Tether has minted an additional 2 billion USDT today, bringing the total to 7 billion USDT over the past six days. 

This substantial increase in USDT supply injects significant liquidity into the cryptocurrency market, potentially influencing trading dynamics and asset valuations.

Increased USDT Minting Suggests Surging Liquidity Demand

Historically, large-scale USDT minting by Tether has correlated with notable market movements. For instance, in May 2024, Tether minted 1 billion USDT, which was linked to subsequent Bitcoin price increases.

Also, the initial $3 billion mint on November 12 coincided with Bitcoin breaking $85,000 and subsequently crossing the $90,000 threshold. 

The recent surge in USDT supply may signal increased demand for stablecoins, often used by traders to hedge positions or facilitate transactions without converting to fiat currencies. 

This influx of liquidity can enhance market depth, potentially reducing volatility and improving price stability across various digital assets.

Earlier this month, Tether published its quarterly earnings and reported record revenue. In the third quarter of 2024, the stablecoin issuer reported a record-breaking profit of $2.5 billion, bringing its total assets to $134.4 billion. 

Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino also disclosed that the company’s reserves include 2,454 BTC and 42.3 tons of gold. 

New Avenues for Business Expansion

With this year’s increased revenue, Tether is actively exploring new developments and avenues for expansion. The company is considering lending to international commodities traders, particularly in developing markets. 

Also, Tether completed its first crude oil transaction in the Middle East earlier this month. The $45 million deal, executed in October, involved 670,000 barrels of oil transacted using USDT. 

This marked a significant milestone in the adoption of stablecoins for large-scale commodity trades.

Despite these advancements, the USDT issuer continues to face regulatory scrutiny. A recent Wall Street Journal report alleged Tether’s potential involvement in illegal transactions. 

In response, CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that Tether had not observed any indications of a federal probe, reaffirming the company’s commitment to compliance and transparency.

Ripple’s XRP has witnessed a significant price surge following its Wednesday listing on the popular trading platform Robinhood. 

This has propelled the XRP token price to a new year-to-date high of $0.75, and it now appears poised to hit new highs before the end of the year. Here is why.

Ripple Rallies, Thanks To Robinhood

Robinhood’s crypto division expanded its offerings on Wednesday, adding support for XRP and several other altcoins. For example, the platform also relisted Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) for US customers, reversing last year’s regulatory-driven delistings.

This listing fueled buyer demand for XRP, pushing its price to a new year-to-date high of $0.75 during the intraday trading session. Although it has since corrected by 7%, the bullish bias toward the altcoin remains significant. At press time, XRP trades at $0.70.

At its current price, XRP trades above its Ichimoku Cloud. BeInCrypto’s analysis of the XRP/USD one-day chart shows this could be the first sustained rally above the cloud in over a month.

The Cloud is an indicator that tracks the momentum of an asset’s trends and identifies potential support/resistance levels.  When an asset’s price stays above the cloud, it signals a strong bullish trend, indicating that buyers dominate and market sentiment is positive. 

Moreover, traders typically confirm the trend by looking at the Conversion Line (blue) and Base Line (red). If both are above the cloud and moving upward, it reinforces the bullish outlook. As of this writing, this is the case with XRP, confirming the market’s uptrend.

Further, XRP’s rising Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicates the strengthening demand for the altcoin. At press time, this stands at 0.28.

This indicator measures money flows into and out of an asset. When its value is above zero, buying pressure outweighs selling activity among market participants.

When this happens during a price rally, as in XRP’s case, it gives credence to the price growth. It indicates that the price surge is backed by actual token demand and not by mere speculation. 

XRP Price Prediction: $0.80 May Be the Next High

XRP is trading at $0.70, slightly below the resistance level of $0.72. If demand strengthens, the token may breach this level and reclaim its new year-to-date high of $0.75. A successful break above this point could propel XRP’s price to $0.80, a high last seen in July 2023.

However, a resurgence of selling activity could invalidate this bullish outlook, causing the XRP token price to plummet toward $0.66. If this support fails to hold, the price may drop further to $0.59.

With the ongoing surge in interest in meme coins, a leading Solana NFT marketplace, Tensor, is launching Vector.fun.

In essence, the project can be described as a SocialFi experience that combines trading with social engagement in one mobile app.

The Road to Vector.fun

Tensor’s Gen-Z-focused approach tries to make meme coin trading more accessible to “normies,” as Tensor co-founder Ilja Moisejeves put it on X. According to Tensor’s founders, everything about trading and crypto is “inherently social.” The main way it tries to achieve this is by making it a shareable experience, driving home the essence of community trading.

“It’s a new way to trade. It’s internet finance in every pocket. It’s how your normie friend gets into crypto. It’s the #1 app in appstore in 2025. Or it’s a f**king dud and I’ll be fired. I guess we’ll find out,” said Tensor co-founder Ilja Moisejevs on X.

As co-founder Richard Wu described on X, the project’s idea arose from a need for a solution to NFT fatigue. The project has been in development over the last eight months, a process the founders described as grueling.

“I probably had 1 weekend off since TGE. One of our BD guys retrained as PM to help with the load. People pulled 20hr days. Engineers slept in the office. 100s of feedback calls. 1000s of PRs. If you think Tensor was built fast…. my god, let me tell you, this thing is 10x more feature-full and was built 10x faster. The team was stupid locked in,” said Tensor co-founder Ilja Moisejevs on X.

Earlier this week, they opened up early access to their waitlist. Shortly after, they had to suspend sign-ups due to high demand, an auspicious sign. Those who’ve already signed up will be granted access in the coming weeks. The existing holders of their NFT collection can confirm ownership on Discord.

In 2023, Tensor emerged as a strong player in the Solana NFT space. But as they debut this trading terminal, repeating that success remains to be seen as they enter this highly competitive atmosphere.

Over the last year, meme coin trading has boomed, largely thanks to Pump.fun, which enables users to create tokens easily and cheaply. Some tokens, like Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) and Goatseus Maximum (GOAT), have even reached impressive market caps, bringing substantial gains to early investors.

Even with impressive examples like these, most meme coins experience quick deaths. History has proven the same for SocialFi.

The Sad Saga of SocialFi

In late 2024, SocialFi platforms like Farcaster, Lens, and Friend.Tech began seeing a steep decline in user activity. Farcaster, a platform focused on user privacy and data control, experienced a substantial drop in daily active users (DAUs), from 67,000 in July to 34,000 in October, despite acquiring $150 million in funding earlier this year.

Friend.Tech also saw a tumble in revenue. Originally yielding over $4 million in fees in September 2023, developers have since renounced control of its smart contract.

Now, they can no longer make changes or claim ownership. As of June, the project no longer generates any revenue.

These struggles highlight challenges in maintaining user interest in the SocialFi space despite large investments and early excitement. However, the recent meme coin craze serves as an ideal launchpad for Vector.fun to take off, testing the arena for SocialFi readiness in the community.