The post What Happened in the Crypto Market Today? Bitcoin Price Nears $104K, XRP ETF Approval, and Top Crypto News appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Good morning, here’s a quick look at what moved the crypto markets during Asian trading hours.

Crypto Price Today: Bitcoin Stays Below $104K as Market Makers Target Shorts

Bitcoin continued to trade just under the $104,000 mark, holding steady through early Asian hours. The overall market sentiment remains cautious, with the Fear and Greed Index standing at 25, indicating fear among investors.

However, liquidation data suggests the next major move could be to the upside. Analysts note that liquidity below the current price is thin, while billions of dollars in short liquidations are stacked above $103,700 to $108,000. This creates a strong incentive for market makers to drive prices higher to capture that liquidity.

Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, and Litecoin all posted minor gains today. The Story (IP ($3.87)) token led the gainers with a 12 percent jump in the past 24 hours, while Aerodrome Finance (AERO ($0.97)) was the biggest loser, falling by over 15 percent. The global crypto market capitalization now stands at $3.49 trillion, up 0.39 percent in the past day.

According to market analyst Michael van de Poppe, most altcoins could break their recent highs in the next few days before entering a brief correction phase. He predicts a broader upward rally toward the end of the month, driven by renewed market momentum.

Top Crypto News Headlines Today

Here are the major developments across blockchain, regulation, and market news.

South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank Tests Stablecoin VAT Refunds

NH NongHyup Bank, one of South Korea’s largest banks, has launched a proof-of-concept project in partnership with Avalanche, Fireblocks, Mastercard, and Worldpay. The initiative will test a stablecoin-based VAT refund system for tourists, using smart contracts to automate settlements.

This project is part of South Korea’s broader effort to modernize its financial infrastructure using blockchain technology and could serve as a model for other Asian economies.

Polymarket Relaunches in the United States

Prediction market platform Polymarket has quietly relaunched in the United States in beta mode. After paying a $1.4 million fine to the CFTC and relocating offshore, Polymarket has re-entered the U.S. market by acquiring QCX, a CFTC-approved exchange.

The platform is now rolling out access to American users in stages, once again allowing real-money prediction contracts.

Ethereum Foundation Publishes “Trustlessness Manifesto”

The Ethereum Foundation, along with Vitalik Buterin, has released a new “Trustlessness Manifesto,” reaffirming Ethereum’s vision of enabling coordination without trusted intermediaries.

The manifesto emphasizes credible neutrality, self-custody, and verifiability as the core principles of Ethereum. It is stored on-chain in an ownerless and adminless contract, with a single function called “pledge()” that records a user’s commitment on-chain.

Japan Exchange Group Considers Stricter Rules on Bitcoin-Hoarding Firms

According to Bloomberg, the Japan Exchange Group (JPX) is considering tighter rules for publicly listed companies that hold large amounts of crypto assets. The move follows significant retail losses linked to “Digital Asset Treasury” companies that accumulated Bitcoin as part of their corporate strategy.

JPX may enforce stricter audits, limit financing options, and curb backdoor listings for such firms. Japan currently has 14 listed Bitcoin-holding companies, with Metaplanet, the largest among them, down over 75 percent since June.

Taiwan Explores Adding Bitcoin to National Reserves

Taiwan’s Executive Yuan and central bank are evaluating a proposal to add Bitcoin to the country’s strategic reserves. The plan, led by legislator Ko Chih-en and supported by JAN3 CEO Samson Mow, would use seized Bitcoin as a pilot source.

If approved, Bitcoin would join gold and foreign currency as part of Taiwan’s national reserves. Taiwan currently holds 423 tons of gold and 577 billion dollars in foreign-exchange reserves.

Canary Capital Files for a MOG Coin ETF

Canary Capital has filed for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to MOG Coin, a cat-themed memecoin that gained popularity through TikTok. Despite the token being down 78 percent this year, the filing reflects Canary’s strategy to expand its niche crypto product lineup.

MOG Coin is currently ranked 339 by market capitalization. The move follows Canary’s recent ETF launches tied to Litecoin and Hedera (HBAR ($0.18)).

Hyperliquid Faces $30 Million Meltdown Triggered by One Trader

In a major DeFi incident, a single trader caused a $30 million disruption on the Hyperliquid platform by opening highly leveraged long positions on POPCAT using $3 million in USDC ($1.00).

The attacker reportedly withdrew funds from OKX, split them across multiple wallets, and placed massive leveraged bets that led to cascading losses. The event caused nearly $5 million in damage to Hyperliquid’s liquidity provider pool.

Singapore Tightens Stablecoin Rules Ahead of CBDC Expansion

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced that only fully regulated, reserve-backed stablecoins will qualify as legal settlement assets. The regulator is also expanding central bank digital currency (CBDC) trials as part of its next phase of digital finance development.

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