Crypto rally: Ethereum breaks $4000 while Ripple, Chainlink lead the charge

ETH price today: The crypto world woke up to green charts on Friday morning as Ethereum broke past $4,000, joining a broader altcoin rally that had already been heating up after big moves from Ripple and Chainlink, as per a report.

Ethereum Hits New High for 2025 in Early Trading

Ethereum hit a high of more than $4,000 early in the day to near its highest level of the year and was up more than 1% on the day before the equity market opened on Friday morning, as per Yahoo Finance.

This morning's altcoin rally came after reports revealed that Ripple would buy a stablecoin payments platform and Chainlink will launch a funded reserve for its own tokens, according to Yahoo Finance.


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Ripple to Acquire Rail in $200 Million Stablecoin Push

Ripple announced it’s acquiring Rail, a global stablecoin payments platform, in a $200 million deal set to close later this year, as per the report. For Ripple, the company behind XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, buying Rail would help the company build out its own stablecoin payments platform, according to the Yahoo Finance report.

The deal is expected to "offer comprehensive stablecoin pay-ins and pay-outs across key corridors, including USD payments, without requiring customers to hold crypto on their balance sheets," reported Yahoo Finance, citing the press release announcing the deal.

Chainlink Launches Reserve to Strengthen LINK Token

Meanwhile, Chainlink, the firm behind LINK, which is currently the 14th-largest cryptocurrency on the market, as per data from CoinMarketCap, said that it is launching its Chainlink Reserve, as per the report.

The firm said that the reserve will build up its store of LINK by converting revenue from institutional fees and on-chain usage fees to the coin, which will then accumulate in the reserve, according to Yahoo Finance.

US Policy Shift Gives Crypto a Boost

The latest announcements of these firms came after US president Donald Trump readied to push through an executive order, which he signed Thursday afternoon, that pushes for the use of alternative investments such as private equity and cryptocurrency in retirement accounts, which have typically been reserved for a more traditional mix of stock and bond funds, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

The order said, "My Administration will relieve the regulatory burdens and litigation risk that impede American workers' retirement accounts from achieving the competitive returns and asset diversification necessary to secure a dignified, comfortable retirement," as quoted in the report.

XRP, LINK, SOL Surge on Market Optimism

After these developments, Ripple's XRP increased over 8%, Chainlink's LINK jumped as much as 11%, Ethereum was up more than 1%, and Solana rose more than 2% before the equity market opened on Friday morning, as reported by Yahoo Finance.

FAQs

Why did Ethereum break past $4,000 today?
Ethereum surged due to a broader altcoin rally and positive sentiment following major announcements from Ripple and Chainlink, as per Yahoo Finance report.

How did XRP and Solana perform this morning?
XRP rose over 8%, and Solana climbed more than 2% before equity markets opened, as per Yahoo Finance report.