A Turkish court overturned a previous verdict that Thodex CEO Faruk Fatih Özer and his two brothers were guilty of creating a criminal organization. The court overturned guilty verdicts for 16 defendants, but only 4 of them were completely acquitted and released.

Faruk and the Özer brothers were sentenced to 11,196 years for charges like aggravated fraud and money laundering in addition to this organized crime charge. They will remain in prison, although they demand a retrial.

Faruk Özer’s Thodex Rug Pull

Faruk Fatih Özer founded the exchange Thodex with his brothers Güven and Serap, and they committed one of the biggest rug pulls in crypto history. Together, they reportedly stole around $2 billion in crypto, and Faruk remained at large after his brothers’ arrest.

However, in 2022, he was caught in Albania and later extradited to Turkey.

This monumental theft impacted hundreds of thousands of users and damaged the industry’s broader reputation, so prosecutors tried to throw the book at these brothers. They tried to give Faruk and 20 other Thodex employees sentences of up to 40,000 years.

These men were found guilty, and the former CEO was sentenced to 11,196 years. However, this sentencing didn’t end the legal battle.

According to local media, an appeal launched by Faruk and the other Thodex executives has finally yielded results. The 22nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice overturned several of these convictions.

This week, 16 defendants were cleared of the aggravated fraud charge, and four were released outright. The Özer brothers, however, were not so lucky.

“Overturning the local court’s verdict, the Chamber ruled that the defendants Faruk Fatih Özer, Güven Özer and Serap Özer be released separately on charges of establishing a criminal organization. The Chamber ruled that the defendants should remain in custody for other crimes and sent the file back to the local court,” local reports claimed.

In other words, Faruk and the top-level Thodex executives are still on the hook. Nonetheless, the Özer brothers’ legal team is demanding a retrial, alleging that public perception and media narratives contributed to the long sentence.

For example, although news reports initially claimed thefts around $2 billion, today’s indictment asserts that they only stole $7 million.

“Those who want to get rich overnight in crypto will get scammed by thodex. They buy the shares of companies whose worth is unknown at inflated prices on the stock exchange and go bankrupt,” popular Turkish investor Efe Yakup Karahanlı wrote back in 2024.

For now, it’s unclear exactly how long Faruk Özer and the remaining Thodex employees will actually stay in prison. For example, a few of the named lesser charges still carried sentences of 6-18 years.

There is a chance that some of these men may be released from prison during their lifetime, but even that is unlikely.

Artificial intelligence (AI) coins have seen strong movements in the last week of January, with some projects rebounding from recent lows and potentially bringing more gains in the first week of February.

MorpheusAI (MOR) surged 47% as it regained momentum in the AI sector, while Morphware (XMW) jumped 32%, fueled by expectations of a golden cross. Bittensor (TAO) climbed 19% after bouncing off its lowest level since September 2024.

MorpheusAI (MOR)

MorpheusAI is an Arbitrum-based network that calls itself the “first peer-to-peer network for general-purpose artificial intelligence.” Launched in May 2024, MOR, its native token, initially reached prices around $128 but saw a sharp decline after that.

MOR has gained 47% in the last seven days, pushing its market cap close to $100 million. It briefly touched $115 million yesterday before experiencing a slight correction, but momentum remains strong.

If the rally continues, MOR could retest $37 and potentially climb to $40 or even $45 for the first time since June 2024. However, if the trend reverses, MOR price could test support at $22, with a further drop to $16.2 if that level breaks.

Morphware (XMW)

Morphware is an Ethereum-based Layer 3 AI application that aims to provide a decentralized machine-learning platform.

XMW, its native token, has surged 32% in the last seven days, with a 26% jump in the last 24 hours, pushing its market cap to $75 million. Launched in September 2024, XMW reached an all-time high of $0.18 on December 12, 2024.

EMA lines suggest that XMW could soon form a golden cross, potentially pushing its price toward key resistance levels at $0.10 and $0.12.

However, if the trend reverses, the $0.082 support is crucial—losing it could send XMW down to $0.062.

Bittensor (TAO)

TAO is the biggest artificial intelligence crypto, with a market cap of around $3.8 billion, surpassing competitors like RENDER, FET, and VIRTUAL. It aims to create a decentralized machine-learning network using blockchain technology.

TAO price has gained 19% in the last seven days after hitting a low of $362 on January 23, its lowest level since September 2024. This recent bounce suggests growing interest as the AI crypto narrative recovers momentum.

EMA lines indicate that TAO could soon form a golden cross, potentially driving its price toward resistances at $480 and $498. If AI hype strengthens, TAO could surge to $521 or even $586. However, if the trend reverses, key supports at $458 and $435 must hold, or TAO could revisit $386 or $362.

A well-known crypto analyst, Crypto Beast, has made a bold prediction about XRP future price trajectory, suggesting that it could reach $15 with ease under specific conditions. This interesting outlook comes amidst a consolidation of prices, which is now looking to regain momentum above $3.

Banks Adopting XRP Could Send It To $15

Bitcoin was created to disrupt the traditional financial industry and compete with the existing global financial system. While many other early cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Litecoin also built upon this premise, XRP took another approach. Its creators developed it as a solution for fast and efficient cross-border transactions, aiming to complement the existing financial infrastructure rather than replace it.

Related Reading

Despite its intended role in improving financial transactions, XRP has faced years of price struggles, with long periods of decline over multiple years overshadowing its utility. This lackluster growth led many traders to lose faith, with some dismissing it as a dying asset. Interestingly, despite regulatory challenges and market downturns, the asset remained one of the top-ranking cryptocurrencies by market capitalization throughout this period. 

However, recent price rallies have breathed life into XRP. Particularly, this rally has seen the value of XRP grow massively since November 2024 and is now the third largest crypto in terms of market cap. This has seen sentiment around the altcoin shifting into a more optimistic direction, with some crypto analysts who doubted before now revealing bullish price targets for its price.

One of these analysts is Crypto Beast, who recently shared a $15 price prediction for XRP. Speaking to his over 560,000 followers on social media platform X, Crypto Beast stated that XRP’s price could surge to $15 if banks worldwide fully integrate the token into their systems.

Is $15 A Pipe Dream Or A Realistic Target

There is a valid question of whether XRP can realistically trade at $15 given its tokenomics. As of now, XRP has a total supply of 99.9 billion tokens, with 57.7 billion coins currently in circulation. Its market capitalization stands at $177.6 billion, while its fully diluted valuation is around $307.8 billion. If XRP were to reach $15, its market cap would need to grow to approximately $865.5 billion, assuming no significant increase in circulating supply. This would also push its fully diluted valuation close to $1.5 trillion.

Related Reading

Such a surge would place XRP ahead of Ethereum in market cap rankings and within striking distance of Bitcoin. On the surface, this might seem like a challenging milestone, but it could become feasible if the asset gains widespread adoption in cross-border payments and replaces current methods like SWIFT. Consequently, the token’s demand will increase significantly, driving sustained price growth.

According to Changelly, the XRP price can reach the $15 target sometime around 2033. At the time of writing, the altcoin is trading at $3.08.

Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com