.” OrangeX, ever the global crypto trading dandy, waltzed away with $20 million to grease its wheels in the chaotic bazaar of tokens.
Late July, a dismal time. The platform’s revenue slumped, enfeebled, gasping for fiscal air-the lowest since the gloomy dawn of 2024. Yet, Pump.fun (whose name mocks us all), by some devilish arithmetic, produced more than $775 million in fees. Was this a miracle, or merely a testament to the credulity and despair of the masses? Buybacks now steady the ship-sentiment stabilizes, and PUMP, inexplicably, scrambles upward 12% in a month, recovering more than half its August losses. The crowd cheers, oblivious; a brief delirium, perhaps before the doom.
The intraday candlestick-long of wick, short of mercy-carries all the hallmarks of a minor riot in the parlour: buyers, those frantic enthusiasts in ill-fitting suits, propelled SHIB much higher. Not to be outdone, sellers swanned in at the last, tossing confetti in the form of rapidly descending prices. The party, it seems, ended in tears (and margin calls).
According to Messari’s State of XRP Ledger Q2 2025 Report, the XRP Ledger concluded the second quarter of 2025 with a record $131.6 million market cap in real-world assets (RWA). It is the highest number ever recorded on XRPL in this sector. Messari attributes this growth to a wave of new issuances, first announced at the XRPL Apex event in Singapore in June 2025, which drew global attention. 🌍