SOL, XRP Zoom 5% Higher as Bitcoin Grapples With $84K Level

Solana’s SOL and XRP$2.0975 edged up 5% in the past 24 hours to lead gains among majors Saturday as bitcoin BTC$91,380.40 saw resistance at the $84,000 price level.

SOL surged 7% as a contentious SIMD-0228 drew to a close late Thursday in favor of those against it, keeping its current inflation schedule intact. The proposal drew the highest voting turnout in Solana’s governance history, as reported, with those against saying a passage could disrupt parts of its flourishing DeFi ecosystem and dispel chances of further institutional interest.

XRP rose 5% following a strong week for closely-related Ripple Labs, which bagged a payments license in the UAE and, per sources, is said to be on track for a close of its long-running court case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meanwhile, memecoins caught a bid on Friday as pepecoin (PEPE), TOSHI$0.0₃4211, DOGE$0.1417 and other memes rose as much as 40%, providing volatility for traders amid a mostly flat market.

Base-based TOSHI jumped 38%, leading gains, with PEPE up as much as 12% before paring gains in European afternoon hours. Meanwhile, Base-based KEYCAT jumped more than 100% as developers announced a partnership with Acheron Trading as its official market maker — aiming to boost liquidity and expand the token’s presence on exchanges.

The broader memecoin rally reflects a shift in trader behavior as bitcoin BTC$91,380.40 trades sideways, pushing speculators toward higher-risk, higher-reward assets.

BTC ended the week down 3%, faring slightly better than the past two weeks where extreme volatility saw it bounce between $75,000 and $95,000 — bringing it down as much as 20% from a Jan. peak above $108,000.

As such, traders continue to eye macroeconomic factors and rate cut decision for cues on further positioning.

“The recent cooling in inflation strengthens the case for potential rate cuts later this year,” Agne Linge, head of Growth at WeFi, told CoinDesk in a email. “However, escalating geopolitical and economic tensions particularly from the ongoing trade war add complexity to the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory.”

Bitcoin has experienced intense whipsaw price action over the past two weeks, fluctuating between $79K and $85K amid heightened macroeconomic uncertainty. Its rapid on-off price dynamics reflect its increasing sensitivity to macroeconomic factors—suggesting that Bitcoin is behaving more like a risk-on asset than a traditional store of value. This volatility is likely to persist in the coming weeks as geopolitical tensions and macro-uncertainties continue to drive market sentiment,” Linge added.

Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro chief market analyst, told CoinDesk in an email that a strong break above the $89,000 level should be watched by traders looking to turn bullish.“Only if the market breaks above its 200-day moving average will we be able to take it as a signal of a return to growth. For now, the market dynamics resemble no more than just a bumpy downtrend,” Kuptsikevich said. “Bears are regaining control of the market on bounces to the $83,500 area.”