Solana’s SOL and XRP experienced a 5% increase over the last 24 hours, leading the upward movement among major cryptocurrencies on Saturday as Bitcoin faced resistance around the $84,000 mark.
SOL climbed 7% following the conclusion of the contentious SIMD-0228 proposal late Thursday, which ultimately favored the opposition, preserving its existing inflation schedule. This proposal saw the highest voter participation in Solana’s governance history, according to reports, with detractors arguing that its passage could disrupt segments of its thriving DeFi ecosystem and deter potential institutional interest.
XRP also rose by 5%, continuing a strong performance for Ripple Labs, which recently secured a payments license in the UAE and is reportedly nearing a resolution in its long-standing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
On another front, memecoins experienced a surge on Friday, with pepecoin (PEPE), toshi (TOSHI), and dogecoin (DOGE) seeing gains of up to 40%, introducing volatility for traders in an otherwise stable market.
Leading the gains, TOSHI, based on the Base network, saw a 38% jump, while PEPE rose as much as 12% before retracting some gains during the European afternoon. Additionally, BASE-based KEYCAT soared over 100%, following the announcement of a partnership with Acheron Trading to serve as its official market maker — a move aimed at enhancing liquidity and increasing the token’s visibility on exchanges.
This broader upswing in memecoins indicates a shift in trader sentiment as Bitcoin trades sideways, pushing speculators towards higher-risk, higher-reward investments.
BTC concluded the week down 3%, performing slightly better than the previous two weeks in which it experienced extreme volatility, fluctuating between $75,000 and $95,000, thereby dropping as much as 20% from its January peak above $108,000.
Consequently, traders are keeping a close watch on macroeconomic indicators and decisions regarding rate cuts for further positioning insights.
“The recent easing of inflation supports the likelihood of potential rate cuts later this year,” stated Agne Linge, head of Growth at WeFi, in an email. “However, increasing geopolitical and economic tensions, particularly from the ongoing trade conflict, complicate the Federal Reserve’s policy direction.”
Bitcoin has witnessed significant price fluctuations over the past two weeks, oscillating between $79K and $85K amid rising macroeconomic uncertainty. Its rapid price changes suggest a growing responsiveness to macroeconomic influences—indicating that Bitcoin is behaving more like a high-risk asset rather than a traditional safe haven. This volatility is expected to persist in the upcoming weeks as geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainties continue to sway market sentiment,” Linge added.
Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, advised in an email that a strong breakout above the $89,000 mark is crucial for bullish trends. “Only if the market breaks above its 200-day moving average will it signal a potential return to growth. At present, market dynamics resemble nothing more than a bumpy downtrend,” Kuptsikevich remarked. “Bears are reclaiming market control during rebounds to the $83,500 region.”