Healthcare tech firm Semler buys 871 Bitcoin, yield tops 150%

The XRP Ledger recently experienced a significant technical failure, halting block production for roughly an hour.

According to Ripple CTO David Schwartz, the network is currently recovering.

Schwartz has added that it is not clear what exactly caused the severe technical failure, but he believes that the network drifted apart due to validators not being published.

Validators had to be published from a "sane" starting point after the network stopped. The network started operating again after enough consensus was built.

However, Schwartz also does not rule out that the "super-preliminary" observation might end up being wrong.

It is even possible that the network managed to recover "spontaneously."

"Very few UNL operators actually made any changes, as far as I can tell, so it's possible the network spontaneously recovered. I'm not sure yet," Schwartz said.

He has also added that no ledger with majority validation has been lost. "We don't know the details yet, but it's likely that servers refused to send validations precisely because they knew something was wrong…" he added.

Bitcoiners gloat over the XRPL's failure

The XRPL's technical failure was used by some members of the Bitcoin community to poke fun at XRP. "Thankfully the XRPL being offline is not affecting any banks since no banks use it," one commentator quipped.

However, Schwartz claims that the Bitcoin network also had two network-level failure incidents in the past.

"Bitcoin frequently goes an hour without confirming any transactions, and Bitcoin had two network-level failure incidents, one in 2010 for 8 hours and one in 2013 for 6 hours," he said.

As reported by U.Today, the two communities have been at loggerheads over the past several weeks over the composition of the US crypto reserve.

Meanwhile, the price of XRP is down more than 6%. The token is currently underperforming the rest of the top 10 due to the recent technical failure.

Solana started a fresh decline from the $220 zone. SOL price is consolidating and might face resistance near the $215 and $220 levels.

• SOL price started a fresh decline below the $215 and $212 levels against the US Dollar.
• The price is now trading below $212 and the 100-hourly simple moving average.
• There is a short-term declining channel or a bullish flag forming with resistance at $213 on the hourly chart of the SOL/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair could start a fresh increase if the bulls clear the $220 zone.

Solana Price Faces Resistance

Solana price struggled to clear the $250 resistance and started a fresh decline, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. SOL declined below the $220 and $200 support levels.

It even dived below the $180 level. The recent low was formed at $175 before the price climbed and tested the $220 resistance. A high was formed at $220 and the price is now consolidating. There was a drop below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $175 swing low to the $220 high.

Solana is now trading below $220 and the 100-hourly simple moving average. On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the $212 level. There is also a short-term declining channel or a bullish flag forming with resistance at $213 on the hourly chart of the SOL/USD pair.

The next major resistance is near the $215 level. The main resistance could be $220. A successful close above the $220 resistance zone could set the pace for another steady increase. The next key resistance is $232. Any more gains might send the price toward the $250 level.

Another Decline in SOL?

If SOL fails to rise above the $215 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $202 zone. The first major support is near the $198 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $175 swing low to the $220 high.

A break below the $198 level might send the price toward the $192 zone. If there is a close below the $192 support, the price could decline toward the $175 support in the near term.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for SOL/USD is losing pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly Hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for SOL/USD is below the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $202 and $198.

Major Resistance Levels – $215 and $220.

Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer announced today that it had acquired a 101-MW gas-fired power plant near Fox Creek, Alberta, to build a "vertically integrated" BTC mining operation.

“We are really excited about planting roots in Alberta, our first site in Canada. This acquisition is the culmination of extensive collaboration with multiple government agencies and the Canadian Blockchain Consortium," Haris Basit, chief strategy officer at Bitdeer, said in a press release. "It marks a significant step in our strategy to become the first fully-vertically integrated Bitcoin miner, giving us unmatched control over costs, energy efficiency, and scalability."

Bitdeer says they plan to build out a 99 MW datacenter on the site. The site has the capacity to scale to 1 GW. Energy production costs for the facility will be between $20 to $25 per MW/h.

The plant is also licensed for a 99 MW interconnect to the local power grid, and Bitdeer said it plans to sell power back to the Alberta grid to stabilize prices during periods of high demand.

"By combining our own power generation, SEALMINER mining machines and opportunistic grid participation, we believe this site will set a new benchmark for industry unit economics," Basit added.

Bitdeer says it plans to commence site preparation and initial infrastructure development in Q2 2025 and have it fully operational in Q4 2026.

XRP price recovered most losses and rallied toward $2.75. The price is now facing hurdles near the $2.70 zone and might start another decline.

• XRP price started a strong upward move above the $2.60 level.
• The price is now trading below $2.70 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a new connecting bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.710 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair might start a fresh increase if it clears the $2.780 resistance zone.

XRP Price Recovery Faces Resistance

XRP price started a recovery wave from the $1.75 support zone, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The price gained pace for a move above the $2.00 and $2.25 resistance levels.

The bulls pumped the price above the $2.50 and $2.550 levels. However, the bears remained active below the $2.80 level. A high was formed at $2.780 and the price is now correcting gains. There was a move below the $2.62 level.

The price dipped below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $1.750 swing low to the $2.780 high. The price is now trading below $2.70 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.

On the upside, the price might face resistance near the $2.70 level. There is also a new connecting bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.710 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. The first major resistance is near the $2.780 level. The next resistance is $2.80.

A clear move above the $2.80 resistance might send the price toward the $2.940 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $3.000 resistance or even $3.050 in the near term. The next major hurdle for the bulls might be $3.120.

Another Decline?

If XRP fails to clear the $2.70 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2.420 level. The next major support is near the $2.2650 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $1.750 swing low to the $2.780 high.

If there is a downside break and a close below the $2.2650 level, the price might continue to decline toward the $2.20 support. The next major support sits near the $2.050 zone.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is now below the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $2.420 and $2.2650.

Major Resistance Levels – $2.70 and $2.780.

Bitcoin (BTC) enjoyed a brief sigh of relief yesterday as the US delayed its proposed 25% trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada by a month. However, the US proceeded with its 10% tariffs on China, prompting retaliatory measures from Beijing. The escalation has pushed BTC back below the critical $100,000 price level.

Bitcoin Suffers Amid Trade Wars

After a volatile 24 hours filled with uncertainty surrounding US trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada, BTC experienced a short-lived relief rally to $102,000. This came after US President Donald Trump announced a 30-day delay in imposing tariffs on the two North American nations.

However, today’s implementation of US tariffs on China triggered a sharp downturn, causing BTC to break below the $100,000 level. In response, China’s Ministry of Finance announced new countermeasures.

Starting February 10, China will impose an additional 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas, along with a 10% tariff on agricultural equipment, crude oil, and certain vehicles.

Additionally, Beijing has accused the US of violating World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations with its one-sided tariff policies. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also stated that it would tighten export controls on key raw materials, including molybdenum, indium, bismuth, tellurium, and tungsten, citing national security concerns.

With trade tensions escalating between the US and China, analysts predict heightened volatility in the crypto market in the coming days. Well-known crypto strategist Michael van de Poppe shared his outlook:

Meanwhile, crypto trader and investor Phoenix suggested that BTC could establish a new trading range amid the ongoing trade war. However, history suggests that heightened tariffs could spell trouble for cryptocurrencies.

Web3 enthusiast merts.eth pointed out in an X post that BTC plummeted 65% in 2018 when Trump first initiated a trade war with China. The effects were not limited to digital assets, as the S&P 500 also dropped 12% in the weeks following the implementation of tariffs.

More Downside For BTC?

As Bitcoin struggles to hold the $100,000 price level, concerns are mounting about another potential breakdown in price. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez recently pointed out that if BTC fails to hold the $97,190 support level, there could be more pain for the top digital asset.

The analyst made another observation about how BTC is currently trading in a bearish flag pattern. At press time, BTC trades at $99,961, up 1% in the past 24 hours.

Ripple’s XRP Ledger has recovered from a network halt that prevented validations from being published for over an hour, Ripple’s chief technology officer confirmed.

Network activity froze at block height 93927174 for 64 minutes before the blockchain was rebooted on Feb. 4 at 10:58 am UTC, XRPL’s explorer page shows.

“It looked like consensus was running but validations were not being published, causing the network to drift apart,” Ripple technology chief David Schwartz said in a Feb. 4 X post.

He added validator operators had to manually intervene to “choose a sane starting point” to build enough consensus to pull the network over to a coordinated ledger stream. Schwartz said that his observations were only preliminary and that Ripple was still investigating the root cause.