Crypto expert Crypto Sensei has drawn attention to rumors that Amazon struck a 5 billion XRP deal with Ripple. The expert explained what the deal is really about and what Ripple’s end goal is using the altcoin. 

Expert Clarifies Rumors Of Amazon’s 5 Million XRP Deal With Ripple

In an X post, Crypto Sensei addressed whether rumors that Amazon struck a 5 million XRP deal with Ripple were true. The rumors surfaced as Kendra Hill claimed that Ripple’s endgame is to run the entire derivatives market using the altcoin and that the cross-border transactions are simply a test.  

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However, Crypto Sensei noted that there is no public evidence of Ripple’s 5 million XRP deal with Amazon and that there has been no public announcement from the crypto firm. As such, the expert remarked that this rumored deal remains pure community speculation.  

Meanwhile, he explained that Hill’s core claim was that cross-border payments are just a testing ground and that Ripple ultimately intends to use XRP to process 100% of the transactions on the global derivatives market. Notably, the global derivatives market is said to be a trillion-dollar industry, meaning this move could boost adoption significantly. 

Meanwhile, as to how a rumored Amazon relates to this, Crypto Sensei explained that a screenshot of an old Amazon partnership had resurfaced. Furthermore, Hill had allegedly claimed that another partnership between the two firms has yet to be revealed. Amazon’s AWS had, in 2020, revealed that it was integrating Ripple’s payment system for its rewards program. 

Crypto Sensei also mentioned that Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, has stated that there is no evidence that Amazon owns this amount of XRP. There is also no evidence on the XRP Ledger that the company holds this amount in escrow.

Major Adoption News For The Token

In an X post, Hex Trust announced a partnership with LayerZero to launch wrapped XRP (wXRP) across multiple networks, starting with the Solana network. This is expected to boost the altcoin’s adoption as it gains new holders and new liquidity flows into it. Hex Trust noted that the wXRP is designed for DeFi use across these networks. 

Related Reading: Ripple Secures 4 Groundbreaking Wins That Mark An Exciting Phase For XRP

The firm has launched this Wrapped XRP with over $100 million in Total Value Locked (TVL). Hex Trust also explained that the wrapped token’s utility is that it makes it easy to trade XRP alongside Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as a trading pair on supported chains. As such, the firm believes this move could expand liquidity and utility between XRP and RLUSD. Notably, there are also plans to launch this wrapped token on Ethereum soon. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.03, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The Solana network has seen its validator count crash by more than 68% over the past three years, falling from thousands of active nodes to just around 800. The massive decline in validators has sparked discussions about whether this could become a threat to the blockchain network or a natural pruning of inactive nodes to increase efficiency. 

Solana loses 68% Of Its Validators In 3 Years

A new report from Criptonocias reveals that Solana has experienced a dramatic decline in the number of its validators, active and non-active, since March 2023. This decrease has raised concerns across the crypto community about the network’s overall health and security. 

Over the last three years, the Solana network has steadily lost validators, going from 2,500 to 2,100 in November 2022 and now hovering around 800. This decline means the blockchain has lost a total of 1,700 validators. Although this considerable decrease should trigger warning alerts, it could be a result of ledger pruning, which involves removing inactive or redundant nodes to streamline a network and improve its performance without compromising security. 

Notably, validators are crucial for the operation of a blockchain network, as they run nodes, confirm transactions, and help maintain the integrity of the system. Each validator adds to the diversity of the network and reduces the risk of any single entity gaining excessive control.  

According to the report, some voices in the Solana ecosystem see the reduction of validators in a positive light. They argue that losing “Sybil validators,” which are nodes pretending to be multiple independent operators but are actually controlled by a single party, can be beneficial. Based on this perspective, having a smaller number of reliable and active validators is healthier than maintaining thousands of nodes that do not contribute meaningfully to the blockchain network.

Criptonocias revealed that teams such as Layer 33, which develops infrastructure node tools and provides network services for Solana, point out that many of the validators leaving the blockchain are not Sybils but legitimate node operators. This suggests that the drop in numbers does not automatically equate to improved network quality despite widespread talks about ledge pruning.  

Notably, the potential impact on the Solana network, whether negative or positive, depends on the independence of the remaining validators and the distribution of power among them. An updated report of the validator count reveals that it has dropped again from 800 to 795. 

Solana Faces Liquidity Crunch As Profitability Declines

Amidst its decline in validators, the Solana network is showing signs of strain as liquidity dries up and profitability declines. On-chain data from Glassnode highlights a troubling trend in the network’s trading activity, with the 30-day average realized profit-to-loss ratio remaining below 1 since mid-November. 

This level is typically associated with bear market conditions and points to a growing imbalance between gains and losses among traders. A ratio below 1 also indicates that traders are realizing losses more frequently than profits, underscoring the cryptocurrency’s weakening market sentiment.