From May 5 to 9, the virtual asset market recorded a strong upward trend. This was due to U.S. President Donald Trump's signing of a trade agreement with the United Kingdom, which boosted investment sentiment toward risk assets.
As of 5:30 p.m. on the 9th, the price of Bitcoin was $103,768. This marks a 4.18% increase from 24 hours ago and a 7.32% increase from a week ago. The price fell to $75,000 in March but rebounded past $90,000 by the end of April. It is the first time in about three months that Bitcoin price has surpassed $100,000.
At a similar time, Ethereum, the leader in altcoins, surged 25.1% to $2,414 in just 24 hours. Solana increased by 10.3% to $167.98, Dogecoin rose by 16.46% to $0.21, and Cardano recorded a 13.02% increase to $0.8. XRP and BNB also showed strength, rising 8.83% and 3.5%, respectively.
The market is analyzing this as due to the 'Trump effect.' On the 8th (local time), President Trump announced the signing of a trade agreement with the UK, delivering an optimistic message to 'buy (U.S.) stocks immediately.' He also hinted at the possibility of tariff reductions in negotiations with China, raising market expectations.
Hwang Hyo-jun, a researcher at Jangle, stated, 'The risks of trade wars and policy uncertainty that had been burdensome for the market are somewhat alleviated following Trump’s announcement,' and noted that 'although short-term upward trends should be enjoyed, careful approaches are necessary as the direction of the Federal Reserve’s policy may become prominent depending on the CPI and retail sales figures announced next week.'
◇ SEC and Ripple settle lawsuit after 5 years... adjustment to $50 million fine
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs are set to settle a legal dispute that has lasted nearly five years. The SEC and Ripple have requested approval for the settlement and rescission of existing orders from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. If the court accepts this, both sides will withdraw their appeals and share the fine currently held in an escrow account. This is the first major dispute resolved by Paul Atkins, who was appointed as SEC Chairperson in April.
The SEC is reported to return all but $50 million of the $125.03 million fine assessed. This means that effectively, Ripple is responsible for paying a fine of $50 million. This figure marks a significant reduction from the maximum $2 billion the SEC demanded during the Biden administration.
◇ Ethereum improves user experience and staking structure
The Ethereum Foundation announced on the 7th that it successfully implemented the Pectra network upgrade. Pectra is the largest upgrade since The Merge. This upgrade includes 11 improvements, including the implementation of the execution layer Prague and the consensus layer Electra.
Key changes include the introduction of a smart wallet, simplification of user flows, reduction of transaction expenses, and an increase in the staking cap. The Foundation explained, 'The Merge was for the protocol, and Pectra is for the people.'
With this upgrade, the Ethereum wallet will feature 'smart account' capabilities that operate like smart contracts. This has made usage easier by allowing multiple transactions to be processed at once and enabling different payment methods for gas fees.
Additionally, the staking cap for Ethereum has significantly increased from 32 to 2,048, and a feature has been added that allows users to easily locate their deposited assets without complicated authentication processes. Furthermore, improvements to scalability and fee efficiency of layer 2 networks are also anticipated.
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providing on-chain data-based essential operational solutions and trust-based community building services targeted at companies and foundations adopting Web3. It operates the crypto data intelligence platform Jangle, and the Jangle research team is creating content to showcase trends in the virtual asset investment industry based on global virtual asset information and data.