SOL Price Breaks Crucial $150 Level Amid Robinhood’s Solana Staking Debut In Europe

Robinhood Crypto has announced the introduction of a Solana-staking product in Europe, accompanied by a bonus program for new customers. 

This development comes as the company faces increased tensions with US regulators, which could potentially lead to legal repercussions. However, the move has propelled Solana’s (SOL) price to surpass the crucial $150 level, indicating a return of bullish momentum in the market.

Solana Staking And Crypto Rewards

According to the announcement, Robinhood unveiled new features for its European customers. These offerings include staking, localized applications, and crypto rewards. 

As part of its expansion, Robinhood has launched its first crypto-staking product exclusively for European customers. Through the platform, users can stake their Solana holdings and earn rewards with the ability to unstake their assets at any time. 

Additionally, new customers can receive a 10% bonus on their net purchases during their first 30 days on the platform, with the bonus paid out in Circle’s USDC stablecoin. This initiative aims to attract new users and improve their crypto investing experience.

While Robinhood Crypto expands its offerings in Europe, the company faces regulatory challenges in the United States. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a Wells Notice to the exchange, indicating the staff’s recommendation for an enforcement action against the platform. 

Robinhood expressed disappointment in the SEC’s decision, emphasizing their efforts to seek regulatory clarity and asserting their belief that the listed assets on their platform are not securities.

Vlad Tenev, the CEO of Robinhood, revealed that the company has held over 16 meetings with the SEC. However, these interactions have been largely unsatisfactory, according to Tenev. He expressed the company’s willingness to engage with the SEC in good faith but noted the regulatory body’s lack of reciprocal efforts.

SOL Bulls Eye $200 As Trading Volume Rises

Solana’s native token, SOL, experienced a significant rebound in the past hour, surging from the $140 zone to its current trading price of $153. This price movement holds key significance for bullish investors as they aim to retest the $200 mark previously surpassed in March. 

CoinGecko data further reveals a notable increase in SOL’s trading volume, reaching $2.7 billion in the last 24 hours, representing a 6.6% rise compared to the previous Monday’s trading session.

According to crypto analyst Jesse Olson, Solana has shown strength in its recent price action. Olson notes that Solana successfully hit all four downside targets and exhibited bullish divergence, followed by hitting three upside targets. 

The price appears to form a higher low, increasing the probability of reaching “target four,” projected at the $175 mark.

Solana

Despite the bullish momentum, SOL faces crucial resistance walls at $157 and $172, which are expected to be significant obstacles toward higher price levels. 

On the other hand, the $140 line has served as a key support level for Solana’s price over the past week. SOL’s bullish momentum remains uncertain as it strives to overcome these resistance levels and retest its yearly high of $209.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Crypto Market’s ‘Monster Cycle’: $7.5 Trillion Market Value By 2025, Bitcoin Targets $150,000

In a recent Bloomberg report, it has been revealed that the market value of crypto assets is expected to witness a remarkable surge, nearly tripling to $7.5 trillion by 2025. 

Wall Street Firm Predicts “Monster Of A Crypto Cycle”

The next few years are likely to usher in a “monster of a crypto cycle,” according to Wall Street research firm Bernstein. In addition, Bernstein analysts have an “outperform” rating on the stock as they initiate coverage of online brokerage Robinhood Markets. 

Analyst Gautam Chhugani believes investors should take advantage of the opportunity to ride the “crypto comeback arc,” envisioning a “ninefold increase” in Robinhood’s crypto trading volume over the next two years.

Chhugani expressed his confidence in Robinhood’s prospects, stating that now is the opportune time to enter the market with an 18-24 month window to capitalize on the crypto resurgence. Assigning a price target of $30 to the stock, Chhugani’s price target is currently the highest among analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Following the publication of positive February operating data, which included increases in assets under custody and surging trade volume, Robinhood shares surged as much as 12% in New York trading, reaching the highest intraday level since December 2021. 

So far this year, the stock has gained over 40%. However, Wall Street remains cautious about its outlook, with six analysts rating the stock as a buy, ten suggesting a hold, and three recommending selling.

With the anticipated growth of crypto assets from $2.6 trillion to $7.5 trillion, the largest digital currency, Bitcoin, is set to become a $3 trillion asset by 2025. According to Chhugani, this surge is expected to be fueled by the “unprecedented success” of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the cryptocurrency. 

Additionally, Chhugani predicts that Bitcoin will reach a high of $150,000 next year. He emphasized the ongoing institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies and expressed expectations for the continued success of the Bitcoin ETF and the potential launch of an Ethereum ETF within the next 12 months.

Robinhood Positioned For Success

In the context of Robinhood, Chhugani highlighted the company’s “full suite crypto offering within a regulated broker platform,” which positions it favorably. Bloomberg notes that traditional broker platforms, such as Charles Schwab Corp., have been more hesitant in offering cryptocurrency services.

Summing up his bullish stance, Chhugani stated: 

In short, we are bullish on crypto, and we believe Robinhood’s crypto business resurgence will restore its fortunes with investors.

The projected exponential growth of the cryptocurrency market and the optimistic outlook for Robinhood’s crypto business have captured the attention of market observers. With the increasing mainstream acceptance and institutional adoption of digital assets, the next few years hold significant potential for investors and market participants alike.

Crypto

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Rumors Of Robinhood Listing XRP Take Center Stage On Crypto Twitter

The crypto community is currently buzzing with excitement and curiosity following rumors of Robinhood potentially listing XRP. These rumors come as the XRP price falls to pre-judgment levels, sparking hope that it could trigger a reversal.

XRP Rumors Has Crypto Twitter In A Frenzy

Rumor has it that an anonymous insider has confirmed the potential listing of XRP, the native token of Ripple, on Robinhood, an American financial trading platform, before the end of 2023. The rumor was started on August 22 by a crypto user on X (formerly Twitter) who goes by the username @25hoursawake

The whispers of Robinhood listing XRP have sent shockwaves in the crypto community and numerous crypto investors and enthusiasts have taken to Twitter to air out their respective views and opinions on the speculation.

Robinhood is renowned for its meticulous listing process, and according to an X user Crypto Asset Guy, Robinhood has a reputation for not just listing any type of cryptocurrency. The trading platform puts considerable effort and time into its crypto listing procedure to ensure only the highest-qualified cryptocurrencies according to their standards are integrated into its platform. 

Alternatively, the crypto and stock trading platform is also known for delisting cryptocurrencies without a second thought, if said cryptocurrency faces any form of regulatory or significant market challenges. 

As the crypto space eagerly discusses the ramifications of Robinhood potentially listing XRP, some enthusiasts argue that integrating XRP tokens into the platform would have a positive outlook, exposing the digital asset to a wider audience and increasing investments in Robinhood. 

XRP price chart from Tradingview.com (Robinhood)

Other individuals have pointed out Robinhood’s affinity for restricting trades and transactions during high market volatility. This has led to doubts about the platform’s ability to provide uninterrupted access to XRP users’ digital assets. 

Commenting on the rumors of Robinhood listing XRP, Crypto Assets Guy stated that if the speculations prove to be true, then the crypto community should look forward to a surge in investments and market trends. He emphasized that Robinhood may have insights on XRP, unbeknownst to the public. 

“If the rumors are true and Robinhood lists $XRP by the end of the year then prepare for a MASSIVE uptrend. Robinhood is known for being very tedious when selecting which crypto to list. So if they are getting ready to list XRP they must know something,” he said. 

Additionally, the outcome would undoubtedly increase the cryptocurrency’s mainstream adoption.

Analyzing The Potential Effect Of A Robinhood Listing

Ripple has been in an ongoing lawsuit with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for almost three years now. The lawsuit was thought to be finalized after XRP took a win following Judge Analisa Torres’s ruling which stated that programmatic XRP sales are not to be considered a security. 

However, the SEC has recently issued an interlocutory appeal to reevaluate the case. This move has pushed XRP back to a potentially red zone in terms of regulatory challenges. If the SEC were to emerge victorious, then it could impact the potential listing of XRP on a platform such as Robinhood.