Novogratz Sees Bitcoin Upside, Pepe Surges and More: This Week in Crypto
Crypto markets had a restless week, with Bitcoin hovering near key technical levels while geopolitical concerns revived selling pressure across major tokens. At the same time, institutional crypto plans, artificial intelligence warnings and a legal fight involving World Liberty Financial added plenty of drama beyond price charts.Even in an otherwise sluggish week, Pepe managed to outperform larger cryptocurrencies, proving once again that meme-token markets rarely follow the script.Evernorth Chooses XRP for Institutional StrategyEvernorth CEO Asheesh Birla said the company’s Nasdaq debut represents an important milestone for XRP, as the firm prepares to deploy its 473 million XRP holdings gradually. The planned strategy focuses on institutional lending and decentralized finance opportunities, with Evernorth emphasizing security, liquidity and returns designed to remain sustainable over time.Novogratz Sees AI Bubble, Favors Bitcoin’s UpsideGalaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said artificial intelligence could become the "biggest bubble of our lifetime," while giving Bitcoin better odds of reaching $100,000 than falling to $50,000 before year-end. Novogratz identified the $79,000 to $80,000 region as an important downside area, warning that a decisive break beneath it could weaken Bitcoin’s current bullish momentum.Bitcoin’s Next Move May Depend on $83,500Bitcoin traded slightly above $81,000 as Milk Road analyst John Decoded said a move above $83,500 could open the door to the mid-$90,000s. Speaking on the Milk Road Show, Decoded said buyers had defended the $81,000 level, while sellers had failed to push Bitcoin below $80,000 despite broader risk assets unwinding leverage.Pepe Breaks From a Sleepy Crypto MarketMajor cryptocurrencies struggled to build momentum during the week, but frog-themed meme token Pepe emerged as a notable winner. PEPE climbed 13% over the past week, outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin as those larger digital assets experienced declines and investors searched for pockets of strength.Trump, WLFI Face Lawsuit Over Alleged UAE-Linked Crypto PaymentsA shareholder in Circle Internet Group Inc. sued President Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial on Thursday, alleging illegal profiteering that violated the U.S. Constitution. The complaint, filed in Washington federal court by shareholder and former Circle employee J. Benjamin Greenberg, claims Trump benefited from more than $2 billion in payments connected to a foreign government through the crypto platform co-founded by his sons.This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.Preview Photo courtesy: Shutterstock