**Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin Drops Below $105,000 Amid Major Sell-Off; Ripple Announces $1 Billion Acquisition**
It is Friday, and the cryptocurrency market is showing red across the majors. Bitcoin has broken down below $105,000, marking its heaviest weekly drop since spring. Ethereum slipped under $3,800, XRP lost more than 11% this week and is down again today at $2.22. Other tokens like Solana and Shiba Inu (SHIB) followed lower as liquidations wiped billions out of leveraged positions, thinning out open interest.
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### Bitcoin Price Loses $105,000 Mark
Bitcoin currently sits at approximately $104,625, down nearly 9% on the week. This drop cuts roughly $20,000 off from highs near $123,000 seen just two weeks ago. This represents Bitcoin’s largest weekly red candle since March, when the price fell from $98,000 to $82,000.
Market sentiment remains extremely negative. Charts reveal a demand wall forming around the $98,500 to $101,000 range — the area where BTC fell last Friday. Resistance overhead remains strong near $112,000.
The key question moving into Friday and the weekend is whether Bitcoin can stabilize above $101,000. If it fails to hold this pivot, traders will likely scan for support at sub-$100,000 levels once again.
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### Ripple’s $1 Billion Acquisition of GTreasury
Amid widespread market weakness, Ripple announced its biggest corporate move to date: a $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury, a treasury management firm with over 40 years of experience. GTreasury’s client base includes major corporations like American Airlines and Hitachi.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted the significance of the deal on social media, stating that “astounding amounts of cash are trapped in outdated payment systems.” He emphasized Ripple’s goal to place its infrastructure directly into the hands of CFOs.
Earlier this year, Ripple spent $1.25 billion acquiring Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm with strong access to repo markets. Together, these acquisitions position Ripple to deploy balances into yield markets while maintaining real-time liquidity flows.
Ripple President Monica Long summed it up by saying this combination could “unlock trillions in trapped capital,” potentially redefining Ripple’s role from a payments company to a key player in global treasury infrastructure.
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### Clarifying XRP’s Leadership: No CEO for the Token
XRP is trading around $2.22, down more than 11% on the week and losing an additional 4% today after dipping into the $2.20 zone.
In the midst of this sell-off, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty addressed an ongoing debate about whether XRP has a CEO. His response was clear: XRP does not.
Alderoty explained that XRP operates on the decentralized XRP Ledger, launched in 2012 by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto. While Ripple the company has a CEO, the XRP token itself never has and never will. For Alderoty, stating “no CEO” underscores the open, decentralized design of the network—a point of resilience amid price pressure.
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### Binance Faces Regulatory Scrutiny in France
Regulatory pressure is also mounting. Bloomberg reports that Binance is among over 100 crypto firms currently under review by France’s financial regulator, ACPR, as part of a broad anti-money-laundering operation tied to MiCA licensing requirements.
Binance has been ordered to strengthen its compliance framework or risk losing the opportunity to be licensed in France. The deadline for full MiCA compliance is June 2026, but national regulators have already started making licensing decisions.
France is Binance’s operational anchor in Europe. Losing regulatory approval there would jeopardize Binance’s ability to serve the entire European Union. This French scrutiny presents one of the most significant regulatory challenges Binance has faced recently.
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### Evening Market Outlook
As Friday closes, Bitcoin sits at $104,625 with $101,000 serving as a critical pivot. A drop below this could see liquidity gravitate toward $98,500. Resistance remains near $112,000.
– **Ethereum** trades at $3,737, with $3,500 a key risk level and $4,050 as resistance bulls aim to reclaim.
– **XRP** at $2.22 has support at $2.20, then $1.95, with resistance close to $2.65.
– **Solana** is at $177; it risks slipping to $165 unless it recovers above $192.
– **Shiba Inu** (SHIB) at $0.0000095 has lost its base, eyeing $0.0000080 next.
The week concludes with heavy charts, declining ETF flows, Ripple making bold moves to redefine its market role, and Binance grappling with French regulators. The setup moving into the weekend is uncertain, and all eyes remain on whether Bitcoin can defend $101,000 or open the door to a further decline.
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**Stay tuned for more updates as the crypto market continues to evolve.**
https://u.today/morning-crypto-report-bitcoin-falls-under-105000-new-1-billion-ripple-deal-xrp-has-ceo-debate
