Coinbase Flirts XRP 🫦

ICYMI, the Token Metrics team is having a swell time with the rest of the crypto folks in Europe.

ETH Bucharest is the event—and our founder and CEO, Ian Balina, will be giving a keynote speech!

Show us some at ETH Bucharest  💛 on X.

Because it’s Friday, here’s a JD Vance-Clinton-Hegseth parody joke to make you and your friends laugh 😁

To today’s stories ==>

Market Watch🔍: A Bounce Maybe?

After a whipsaw week in crypto, traders are looking for signs of calm amid the chaos. 

President Trump’s new tariffs—10% minimum on all imports, with some as high as 49%—sparked a global market sell-off.

BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP surged in anticipation, only to nosedive as the dust settled. 

Bitcoin (currently trading at $84K) dropped from nearly $90K to $82K in hours; ETH tumbled below $1,800.

What a week, huh?

Behind the scenes, investors flooded exchanges with tokens: 2,500 BTC in one block, 80,000 ETH in an hour, and 130M XRP into Binance. 

Their message? A new-found loyalty to risk-off sentiments.

With four Fed rate cuts now priced in for 2025, attention is turning from tariffs to jobs. 

If today’s non-farm payroll report shows a cooling labor market, it could validate the dovish tilt and boost crypto prices. 

Bitcoin historically thrives on lower rates, which diminish the appeal of bonds and bolster its narrative as an inflation hedge.

Still, volatility remains elevated, and options markets show heavy put buying—but QCP Capital notes risk assets are “largely oversold,” opening the door to a relief rally. 

Meanwhile, institutional confidence endures: U.S. spot BTC ETFs saw $220M in inflows before the pullback, and VC firms are holding on to $400M+ in TON, which rebounded 12.5% this week after a sharp dip.

The macro may be murky, but the market seems poised. Not for euphoria—just for a bounce.

Pump.Fun Reincarnation

Move over, Solana. 

Clanker, the Base-native token launchpad, is quietly staging its own memecoin gold rush — and raking in serious revenue along the way. 

In just five months, the platform has helped users mint over 200,000 tokens, clocking $2.7 billion in onchain swap volume and netting its small team $13 million in profit. 

Notably, Clanker doesn’t charge to launch a token. Instead, it earns via a 1% fee on Uniswap V3 trades, which it shares with token creators and the originating interface.

It’s a business model that echoes Pump.fun — the Solana-based juggernaut with over $600 million in revenue — but with an ETH Layer 2 twist.

Integrated into decentralized social platforms like Farcaster, Clanker has embraced the social virality of memecoins while embedding itself into community tools like Bankr and ClankFun.

Pseudonymous co-founder “Alex” says the project has been profitable from day one — lean ops, high throughput, and no need for venture backing. 

With plans to go fully permissionless and attract more devs, Clanker might just be turning casual memecoin minting into a full-fledged economic engine on Base.

When next’s Clanker? A DEX? 😁

Coinbase Digs $XRP 

Coinbase is doubling down on crypto derivatives—and XRP is its next target. 

On Thursday, the exchange filed with the CFTC to self-certify a new XRP futures contract, potentially launching April 21. 

If approved, it would mark the latest in a string of derivative offerings from Coinbase, following recent launches tied to Solana (SOL) and Hedera (HBAR).

XRP’s inclusion comes at a pivotal moment. Long entangled in a legal standoff with the SEC, Ripple Labs—the token’s developer—recently scored a major victory. 

The regulator dropped its appeal, finalizing a settlement with Ripple that reduced its fine to $50 million. The move clears a significant legal cloud, emboldening market participants and opening the door to new products.

Coinbase describes $XRP as “one of the most liquid digital assets,” a nod to its enduring presence despite regulatory friction. 

Futures contracts, which allow investors to bet on price movements without holding the token, are seen as a gateway for institutional exposure.

The filing arrives as momentum builds for an XRP spot ETF in the U.S., with Bitwise, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, and others already circling. 

If the CFTC gives the nod, Coinbase may not just be listing a futures product—it could be signaling XRP’s full reintegration into the regulated financial ecosystem.

Are you as bullish as Coinbase on $XRP, $SOL, $HBAR? Then, trade them with AI signals on Token Metrics.

PS: $SOL has dipped has dipped to multi-year lows. You might wanna get in on that 🤷🏻‍♀️

What The Coin Is Going On? 🪙

1. WisdomTree, the top-shot asset management firm, is proving its “chain agnostic” philosophy with WisdomTree Connect, enabling access to tokenized funds beyond Ethereum.

2. Folks at WatcherGuru think these are the three coins to watch this weekend. If you’re bullish on their report, make sure to double-check with our AI Analysis and take the trades here.

3. Here’s where some of the most important people in crypto will be gathering.

4. Markets may be choppy right now, but not too choppy for M&As. Investment firm Republic will acquire Crypto Trader INX Digital for Up to $60M.

5. The main themes for crypto this week are discussed in 10 minutes on Spotify and Apple.

That’s all for the week, folks.    

Have a great weekend, and may the tariffs spook us less🙏🏽
Your Friend At Token Metrics 💛