Ripple's RLUSD - a DeFi game changer

Plus: Hex founder’s luxury collection seized

GM. Welcome to the Daily Squeeze, where we’re juggling crypto pineapples and hoping not to get hit in the face.

🤝 Ripple partners with Chainlink.

🌎 Bhutan and El Salvador’s crypto moves.

🍋 News drops: Hex founder’s luxury watches get seized by the police, Coinbase scores a mini-W in court + more

🍍 Market flavor today

Remember when everything seemed simple? Yeah, neither do we. Welcome to another day where crypto’s serving drama on a silver platter 🍽️

The Fear & Greed Index is still hanging around Greed at 70 – optimism is alive, though it’s slightly lower than before. Meanwhile, Bitcoin couldn’t hold above $100K.

CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost noticed an increase in BTC sell orders on Binance – and high selling pressure can push prices down if buyers don’t jump in.

On top of that, BTC’s been moving in sync with stocks lately, which struggled after new US data showed more job openings than expected and stronger growth in the services sector.

This means the economy seems strong = the Fed might not cut interest rates as quickly. And when rates stay higher, investors tend to avoid riskier assets like crypto.

On the flip side, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju points to something called Apparent Demand – basically, the difference between new Bitcoin being mined and changes in Bitcoin supply that’s been sitting untouched for over a year.

When more of that dormant BTC starts moving than what’s being created, it shows strong buyer interest soaking up the available supply.

According to Ki, that demand is staying strong, which is generally a good sign.

Then there’s a bullish whisper from Matt Hogan at Fidelity Digital Assets.

Hogan says that spot BTC ETFs ignited increased institutional and retail interest, and he expects this trend to accelerate this year. He predicts more nation-states, central banks, and sovereign wealth funds will start building positions in BTC.

So, keep your seat at the table – cuz with crypto, the menu always changes. What’s drama today might be sweet gainz tomorrow 😋

🥝 Memecoin harvest

These memecoins are working overtime to prove that jokes can pay the bills.

Name

24H Change

Crypto Agent Trading CATG

▲10.7K%

Percy Verence PERCY

▲213%

360noscope420blaze MLG

▲57%

nubcat NUB

▲45%

Data as of 08:25 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

Ripple’s been working like a dog day and night to make RLUSD the it stablecoin.

Launched just last month, this USD-pegged champ already has a market cap of over $53M and is strutting its stuff on platforms like Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, Moonpay, and CoinMENA (with more coming).

Now, Ripple’s tryna level up its DeFi game with a little help from Chainlink.

In DeFi, people use financial services – like lending, borrowing, and trading – directly on the blockchain; no banks or middlemen needed. These services rely on smart contracts – and for them to do their thing properly, they need reliable data.

Let’s say you’re borrowing crypto – the platform needs to know the exact value of your collateral. ‘Cause if it has bad pricing, it’s game over – you might be unfairly liquidated or allowed to borrow too much, which could wreck the system. Not cute.

That’s where Chainlink comes in – it’s a decentralized oracle network that connects blockchains to real-world data.

For RLUSD, Chainlink’s Price Feeds provide DeFi apps with accurate, real-time pricing – so devs can use RLUSD in smart contracts for trading, lending, or liquidity pools with confidence.

Better utility? Check. Wider adoption? Double-check! Now that’s the “I came, I saw, I conquered” attitude we love to see 🥰

❤️ Every day with crypto is a great day

Let’s go Mr. 305 Mr. Worldwide mode for a second and take a look at some updates from countries that understand 🌏

1/ Bhutan

Bhutan’s Gelephu Special Administrative Region (SAR), aka Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), plans to include Bitcoin, Ether, and BNB in its strategic reserves.

They’re planning to discuss this master plan with senior government officials and global industry leaders this March.

Oh, and the country’s already hodling $1.12B in BTC and $2.2M in ETH. Iconic.

2/ El Salvador

El Salvador’s is in the spotlight again as Bitfinex’s derivatives arm got a Digital Asset Service Providers (DASP) license – so they’re relocating from Seychelles to El Salvador.

The country’s licensing regime allows companies to tokenize assets like funds, debt, equity, and real estate, making it easier to raise capital and offer innovative financial products.

Bitfinex called this move a step forward in transforming El Salvador into a financial center for Latin America.

So, Dale might as well stand for Decentralize and Liberate Economies – and WE ARE HERE FOR IT 🗣

🍋 News drops

⌚️ Finnish police seized $2.6M worth of luxury watches from Richard Heart, the Hex founder wanted for tax evasion and assault. They’ve got his drip, but not him – he’s still on Europe’s most wanted list.

⚖️ Coinbase scored a mini-W against the SEC. A judge agreed to let them appeal a decision about whether some crypto transactions count as securities.

🤖 Nvidia dropped its tiniest, mightiest AI supercomputer yet. But turns out, even the coolest tech can’t save your stock when the whole market’s in a bad mood.

⛔️ Kazakhstan wasn’t messing around in 2024. They shut down 36 illegal crypto exchanges as part of their war on money laundering.

🤫 Telegram spilled the tea on 900 user info requests from the US – most of them after CEO Pavel Durov got arrested in France.

🔍 Your hunt for the best crypto exchange ends now: we’ve cooked up a guide to help you find a CEX that just might be the one.