U.Today presents the top three new stories over the past day.
XRP centralized? Ripple CTO ends speculation
The start of the week introduced a new topic for the X crypto community to discuss, XRP’s decentralization. Some X users shared their concern about Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse being considered the face of XRP while the asset is supposed to be decentralized; in contrast, Bitcoin lacks such a central figure. Ripple CTO David Schwartz stepped in to respond, explaining that XRP does not have an issuer and the full XRP supply was created when the XRP Ledger was created. He emphasized that unlike most other blockchains, XRP Ledger cannot do the initial distribution beyond allowing anyone to claim as much XRP as they want. Besides, Schwartz stated that before discussing the decentralization matter in regards to XRP, people should first think about why they care whether the ledger is decentralized. “Ask yourself what you want to be assured will happen and what you want to be assured won’t happen,” he wrote. This makes it easier to evaluate how likely it is that the system could be compromised or controlled.
$878,917,974 Bitcoin stun largest US crypto exchange, Coinbase
On Monday, May 26, Whale Alert, prominent tracker of large cryptocurrency movements, spotted a major Bitcoin transfer to Coinbase Institutional, Coinbase’s branch working with institutional clients. The transfer carried 619 BTC, which was valued at over $68 million at the time. As Bitcoin dropped below $110,000 to around $107,478, whale activity increased, culminating in a much larger BTC transfer, also with the participation of Coinbase. Later that day, the aforementioned data source reported a withdrawal of 8,022 BTC from Coinbase to an anonymous blockchain wallet. This large amount of withdrawn Bitcoin was worth a massive $878,917,974. The transaction was executed in several dozen transfers, with each carrying about 200 BTC. All of them went to a single crypto wallet.
Ethereum (ETH) eyes $3,000, but one thing remains
Yesterday, Ethereum continued its recovery that started on May 24, rising nearly 2.9% to $2,636 after hitting a low of $2,500 on May 23. The recent gain brought ETH close to the critical 200-day Simple Moving Average at $2,699, a long-term resistance level it has struggled to break since May 13. Traders are closely watching this barrier, as a sustained move above it could push ETH toward $3,000. However, according to on-chain data by Glassnode, there may be selling pressure around $2,800, where many investors could seek to exit at breakeven. In May, ETH rose above $1,900, helping most holders make a profit. The price is now above the true market mean, which currently lies at $2,400, and this is a positive sign. However, reaching $2,900 is still important for more confidence in the rally.
