Swiss banking giant UBS has successfully tested its UBS Key4 Gold product on ZKSync, an Ethereum Layer-2 network.

This move highlights the increasing adoption of blockchain technology by traditional financial institutions seeking efficiency and security.

UBS Integrates ZKSync for Blockchain-Based Gold Trading

On January 31, ZKSync reported that UBS, which manages assets worth $5.7 trillion, is exploring how blockchain can streamline gold investments.

The test focuses on allowing the bank’s Swiss customers to purchase physical gold directly through a blockchain-based system while ensuring scalability, privacy, and interoperability.

UBS Key4 Gold enables retail investors to buy fractional gold shares, offering real-time pricing, deep liquidity, and secure storage. The product operates on the UBS Gold Network, a permissionless blockchain that connects vaults, liquidity providers, and distributors.

To optimize efficiency, UBS leveraged ZKSync’s Validium mode. It’s a zero-knowledge rollup solution that enhances scalability by storing data off-chain.

As part of the proof-of-concept, the bank deployed smart contracts on the Validium testnet to simulate the UBS Gold Network. These contracts facilitated gold token issuance and transaction processing.

“This PoC reflects UBS’ continued efforts to explore how blockchain can enhance its financial offerings and support its broader digital asset strategy. I firmly believe that the future of finance will take place onchain,” wrote Alex Gluchowski, inventor of ZKsync.

The testnet also enhanced privacy by restricting participants’ visibility to their transactions while maintaining verification mechanisms.

Additionally, it allowed stablecoin to merge with Ethereum, making gold token purchases more cost-effective and scalable.

Growing Institutional Interest in Blockchain Solutions

UBS’ test reflects a broader shift toward blockchain adoption in traditional finance (TradFi). The bank has previously explored tokenization by launching an Ethereum-based money market investment fund.

UBS’ Digital Assets Lead Christoph Puhr noted that tokenized securities hold great potential, but scalability, privacy, and interoperability remain hurdles. He highlighted that the ZKSync PoC showcased how Layer-2 networks and zero-knowledge technology can help address these challenges.

“This is another great example of how UBS collaborates with technology providers to stay at the forefront of innovation. Our PoC with ZKsync demonstrated that Layer 2 networks and ZK technology hold the potential to resolve these,” Puhr noted.

According to him, zero-knowledge technology would serve as a catalyst for innovation and provide a robust foundation for tokenized assets, which could accelerate Web3 adoption.

Artificial intelligence continues to be one of the most compelling narratives in the crypto market, driving interest in AI-focused projects. Despite recent corrections driven by the DeepSeek hype, several AI coins are showing bullish potential for February 2025.

Some, like Bittensor (TAO), have maintained their dominance, while others, such as GRIFFAIN and ARC, are closely tied to the crypto AI agents trend. Based on key support, macroeconomic factors, and resistance levels, these five AI coins are worth watching in the coming weeks.

Bittensor (TAO)

TAO is the third-largest artificial intelligence crypto, with a market cap of approximately $3.5 billion. Bittensor is an open-source protocol that aims to build a decentralized machine-learning network powered by blockchain.

TAO is down 18% in the last 30 days, bottoming at $362 on January 23, marking its lowest price since September 2024. This rebound highlights renewed investor interest as the AI crypto sector regains momentum.

If good momentum is back, TAO could test resistance levels at $459 and $495. If AI-driven enthusiasm intensifies, the price may extend to $522.

Conversely, if a strong correction takes place, a key support level at $420 must hold to prevent a potential drop back to $382 or $362.

GRIFFAIN (GRIFFAIN)

GRIFFAIN launched with strong momentum in December, riding the wave of the late 2024 crypto AI agent hype. As one of the hottest trends in the space, it quickly gained attention, fueling speculation and excitement around its potential.

The coin’s price and market cap surged, peaking at nearly $600 million on January 22. However, like other AI cryptos, it faced a steep correction. GRIFFAIN slumped almost 55% in the past week, with its market cap now at $197 million. This sharp decline reflects waning short-term enthusiasm.

If the hype around crypto AI agents returns, GRIFFAIN could rebound, targeting resistance levels at $0.218 and $0.31, with a potential climb to $0.4 or $0.45.

However, if bearish momentum continues, the price may test $0.17 and $0.149, with a risk of falling below $0.1.

AI Rig Complex (ARC)

ARC, like GRIFFAIN, is a Solana-based platform focused on AI agents. It provides frameworks for developers to create lightweight agents. It uses modular technology to develop scalable AI agents. This innovation positioned it as a key player in the AI-driven crypto narrative, attracting significant interest.

The token saw a strong rally, reaching a peak market cap of $622 million on January 22 before entering a sharp correction. Over the past week, its price has dropped 38%, with its market cap now at $221 million.

A death cross recently formed on ARC’s EMA lines, contributing to a 23% drop in just 24 hours. If this bearish trend continues, the price could test support levels at $0.18 and $0.10.

However, a trend reversal could push ARC toward resistances at $0.279 and $0.348, with a potential rally back to $0.46.

Reploy (RAI)

Reploy is an Ethereum-based platform focused on developing LLMs for various applications, including personal chat, image generation, and assistants. Integrated with 40 different protocols, it launched its native token, RAI, at the end of December 2024.

Despite an initial surge that saw RAI peak at $13.2, the token has struggled, dropping 42% over the past 30 days. Its market cap now sits at $36 million, and it is currently trading at its lowest level.

For a recovery, RAI would need strong upward momentum to test resistance at $6.2 and potentially $8. However, without a sustained uptrend, it may continue to face challenges at current price levels.

Cookie DAO (COOKIE)

COOKIE has been hit hard by the recent correction driven by the DeepSeek hype. The token’s price is down 53% in the last 30 days. It is currently trading at its lowest levels ever, struggling to regain momentum.

Unlike GRIFFAIN and ARC, which focus on building AI agents, COOKIE is developing an analytics platform for AI coins, with 1,378 agents tracked.

It offers AI agent indexes that track market cap, attention, sentiment, and other key metrics, positioning itself as a data-driven player in the AI crypto space.

If COOKIE can reverse its downtrend, it could test resistance levels at $0.33 and $0.39. A breakout above those levels could push it toward $0.46, its highest price since January 22.

Ripple’s Q4 2024 XRP Markets report highlights a strong resurgence in on-chain activity, trading volume, and institutional demand.

The last financial quarter marked a critical shift for XRP, as increased adoption and market confidence drove its performance to new highs.

XRPL Hits $1 Billion on DEXs as On-Chain Activity Expands

Transaction count on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) saw a slight 2.86% decline to 167 million in Q4 2024. However, overall engagement on the network surged, according to Ripple’s latest market report.

The Automated Market Maker (AMM) feature, introduced in March, saw a massive surge in swap volume, jumping from $31.23 million in Q3 to $774.15 million in Q4. This increase significantly boosted trading on the XRPL DEX, which expanded from $63.4 million to $1 billion.

Overall, AMM swaps accounted for 77% of total transactions, highlighting their growing influence on the network.

Network adoption also grew to record highs for XRPL. New wallet registrations surged from 140,000 in Q3 to 709,000 in Q4, reflecting a sharp rise in user participation.

Since Trump’s election victory, XRP’s average closing price jumped from $0.55 to $1.43, hitting a peak of $2.80 by the end of December 2024. This rally led to higher transaction fees and token burns, with XRP burned increasing from 592,000 to 724,000 in Q4.

As BeInCrypto reported earlier, meme coin activity also surged on the network. ARMY, an XRP meme coin launched in January, gained a $100 million market cap in days.

Moreover, the issuance of new tokens on XRPL also accelerated. Trustlines grew from 7.3 million to 7.9 million, with 600,000 new connections established. Among these, 37,000 trustlines linked to Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, signaling strong early adoption.

Ripple credited this growth to rising XRP prices and the increasing traction of First Ledger, a meme coin launchpad. According to the firm, XRP’s 280% surge in Q4 marked a critical recovery for the asset, which had been weighed down by the SEC’s prolonged legal battle.

“Ripple and the broader XRP ecosystem had been stifled by the SEC’s actions, which artificially manipulated the market, dampened trader confidence, and held back growth. Seven years ago, before the SEC anointed ETH and attacked XRP and Ripple, XRP was the second most valuable digital asset. With regulatory overhang easing, XRP found itself in a new position of strength,” Ripple stated.

XRP Trading Volume Skyrockets After US Election

Ripple pointed out that XRP’s momentum accelerated following the November US presidential election, where pro-crypto candidate Donald Trump secured victory.

This shift triggered a surge in trading volume. Average daily volume skyrocketed from $500 million in October to $5 billion by mid-November and December. On December 2, trading activity reached nearly $25 billion across major platforms.

Binance led XRP’s trading, handling 36% of total spot volume, followed by Upbit Korea at 20% and Coinbase at 9%. Notably, Coinbase’s market share doubled post-election, indicating rising US investor interest in the digital asset.

“After the US election, US exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken managed to get more shares from Bybit or Crypto.com. Nevertheless, Binance, Bybit and Upbit accounted for over 60% of the total traded volume,” Ripple explained.

Meanwhile, the surge in trading volume was largely driven by long-term buyers rather than short-term speculative traders.

This trend reflected the growing confidence in XRP’s future, with investors positioning themselves for sustained growth amid improving regulatory clarity and increasing institutional interest