Nearly nine months after his conviction, Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Pertsev was released from Dutch prison today. He will remain under house arrest until his appeal is fully processed.

Although US sanctions against Tornado Cash were recently lifted, these wins are only a small bright spot in a long case. Criminal activity on the platform increased last year, which may hurt Pertsev in the appeals process.

Tornado Cash’s Pertsev Takes a Small Win

Alexey Pertsev, co-founder of cryptocurrency tumbler Tornado Cash, has been through quite an ordeal. Pertsev was convicted of money laundering last May in a controversial ruling for the crypto space.

Pertsev maintained an open-source platform that criminals used, which led to his arrest despite the lack of any direct involvement. However, he was released today.

“Freedom is priceless, but my freedom cost a lot of money. My house arrest was only possible thanks to the work of lawyers, who were paid from your donations. My fight is not over yet, and for a final and confident victory, I still need your help,” Pertsev claimed via social media.

Pertsev’s struggle and the Tornado Cash case have won support from the community. Paradigm pledged $1.25 million for co-founder Roman Storm’s own legal battle, and Vitalik Buterin also donated to the project’s developers.

Pertsev is still under house arrest pending an appeal, and he’s been seeking donations for his legal fund since August.

“I would like to thank everyone, especially Vitalik Buterin and Stefan George, for your incredible generosity to my defense. Your support inspires me to move forward, and I’m forever grateful. While the legal battle is far from over, I’m hopeful 2025 brings positive developments,” Pertsev wrote.

However, Pertsev’s release is just one piece of recent good news for Tornado Cash. Although US lawmakers banned the platform back in 2022, an appeals court overturned the sanctions last November.

Another District Court upheld this ruling in January, causing its TORN token to surge in value.

Still, Tornado Cash has its opponents, and Pertsev may face an uphill battle if he wants to remain free. Last year, the platform saw a resurgence in criminal activity as hackers used it to launder $50 million in one month.

For now, Pertsev can return to his home, and Tornado Cash has seen a slight reprieve from economic sanctions. Regardless of how well his appeal goes from here, developments like this can inspire hope and endurance when the community approaches a long fight.

XRP price has dropped 22% in the past week, with technical indicators showing both bearish pressure and signs of potential stabilization. The RSI remains neutral after a sharp rebound from oversold levels earlier this month, while the number of whales has stabilized after a brief surge.

Meanwhile, XRP’s Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) have formed a bearish death cross, suggesting that downside risks remain unless a reversal takes shape. Adding to the broader market narrative, XRP ETFs are now eyeing SEC approval following Cboe’s 19b-4 filing, which could play a key role in shaping future price action.

XRP RSI Is Still Neutral, Following The Same Pattern Since February 3

XRP Relative Strength Index (RSI) has surged from 35.2 to 44.6 in just a few hours, reflecting a shift in momentum after recent weakness. This increase suggests growing buying interest, though XRP remains within a neutral range.

RSI is a widely used momentum indicator that oscillates between 0 and 100. It helps traders gauge whether an asset is overbought or oversold.

Typically, an RSI above 70 indicates overbought conditions, where prices may be due for a correction, while an RSI below 30 signals oversold territory, often a potential buying opportunity. Values between 30 and 70 are considered neutral, meaning the market is neither in a strong bullish nor bearish phase.

Since February 3, XRP RSI has remained in neutral territory after hitting extreme lows of around 13 on February 2. This rebound suggests that the intense selling pressure that drove XRP to oversold levels has subsided, allowing price stabilization.

With the RSI now at 44.6, momentum is gradually shifting toward the upper end of the neutral range.

While this is not yet a clear bullish signal, it indicates increasing demand, which could lead to XRP testing resistance levels if buying pressure continues. A sustained push above 50 would be a stronger confirmation of bullish momentum, potentially opening the door for further upside in price action.

XRP Whales Are Slowly Declining After Surging 6 Days Ago

The number of XRP whales – addresses holding between 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 XRP – currently stands at 2,130. This figure surged from 2,081 to 2,136 between February 1 and February 2, indicating a sharp accumulation phase before slowly declining.

Tracking these large holders is crucial as they often have the ability to influence market trends due to the sheer volume of XRP they control.

When whale activity increases, it can signal growing confidence among high-net-worth investors, while a decline may indicate profit-taking or a shift in sentiment.

With the current number of XRP whales stabilizing at 2,130 after a brief surge, the market appears to be in a consolidation phase. If the number of whales continues to drop, it could suggest that some large holders are offloading their positions, potentially leading to short-term price weakness.

However, if the decline stabilizes or reverses into another accumulation phase, it could indicate renewed confidence in XRP’s prospects. A sustained increase in whale addresses would be a bullish signal.

This suggests that institutional or large-scale investors see long-term value in XRP and are positioned for potential future upside.

XRP Price Prediction: Will XRP Trade Above $3 In February?

XRP’s Exponential Moving Average (EMA) lines indicate a bearish setup, as a new death cross formed two days ago. This occurs when short-term EMAs cross below long-term EMAs, signaling sustained downward momentum.

Over the past seven days, XRP price has declined by 22%, reinforcing the negative sentiment.

If the bearish trend persists, key support levels to watch are at $2.32, with further downside potential to $2.20 and even $1.99 if selling pressure intensifies.

The continued positioning of short-term EMAs below long-term EMAs suggests that bears still have control, and a failure to hold critical support levels could lead to further downside exploration.

However, a trend reversal could shift momentum in XRP’s favor, with the first resistance level at $2.60. If buyers regain strength and push XRP beyond this mark, the next targets lie at $2.82 and potentially above $3.

Should XRP price recover the bullish momentum seen in previous months, potentially driven by the SEC’s approval of the XRP ETF, it could extend gains toward $3.15, a level that would indicate renewed confidence in its uptrend.

The cryptocurrency market has been plunged into a decline this week, with global crypto market capitalization dropping by 11% in the past seven days. 

As the market continues to face volatility, crypto whales have been acquiring specific altcoins to navigate the downturn. Some of the tokens that are attracting attention from major investors during the first week of February are Dogecoin (DOGE), Pepe (PEPE), and Cardano (ADA).

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Leading meme coin DOGE has enjoyed significant whale attention this week. The triple-digit surge in its large holders’ netflow, which has spiked by 112% in the past seven days, reflects the whale activity.

Large holders refer to whale addresses that own more than 0.1% of an asset’s circulating supply. Their netflow tracks the difference between the coins they buy and sell over a set period. 

When their netflow spikes, it indicates that these large investors are purchasing more coins. This is a bullish signal that could prompt retail traders to increase their buying activity as well. 

If DOGE whales continue to buy the altcoin, it may resume its uptrend and climb toward $0.32.

Pepe (PEPE)

Ethereum-based meme coin PEPE is another altcoin the whales bought this week. BeInCrypto’s assessment of its supply distribution shows that whale addresses holding between 100,000 and 1,000,000 tokens have bought 870 million PEPE in the past seven days.

This has pushed the group’s PEPE holdings to an all-time high of 27.09 billion.

If whale accumulation persists, the meme coin’s value could rise to $0.000010.

Cardano (ADA)

This week, layer-1 (L1) coin ADA is also a top pick among crypto whales. Per Santiment, ADA large investors holding between 100 million and 1 billion coins have accumulated 330 million ADA worth above $230 million over the past seven days.

Moreover, if accumulation persists, the L1 coin could see its value rocket above $0.80.