A popular crypto analyst is bullish on two decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens. The pseudonymous trader, known as The Crypto Dog, has his eye on AAVE and Curve DAO (CRV). Both have gained not too much attention in the recent weeks, being completely overshadowed by scandalous meme coins, XRP vs SEC case, Bitcoin ups and downs, Ethereum useless efforts to rise again, and other hurdles. AAVE, the governance token of a DeFi lending protocol, is looking primed for a rally. The Crypto Dog shared a chart with his 809,500 X followers. He showed AAVE retesting $107 as support. "Think that's gonna moon," he quipped. AAVE was trading at $111.62 at press time. It's down slightly over 24 hours. But it's up over 46% since its August 5th low of about $75. The analyst reckons CRV might follow AAVE's lead. He's watching the AAVE/BTC pair for clues. "Finally, CRV comes to life," he noted. "BTC near resistance, strong alts break out." He advised traders to focus on altcoins showing strength against Bitcoin. "Pay attention to ratio pair strength," he said. "Ignore alts that can't pump against BTC." CRV was trading at $0.313 when we checked. It's down over 3% in a day. But it's up more than 70% from its August 5th low of around $0.18. Despite his optimism, The Crypto Dog isn't all sunshine and rainbows. He warns that altcoins look shaky right now. "About to rebuy alts because if they don't bounce here, I think they're going to hades," he said. The DeFi market is known for its volatility. These predictions should be taken with a pinch of salt. As always, do your own research before diving in.

Ethereum's recent performance has raised eyebrows. Despite its Wall Street debut, ETH has struggled to keep pace with competitors. The crypto market took a nosedive on Sunday. ETH-to-BTC conversion ratio hit a yearly low of 0.041. Digital assets have since rebounded. Yet, the ratio remains at 0.043. This trend bucks expectations. Typically, altcoins outperform Bitcoin in bull markets. Capital often flows from Bitcoin to riskier assets. This held true for Solana and meme coins like PEPE and WIF. Ethereum, however, didn't follow suit. Financial analyst Wesley Kress tweeted his concerns. "Ethereum is trading horribly this cycle," he wrote. "People are realizing it's not the future." Not everyone shares this pessimism. Some analysts believe time will favor Ethereum. They argue the new Ethereum spot ETFs need time to take effect. Crypto influencer Crypto Kaleo offered perspective. He noted Ethereum ETFs have been live for just twelve days. This mirrors Bitcoin's post-ETF timeline before its rebound in January. ETFs should theoretically boost ETH's price. They allow institutions previously barred by regulations to invest in Ethereum. But the reality might be more complex. Jonathan Bier, FarsideUK CIO, shared insights with Decrypt. "Much of the success will be driven by people and entities shifting their existing [Ethereum Trust] holdings into ETFs," he said. Bier pointed out that Grayscale's Ethereum unwind could be more severe than its Bitcoin counterpart. Investors face capital gains taxes when selling Ethereum Trust shares. "At the same time Ethereum investors are always looking for the latest thing with the newest tech," Bier added. "They're less loyal than Bitcoin investors." Solana has been nipping at Ethereum's heels. It overtook Ethereum in total transaction fees in late July. This marked a first for the upstart blockchain. On-chain metrics paint a mixed picture for ETH. CryptoQuant data shows Bitcoin's "realized capitalization" rose by $187 billion this year. Ethereum's increased by $127 billion. Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant's Head of Research, told Decrypt, "Bitcoin has overperformed Ethereum in certain network fundamental metrics." He noted a decline in the ratio of Ethereum to Bitcoin transactions, mirroring the ETH/BTC price ratio drop. The crypto world is a rollercoaster. Ethereum's current slump might be temporary. But it's clear the blockchain giant faces stiff competition. Investors are watching closely. The next few months could be make-or-break for Ethereum's market position.

XRP's price suddenly shot up by over 20% on Wednesday. It reached $0.61. This jump followed the final ruling in the Ripple Labs versus SEC lawsuit. And that might be just a beginning. Judge Torres made a decisive ruling. Ripple Labs must pay $125 million in civil penalties. They must also stop violating securities laws. This ends a legal battle that lasted nearly four years. The penalty is far less than expected. The SEC had initially demanded $2 billion from Ripple. That's a huge difference. "Judge Torres has ruled that Ripple, $XRP, must pay $125M in civil penalties and stop any further violations of securities laws," reported unusual_whales on Twitter. This puts an end to the lengthy legal battle with the SEC. The lawsuit's origins date back to 2020. The SEC accused Ripple Labs of issuing XRP as a security. It was a bombshell allegation at the time. Last summer, Judge Torres made a crucial decision. She ruled that XRP wasn't necessarily a security. This paved the way for today's final ruling. The market's reaction was swift and strong. XRP's price jumped more than 20% in a day. That's no small potatoes in the crypto world. Especially when we are recovering from the 'big bang', like the one that happened last week with BTC prices crashing to $49,000 and altcoins convulsing as if it was the last day on Earth. Regulatory uncertainty has been a thorn in Ripple's side. It's hampered XRP and Ripple Labs' global crypto business for years. This ruling lifts a massive weight off their shoulders. The threat of XRP being labeled a security in the USA is gone. This could boost the cryptocurrency's adoption prospects. It's a big deal for XRP's future. Since Monday, XRP's price has skyrocketed. It's up over 40% from its lows around $0.43. Talk about a comeback kid.

Brazil's securities watchdog has given the thumbs up to a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF). It's a first of its kind globally. The move puts Brazil ahead of the US in the crypto ETF game. The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) greenlit the ETF. QR Asset, a local asset manager, created it. Vortx will run the show as fund administrator. The ETF isn't live yet. It's waiting for the nod from B3, Brazil's stock exchange. Once that's sorted, it'll be game on. The fund will track the CME CF Solana Dollar Reference Rate. CF Benchmarks and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cooked up this index. Theodoro Fleury, QR Asset's big cheese, is chuffed. He told local rag exame that his firm is "a global pioneer in this segment." Fleury reckons this cements "Brazil's position as a leading market for regulated investments in crypto assets." While Brazil's racing ahead, the US is still at the starting line. No spot Solana ETF there yet. But the yanks aren't sitting on their hands. VanEck and 21Shares have thrown their hats in the ring. They've filed S-1 forms with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They're hoping to get the green light soon. Standard Chartered's crystal ball sees Solana and XRP ETFs on the horizon. But they reckon it's more of a 2025 story than a 2024 one. VanEck's digital assets guru has a different take. He thinks a US Solana ETF hinges on who wins the White House. He called the lack of a regulated Solana futures market a "Psyop" by SEC boss Gary Gensler. BlackRock's not buying it. They're skeptical. They reckon we won't see much beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs for a while. Up north, Canada's getting in on the action. 3iQ's gunning to be North America's first Solana ETF. They're not just buying SOL, they're staking it too. "The Solana Fund offers easy exposure to SOL without technical complexity," they said. Brazil's move is a big deal. It's not just about Solana. It's about who's leading the crypto ETF charge. For now, it looks like samba's beating out the star-spangled banner.

XRP's price shot up 26% recently. This happened as Ripple's lawsuit with the SEC seemed to be wrapping up. It's just a $125 million fine, not a billion case, as it turns out. And, what's even more important, there's no indication XRP will be labeled a security. A turning point for crypto industry. A New York federal judge is close to ending a three-year securities lawsuit against Ripple Labs. Ripple's bigwigs are calling this a "win" for the industry. And nobody blames them, obviously. The news sent XRP's price through the roof. And that is a clear win, beyond any doubt. The judge ordered Ripple to cough up $125 million in civil penalties. They also said Ripple can't break U.S. securities laws anymore. This is part of the SEC's case against them. Cointelegraph says this ruling looks like the final stretch of Ripple's SEC drama. The lawsuit kicked off back in December 2020. It's been a long haul. When the news hit, XRP went nuts. It jumped 26% to $0.63. This erased most of its losses from the recent crypto slump. CoinMarketCap data backs this up. As I'm typing this, XRP is trading at $0.59. The market's still buzzing. Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, didn't mince words on X. He called it "a victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law." He reckons the SEC's beef with the XRP community is over. Chris Larsen, Ripple's co-founder, chimed in too. He hopes this "ends this Administration's war on crypto." Strong words from the top brass. But it wasn't just Ripple execs making noise. Crypto folks were all over XRP's price action. Fred Rispoli, a crypto lawyer, tweeted his two cents. He said it's a "HUGE win for Ripple." He was surprised by the $125M hit but noted Ripple made that back in minutes from XRP's price jump. The price surge caught some traders with their pants down. It wiped out 40% more short positions than long ones in just four hours. Ouch. CoinGlass data shows $5.4 million worth of short positions went up in smoke after the price spike. That's gotta hurt. If XRP keeps climbing and hits $0.65, another $20 million in short positions could go belly up. The crypto market's a wild ride, folks.