When prompted, the Elon Musk-backed Grok AI predicts a bold move for Ethereum (ETH) over the remainder of 2026. It claims that if a full-blown crypto market returns in Q4, ETH could hit $12,000 by January 1, 2027.

ETH is currently trading near $2,600–$2,725. This outlook leans bullish relative to many base-case forecasts, which often cluster lower in the $4,000–$6,000 range.

This aligns with more optimistic institutional and analyst views that see multi-thousand-dollar upside if liquidity returns, ETF inflows accelerate, demand for staking and tokenization grows, and Ethereum continues to capture value from stablecoins, DeFi, and real-world assets.

The core premise is a return to strong risk-on conditions in late 2026, fueled by improving macro liquidity, sustained institutional demand, and Ethereum’s role as settlement infrastructure.

Historical patterns suggest ETH could rise from around $2,500 to its previous all-time high of ~$4,800–$5,000, potentially reaching the $10k+ zone by early 2027.

While this is not guaranteed due to crypto’s volatility, a bullish scenario suggests ETH might trade between $9,000–$12,000 by January 1, 2027, with $10,000–$11,000 as a central target.

Claude AI Opus 5 Predicts ETH to Hit $12K: Does the Technical Analysis Agree?

Ethereum (ETH)

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On higher timeframes, ETH has been consolidating after a significant drawdown from 2025 highs, holding above key demand zones in the $2,500–$2,700 region while testing near-term resistance around $2,720.

A sustained break and weekly close above the $2,700–$2,800 area (with volume confirmation) would flip the intermediate structure bullish, opening measured-move and Fibonacci extension targets toward the prior cycle high near $4,800–$5,000.

In a full bull-market environment, that reclaim often acts as a launchpad; subsequent continuation could target the 1.618–2.0 extension zones from the multi-year base, which project into the $8,000–$12,000 range.

Momentum indicators (such as a rising RSI from neutral/oversold territory on the weekly chart and positive divergence on longer timeframes) would reinforce the upside once the downtrend structure breaks.

Key supports to hold on any retests would be the $2,300–$2,500 demand zone and the rising 200-week moving average region; losing either would invalidate the near-term bullish path.

Overall, the chart setup favors a multi-leg advance if risk appetite returns, consistent with historical post-consolidation breakouts in prior Ethereum bull cycles.

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Bitcoin Hyper Targets Early Mover Upside as Ethereum Tests Key Levels

A +4% weekly gain feels good if already positioned. For anyone buying Ethereum fresh over $2,500, the math is less exciting. A move to $12,000 from here is around +400% upside, solid, but not the kind of asymmetric return that built early crypto fortunes.

Now, the same reasoning pushed capital toward earlier-stage infrastructure plays, and Bitcoin’s own scaling limitations (still slow, still expensive for anything beyond simple transfers) are exactly the gap projects like Bitcoin Hyper are built to fill.

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is positioning as the first Bitcoin Layer 2 with native SVM integration, aiming for execution speeds faster than Solana while settling back to Bitcoin’s base layer.

The presale has raised more than $33.1M at a current token price of $0.0136867, with staking APY available for early participants.

Its decentralized canonical bridge handles BTC transfers without custodial intermediaries, and traders can research Bitcoin Hyper directly on the presale page.

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The post Elon Musk Grok AI Predicts a Bold Move for Ethereum in 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.

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Dan Morehead, founder and CEO of Pantera Capital, told CNBC News that Ripple is going after the cross-border payments turf long dominated by SWIFT, reviving a comparison that has trailed XRP for years without ever being tested at institutional scale. The remark says more about how a prominent crypto investor frames competitive positioning in payments than about how much of Ripple’s actual settlement volume runs through the XRP token itself.

Morehead made the comment during a Squawk Box segment that also touched on Solana’s transaction throughput and Bitcoin’s role as digital gold. He described Ripple’s SWIFT ambition as one of several major blockchain use cases shaping the industry, not as an imminent takeover of the network banks rely on for cross-border messaging.

SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, functions as the dominant messaging system connecting financial institutions across borders, it coordinates payment instructions between banks. Ripple has spent years building infrastructure aimed at offering faster, cheaper settlement as an alternative to the correspondent-banking chain.

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Per Ripple’s own cross-border payments page, its platform supports RLUSD, USDC, USDT, or fiat, “whichever asset your business requires,” and the company states its settlement layer is decoupled from any single issuer’s token. That is a direct architectural admission that XRP is one option among several in the payment flow.

Ripple’s site also reports payout access across more than 60 markets and cumulative processed volume above $100 billion. Those are company-reported figures, and they say nothing about what share of that volume actually settled in XRP versus stablecoins or fiat rails. The gap between enterprise-scale numbers and token-specific usage is exactly where the SWIFT comparison breaks down.

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News on Enterprise Progress vs. XRP Demand

This gap has shadowed Ripple since the SEC filed its lawsuit against the company in December 2020, alleging XRP constituted an unregistered security. Ripple secured a partial win in 2023 when a federal judge ruled that XRP was not a security when sold to retail investors on public exchanges, though the broader regulatory picture around institutional sales remained unresolved.

Throughout that fight, Ripple kept expanding its payments network and partner list. This is a track record investors have repeatedly treated as a signal for XRP’s price, even when the two move independently.

Xrp (XRP)

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That habit of reading corporate wins as token catalysts shows up elsewhere in Ripple’s current push. Reports on Ripple’s AI-payments integration with Stripe generated similar optimism without settling how much of that flow touches XRP specifically, and the question of whether payment-network growth translates into token demand isn’t unique to Ripple.

Ripple’s own materials, including its explainer on how it utilizes XRP in cross-border payments, describe a hybrid model where digital assets act as bridge currencies alongside stablecoins and fiat conversion, useful for reducing pre-funding requirements, but not proof that XRP carries the majority of the flow.

Morehead’s recognition of Ripple’s SWIFT ambition is real institutional validation of the company’s strategy. It is not a substitute for Ripple disclosing what fraction of its payment volume actually settles in the token, and until that number surfaces, the SWIFT comparison remains a narrative rather than a measured outcome.

Discover: The Best Token Presales

The post XRP News: Ripple Takes Aim at SWIFT, Pantera CEO Says appeared first on Cryptonews.

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Ethereum remains in a constructive broader structure despite cooling off after its latest rally. ETH is consolidating below $2.7K after rejection from the $2.75K-$2.82K resistance zone, while the daily moving averages are approaching a potentially important bullish crossover.

ETH Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily timeframe, Ethereum’s structure remains bullish following the explosive breakout from the $1.85K-$1.92K demand zone in August. Since then, the market has established a sequence of higher lows, with the ascending trendline continuing to provide structural support.

The latest rally pushed ETH directly into the major $2.75K-$2.82K resistance zone, where selling pressure emerged and prevented an immediate breakout. The asset has since stabilized around $2.69K rather than undergoing a correction, suggesting buyers are still maintaining control of the broader structure.

Another notable development is the convergence of the two displayed moving averages. The faster yellow average is rising sharply toward the slower orange average around the $2.05K-$2.10K region. If the faster average crosses above the slower one, it would form a golden cross and provide further technical confirmation that the medium-term trend has shifted in favor of buyers. However, the crossover has not occurred yet and therefore remains a potential signal rather than a confirmed one.

A daily breakout above the $2.75K-$2.82K resistance zone could open the door toward the next major supply area around $2.90K-$3K. Meanwhile, the $2.36K-$2.52K zone, reinforced by the rising trendline, represents the key support area if a deeper pullback develops.

ETH/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart shows ETH compressing immediately beneath the $2.75K-$2.82K resistance area. Following the rejection from roughly $2.8K, the price briefly dipped toward $2.63K before recovering and entering a tight consolidation around $2.68K-$2.70K.

At the same time, the rising trendline connecting the recent higher lows is gradually approaching price. This creates a tightening structure between ascending support and the overhead resistance zone. As long as ETH remains above this trendline, short-term momentum appears constructive, and another challenge of $2.75K-$2.82K remains plausible.

A confirmed breakout above $2.82K would strengthen the continuation scenario toward the $2.90K-$3K resistance zone. Conversely, losing the ascending trendline could trigger a deeper correction, initially putting the $2.43K-$2.49K demand zone back into focus. Below there, the larger $2.21K-$2.28K support area would become relevant.

Sentiment Analysis

The one-week Binance ETH/USDT liquidation heatmap shows significant concentrations of leveraged positions on both sides of the current price, although the most prominent nearby liquidity is above the market.

A particularly dense liquidation cluster has developed around $2.78K-$2.82K, closely overlapping with the technical resistance visible on both price charts. This makes the area especially important. If ETH manages to break above resistance, the liquidation concentration could act as a magnet and potentially amplify the move as short positions are forced out.

On the downside, another substantial liquidity pool is visible around $2.60K-$2.62K. Therefore, failure to break higher and a loss of short-term support could draw the price toward this region first.

Overall, Ethereum is effectively caught between downside liquidity near $2.6K and a larger overhead cluster around $2.8K. Combined with the tightening 4-hour structure and the potential daily golden cross, a decisive break from the current consolidation could lead to a notable expansion in volatility.

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Eyes $3K, but These Major Hurdles Stand in the Way appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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Investors looking to boost their exposure to artificial intelligence should target China, according to Matthews Asia portfolio manager Andrew Mattock.

He said investors will need a more deliberate approach because broad emerging market strategies won’t be that effective.

“Investors need to be aware when they buy an emerging market fund or when they buy a plain vanilla MSCI product… they’re not getting a lot of it,” Mattock told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “The big piece that you are missing… is the Chinese piece.”

He noted that companies from South Korea and Taiwan comprise almost half of the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) while the iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) lacks a focus on AI stocks.

Mattock is behind the Matthews China Fund (MCHFX). The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in the common and preferred stocks of companies located in China, according to the firm’s website.

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The fund is off 4% so far this year, as of Friday’s close. Its largest holdings include Tencent and Alibaba.

Flashback to Tepper’s buy ‘everything’ in China call

It appears investing in China is seeing a meaningful shift.

Billionaire hedge fund manager David Tepper, founder of Appaloosa Management, found the world’s second economy attractive again – telling CNBC in September 2024 that he bought more of “everything” related to China.

However, KraneShares’ Brendan Ahern recommended that investors consider strategies that could protect them from wild market swings in China.

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“I like the idea of utilizing options around some of those ETFs… like with KWEB [KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF],” the firm’s chief investment officer said in the same interview.

“Why do some of these hedge funds gravitate to these ETFs? Because they’re able to write a call and principally protect themselves,” he added. “Give themselves some downside.”

According to FactSet, the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF has the same top two holdings as the Matthews China Fund: Tencent and Alibaba. But as of Friday’s close, the fund is down more than 27% so far this year.

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The US and China now have a hotline for artificial intelligence (AI). The White House announced it on Friday, after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington.

Whether the line slows the AI race is another question. Washington says its own AI push will not ease off.

A Cold War-Style Phone Line for AI

According to the White House document, a new US-China Super Intelligence Dialogue will study the risks and benefits of AI. The first talks are due by November. A separate channel will handle AI incidents.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, explained the channel with a Cold War comparison.

“I think of like the red phone between the Kremlin and the White House during the Cold War,” CBS reported.

Xi said AI should develop “always under human control,” according to CBS.

However, hours before the talks, Trump posted a different message on Truth Social.

“Super Intelligence (SI) will be a big topic of discussion, but I want to leave it exactly where it is. That is China’s position also. Our guardrail is the DOJ!”

Still, talking does not mean slowing down. BeInCrypto reported on September 16 that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had opened AI risk talks with China. At the same time, he insisted the US would not slow its own AI work.

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China Is Closing In on a Fraction of the Money

The spending gap is huge. Stanford’s 2026 AI Index found that private investors put $285.9 billion into American AI in 2025. China’s private total was $12.4 billion. The report notes that government funding would likely push China’s real figure higher.

The performance gap is tiny. As of March, the best US model led its top Chinese rival by just 2.7%, according to Stanford.

Britain Tells Its Own Staff to Use Less AI

The hotline comes as Britain takes the opposite approach at home. Draft guidance on the UK government’s AI Knowledge Hub tells official teams to use AI only when needed. The aim is to cut its environmental impact.

Staff should first ask whether a spreadsheet or search engine can do the job. If they do need AI, they should pick the smallest model that works, such as Gemini Flash over Gemini Pro.

Prompts should be short and few. The guidance even says “you don’t need to say thankyou.” Staff must also check AI answers for accuracy and disclose when AI helped create or edit content.

Trump and Xi meet again in November at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen. The first AI talks are due by then.

The post US and China Open Cold War-Style AI Hotline appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Bitcoin price traded near $84,000 on Sep. 26 after retreating about 4% from its weekly high of $87,363. Sell orders clustered above the price, while the daily chart showed BTC holding well above its 20-day midpoint.

Summary

• Bitcoin price traded at $84,008 on Binance at 07:07 UTC, about 3.8% below its weekly high.
• Analysts identified $85,000–$85,800 as the first area of heavy sell orders.
• The 4-hour Supertrend stood at $86,435, above the current price.
• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $2.39 billion in net inflows from Sep. 21 to Sep. 25

Bitcoin faces sell orders from $85,000 to $85,800

Bitcoin (BTC) price rose to $87,363 earlier in the week before falling back toward $84,000. On Sep. 26, its Binance daily candle showed a high of $84,145 and a low of $83,798 as of 07:07 UTC. The roughly $347 intraday range was much smaller than the move from the weekly peak.

Market commentator Wealthmanager identified a band of sell orders extending from $85,000 to $91,000. The analyst placed the first hurdle at $85,000–$85,800, followed by $88,000, and described $90,000 as the largest wall above the market.

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$BTC is sitting under a wall of sellers from $85K to $91K.

First hurdle is $85K–85.8K, then $88K.

$90K has the biggest wall sitting above.

Clear these levels and the path opens up. Lose $85K and I’d expect a pullback toward $81K–82K. pic.twitter.com/pgJpKYhQok

— Wealthmanager (@Wealthmanager) September 25, 2026

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Mister Crypto also identified $85,000 as the level limiting Bitcoin’s recent rebounds. The analyst said a continued stretch below it could precede another decline, while Wealthmanager pointed to $81,000–$82,000 as a possible pullback area if BTC fails to regain $85,000.

Bitcoin would need to climb about $1,000 from the charted price to retest the lower edge of that first sell zone. A move through $85,800 would bring the 4-hour Supertrend level and the weekly high back into focus. The analysts’ order-book readings may change as traders add, fill, or cancel orders.

The drop from $87,363 also followed a sharp gain earlier in the week. CoinGecko showed Bitcoin still higher over seven days on Sep. 26, despite its retreat from the peak. The weekly gain and the decline from the high measure different parts of the same move.

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U.S. Bitcoin ETF inflows slow but stay positive

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs drew their largest inflow of the week as BTC approached its high. Farside Investors recorded $999 million in net inflows on Sep. 21, including $381.4 million for BlackRock’s IBIT, $289.1 million for ARK 21Shares’ ARKB and $238.8 million for Fidelity’s FBTC.

Net inflows reached another $714.7 million on Sep. 22. IBIT received $350.3 million, and FBTC drew $257.4 million that day. Across the two sessions, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in about $1.71 billion.

Daily inflows then eased to $346.9 million on Sep. 23, $190.7 million on Sep. 24 and $134.5 million on Sep. 25. The five trading days added up to approximately $2.39 billion in net inflows. Friday’s figure was $864.5 million below Monday’s, but it remained positive as Bitcoin traded below its weekly high.

The Friday total included $97 million for IBIT and $49.3 million for FBTC, partly offset by an $11.8 million outflow from Bitwise’s BITB. U.S. funds will not post a Saturday trading-day flow figure to match Bitcoin’s weekend price action.

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U.S. interest rates remain part of the market backdrop. The Federal Reserve raised its target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4% on Sep. 16. The rate decision came before this week’s price high and pullback; the ETF figures show that fund inflows continued during the retreat.

Bitcoin’s 4-hour Supertrend turns $86,435 into resistance

On the Binance 4-hour chart, Bitcoin traded at $84,007.73 while the Supertrend stood at $86,434.95. BTC had moved below the indicator after its run toward $87,000. The gap left the Supertrend about $2,427 above the charted price.

The same chart showed a green support line at $83,592.86, about $415 below BTC. Price had held near $84,000 after falling from the weekly peak, placing that support line close to the lower edge of its latest range.

Bitcoin’s 4-hour Awesome Oscillator read −579.84. The histogram had crossed below zero as its earlier positive bars faded. Together with the Supertrend position, the reading showed weaker momentum on the shorter timeframe than on the daily chart.

CoinGlass’s three-day liquidation heatmap showed a bright band around $85,000–$85,500, near the sell zone identified by the analysts. Another area of elevated estimated liquidation exposure appeared around $86,500–$87,000. Below the market, a prominent band sat near $82,500, with additional exposure around $83,000–$83,500.

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The heatmap places the nearest large concentrations on both sides of Bitcoin’s $84,000 trading area. The bands reflect estimated liquidation levels for leveraged positions. They can shift as positions open and close, so their presence alone does not determine which level price will reach first.

Daily RSI holds above 60 after the pullback

Bitcoin’s daily chart retained stronger readings than its 4-hour chart. The daily relative strength index stood at 63.94, above its moving average of 61.27. RSI remained above the neutral 50 level and below the commonly watched 70 level.

The middle line of the daily 20-period Bollinger Bands stood at $80,165.10. BTC traded roughly $3,843 above it at the charted price. The upper band was $87,230.36, close to the weekly high of $87,363, while the lower band stood at $73,099.85.

Bitcoin briefly traded beyond the upper band near its weekly peak before moving back inside it. Its current position between the upper band and the midpoint leaves $87,230 as a nearby daily chart level above price and $80,165 as a lower one.

The immediate upside sequence starts with the $85,000–$85,800 sell zone. Above it sit the 4-hour Supertrend at $86,435, the upper daily Bollinger Band at $87,230, and the weekly high at $87,363. Wealthmanager’s higher sell-order areas near $88,000 and $90,000 would come into view if BTC clears those levels.

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On the downside, the 4-hour support line at $83,593 is closest to the market. The CoinGlass heatmap shows further estimated liquidation exposure around $83,000 and $82,500, followed by the $81,000–$82,000 pullback area identified by Wealthmanager. The daily Bollinger midpoint near $80,165 lies below those shorter-term levels.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

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