XRP Back on Track to $2 After Sudden Monday Price Jump, Bitfinex Whale Becomes Top SHIB Buyer With 120 Billion Shiba Inu Coins, Bitcoin’s Biggest Quantum Critic Explains Bitcoin Cash Outperformance: Morning Crypto Report

TL;DR

• XRP targets $2: A massive short liquidation of $263 million and a shift toward global diplomacy have cleared the path for XRP to hit the $2 psychological level.
• SHIB whale move: Data confirms that a Bitfinex-linked address became the top SHIB buyer, accumulating 120 billion tokens as institutional interest peaks.
• BCH quantum advantage: Bitcoin Cash outperforms BTC by 40%, driven by its upcoming 2026 upgrade for quantum-resistant digital signatures.
• Bitcoin consolidation: BTC remains stuck in the $60,800-$71,000 range as markets weigh rising energy costs against the March 27 ETF verdict.

XRP back on $1.90 track as market celebrates shift toward dialogue

The crypto market has just delivered a real surprise. XRP made a sharp upward move, forcing many to urgently reconsider their strategies. After a period of calm, the asset literally shot up during the day, opening a direct path toward the psychological level of $2, as visible on the XRP chart by TradingView. This near-vertical jump has thrown XRP back into the game with renewed force.

The main reference point for bulls is now the $1.92 level. This is where the critically important 200-day moving average is located. If the asset secures above it, an approach toward $2 will become only a matter of time.

The suddenness of the move triggered real drama across exchanges. In just one hour, more than $263 million in short positions were liquidated. Those betting on a decline found themselves not just overleveraged but effectively trapped, and their forced closures only added fuel to further price growth.

The reason for such optimism was a sharp reversal in the global narrative. Investors breathed out amid news of a transition toward productive dialogue and diplomacy in one of the most tense regions of the world. 

Instead of the expected escalation of strikes on infrastructure, the sides chose negotiations and announced five-day pauses to search for a final compromise. This sudden dove of peace seemingly restored risk appetite and made XRP one of the main beneficiaries of Monday’s opening.

Quantum race: Why Bitcoin Cash is pulling ahead of Bitcoin

Over the past nine months, BCH has gained more than 40% against BTC. Technical analysts, in particular Charles Edwards from Capriole Investments, point to a fundamental reason behind this rally — Bitcoin Cash’s readiness for a quantum day.

Edwards has become one of the loudest voices warning about the critical vulnerability of the first cryptocurrency. According to him, since 2025, the risk of breaking classical Bitcoin encryption with quantum computers has become nonzero.

He argues that if the Bitcoin network does not implement full quantum protection, by 2028, the price of the asset could fall sharply, as 2.33% of all coins could be at risk of theft. The strengthening of BCH in recent months is explained by specific steps taken by developers.

In May 2026, the network is set to activate a major upgrade, introducing quantum-resistant digital signatures, making Bitcoin Cash the first large network technically protected from quantum hacking algorithms. As for proposed Bitcoin upgrades such as BIP360, Edwards calls them a “cosmetic solution” that only prepares the ground but does not provide real quantum protection on its own.

Among other things, he highlights the BCH/BTC chart, which has formed the rare and powerful “Adam and Eve” reversal pattern. This double bottom with a rounded base may signal a long-term capital rotation for market participants.

If the May hard fork of Bitcoin Cash proceeds successfully and the network confirms quantum resilience, pressure on Bitcoin Core developers could reach a breaking point, and for the first time in many years, security may become a more important growth factor than brand.

Bitfinex whale goes all-in on SHIB: What this major move means for Shiba Inu price

At the same time, Arkham data confirms that over the past 24 hours, a wallet linked to the Bitfinex exchange has become an active buyer of Shiba Inu (SHIB), while other large addresses either stand still or slowly take profits.

This single player absorbed market supply totaling 120 billion SHIB tokens. It is not the largest wallet in the world, but during this specific 24-hour window, it absorbed more Shiba Inu liquidity than any other address on the network.

The purchase took place around $0.0000057 per token, which looks like a systematic accumulation at a local bottom. 

Targeted inflows from whales on Bitfinex often indicate that large institutional clients are building positions through OTC desks or limit orders in order not to push the price too early. SHIB is now trading around $0.00000608, meaning that the whale is already more than 6% in profit from the purchase at the moment.

Crypto Market Outlook: Bitcoin braces for ETF verdict amid rising energy costs and massive liquidations

At the start of the week, Bitcoin continues to show strong sensitivity to macroeconomic news and remains in a consolidation phase in the $60,800-$71,000 range. The key resistance currently stands at $72,600, followed by the $74,000 level.

The main defensive level for buyers is located at $65,000, and a breakdown there could trigger a cascade of liquidations toward $60,000. The crypto market is also facing pressure from rising energy prices.

Higher oil prices strengthen inflation expectations, reducing the likelihood of monetary policy easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which the market currently prices with nearly equal probability for both a rate hike and a rate cut.

The main event of the week for the crypto market, however, is expected on March 27. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is set to decide on a package of 91 crypto ETF applications.