Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.
Australia CFTC AUD NC Net Positions rose from previous $45.9K to $52.6K
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.
United States CFTC Oil NC Net Positions: 172.7K vs 141.3K
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.
Eurozone CFTC EUR NC Net Positions fell from previous €174.5K to €156.9K
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.
United Kingdom CFTC GBP NC Net Positions: £-57.1K vs previous £-42.4K
Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.
Ripple adjusts funding strategy as XRP struggles with weak retail demand
Ripple (XRP) declines for the second consecutive day, trading around $1.38 at the time of writing on Friday. The ongoing correction comes on the heels of a bullish reversal from a weekly low of $1.31 on Tuesday, which stalled at $1.49 on Wednesday.
Ripple announces changes for builder funding in 2026
Ripple is shifting toward a new funding model that gives ecosystem builders access to support across multiple channels. The issuer of the XRP token and the RLUSD stablecoin said in a statement released on Thursday that starting in 2026, builders will access funding through a distributed model.
The new model creates an environment where independent organisations, venture partners, regional hubs, and community-led initiatives support builders at scale.
Ripple appears to be preparing to launch both new and expanded initiatives in 2026, such as the FinTech Builder Program, designed to support startups building institutional-grade financial products on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The products span stablecoin payments, credit infrastructure, tokenization, and regulated financial services.
Retail demand wanes as XRP falters
Retail investor interest in XRP has persistently declined, as evidenced by a decline in derivatives activity. The downtrend in futures Open Interest (OI) to $2.30 billion on Friday, from $2.35 billion the previous day, is a concern for the derivatives market. The OI is at its lowest level since January 2025.
In contrast, OI hit a record $10.94 billion in July, coinciding with XRP reaching $3.66, its current all-time high. A steadily declining OI suggests that investors are unwilling to lean into risk and would rather close positions than open new ones.
XRP technical outlook: XRP faces renewed downside pressure
XRP trades around $1.38 with the near-term bias mildly bearish. The price holds well below the 50, 100, and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), which are clustered between $1.62 and $2.06. All three moving averages are sloping lower, keeping the broader trend under pressure despite the recent bounce from a weekly low at $1.31.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator holds above its signal line on the daily chart, while the green histogram bars are contracting, suggesting a modest bullish influence within a larger downtrend.
Still, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) around 40 remains below the neutral 50 line on the same chart, indicating oversold conditions and reinforcing downside momentum toward support at $1.31.
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Initial resistance emerges at $1.54, aligning with the February 6 high, while the 50-day EMA lines up to cap rebounds at $1.62. A break above this supply cluster could open the door to a larger breakout targeting the 100-day EMA at $1.83 and later the 200-day EMA at $2.06.
Cryptocurrency prices FAQs
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
Portugal Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) came in at 0.9%, above expectations (0.8%) in 4Q
GBP/USD struggles to build on the overnight modest bounce from the weekly low and oscillates in a narrow band below 1.3500 on Friday. The Gorton and Denton by-election, held on February 26, has become a focal point of political drama in the UK, along with the BoE easing expectations, acting as a headwind for the GBP.
Spain Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (YoY) came in at 2.5%, above expectations (2.3%) in February
GBP/USD struggles to build on the overnight modest bounce from the weekly low and oscillates in a narrow band near 1.3500 in European trading on Friday. The Gorton and Denton by-election, held on February 26, has become a focal point of political drama in the UK, along with the Bank of England (BoE) easing expectations, acts as a headwind for the British Pound and the GBP/USD pair.
NZD/USD rises to near 0.6000 while investors seek fresh cues on Fed’s policy outlook
The NZD/USD pair is up 0.16% to near 0.5990 during the Asian trading session on Friday. The kiwi pair gains as the US Dollar (USD) ticks up, while investors seek fresh cues on the United States (US) interest rate outlook.
During the press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades marginally down to near 97.75.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are confident that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will leave interest rates unchanged in its policy meetings in March and April. The expectation for the Fed to avoid any monetary policy adjustment in the next two meetings has been prompted by inflation remaining above the central bank’s 2% target for a long period.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday that there could be several interest rate cuts this year if price pressures return to the 2% target. “I have some confidence rates can come down several more times this year in 2026,” Goolsbee said, and added, “I just don’t want to front load it too much before we actually have the evidence that the inflation is headed” back down to the Fed’s 2% goal,” Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) trades broadly stable even as traders doubt that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will hike interest rates in the near term. Hawkish RBNZ prospects have diminished as Governor Anna Breman said in the monetary policy announcement last week that the economy could continue to grow without triggering inflationary pressures.
Fed FAQs
Monetary policy in the US is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these goals is by adjusting interest rates.
When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, it raises interest rates, increasing borrowing costs throughout the economy. This results in a stronger US Dollar (USD) as it makes the US a more attractive place for international investors to park their money.
When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates to encourage borrowing, which weighs on the Greenback.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) holds eight policy meetings a year, where the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) assesses economic conditions and makes monetary policy decisions.
The FOMC is attended by twelve Fed officials – the seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four of the remaining eleven regional Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve may resort to a policy named Quantitative Easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system.
It is a non-standard policy measure used during crises or when inflation is extremely low. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy high grade bonds from financial institutions. QE usually weakens the US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process of QE, whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing, to purchase new bonds. It is usually positive for the value of the US Dollar.
AUD/JPY Price Forecast: Uptrend intact despite dip below 111.00
The rally on the AUD/JPY was halted on Thursday as the cross-pair retreated some 0.40% during the session on broad strength of the Japanese Yen. Hawkish comments by two officials of the Bank of Japan, weighed on the pair, which trades below the 111.00 mark at the time of writing.
AUD/JPY Price Forecast: Technical outlook
The uptrend remains intact on the AUD/JPY which despite testing daily lows of 110.26, its is poised to end Thursday’s session near the highs, opening the door for further upside.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) showed that buyers are in charge, with the index above its neutral line, but slightly tilted to the downside, an indication that traders could push the AUD/JPY to challenge the 110.00 mark.
Nevertheless, price action remains constructive as the AUD/JPY registered successive series of higher highs and higher lows. Therefore, for a bullish continuation, the pair must clear 111.00, followed by the yearly high of 111.47. Once cleared the next stop would be 112.00.
On the other hand, on further weakness, the AUD/JPY first support would be the day’s low of 110.26, followed by 110.00. Should the pair clear the latter, a drop towards the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 109.48 is on the cards.
AUD/JPY Price Chart – Daily
Japanese Yen FAQs
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is one of the world’s most traded currencies. Its value is broadly determined by the performance of the Japanese economy, but more specifically by the Bank of Japan’s policy, the differential between Japanese and US bond yields, or risk sentiment among traders, among other factors.
One of the Bank of Japan’s mandates is currency control, so its moves are key for the Yen. The BoJ has directly intervened in currency markets sometimes, generally to lower the value of the Yen, although it refrains from doing it often due to political concerns of its main trading partners. The BoJ ultra-loose monetary policy between 2013 and 2024 caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks. More recently, the gradually unwinding of this ultra-loose policy has given some support to the Yen.
Over the last decade, the BoJ’s stance of sticking to ultra-loose monetary policy has led to a widening policy divergence with other central banks, particularly with the US Federal Reserve. This supported a widening of the differential between the 10-year US and Japanese bonds, which favored the US Dollar against the Japanese Yen. The BoJ decision in 2024 to gradually abandon the ultra-loose policy, coupled with interest-rate cuts in other major central banks, is narrowing this differential.
The Japanese Yen is often seen as a safe-haven investment. This means that in times of market stress, investors are more likely to put their money in the Japanese currency due to its supposed reliability and stability. Turbulent times are likely to strengthen the Yen’s value against other currencies seen as more risky to invest in.