Apple has delisted 14 crypto apps in South Korea at the request of one of the country’s regulators.

South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an anti-money laundering agency, issued the requests.

The regulator claims the banned apps involved foreign virtual asset operators conducting “unreported business activities.”

Apple’s list of blocked apps includes the crypto exchange giants KuCoin and MEXC. Last month, Google Play delisted both of those exchanges and 15 other crypto operators at the FIU’s request.

The regulatory crackdown materializes as crypto adoption swells across South Korea. The Seoul-based news agency Yonhap, citing data released by the South Korean government, reported that as of late February of this year, 16.29 million people have opened accounts on Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, the country’s top five domestic crypto exchanges. The country currently has an overall population of nearly 52 million.

Banks in South Korea have also reportedly been rushing to partner with crypto firms as the country’s digital asset regulations become less restrictive.

In February, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced that the country would launch a pilot program in the second half of 2025 that allows 3,500 corporate entities to buy crypto for investment and financial purposes. Corporate crypto transactions have been banned in the country since 2017.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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As the XRP price climbs back above the crucial $2 mark, reflecting a 20% surge over the past week, market analysts are increasingly optimistic about the token’s recovery and potential for setting new all-time highs (ATHs). 

Expert analyst Maelius recently shared insights on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), suggesting that the current market dynamics support a bullish outlook for the XRP price.

XRP Price Could Target $10 In Conservative Case

Despite the recent price surge, some market participants remain skeptical about XRP’s trajectory. Maelius addressed these concerns, stating, “In a conservative case, I think XRP looks very bullish on higher time frames (HTFs).” 

Historically, XRP has shown a pattern of respecting the 50-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA) during bull markets. Recently, the asset touched this EMA and rebounded, reinforcing the belief that it is on a positive trajectory.

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In his social media update, Maelius outlined two scenarios for XRP’s future price movements: a conservative case and a more optimistic base case. In the conservative scenario, Maelius posits that XRP has completed its Wave 3 (W3) of a larger Elliott Wave cycle and is currently finalizing Wave 4. This suggests that XRP could expand into a final Wave 5, targeting $10. 

The expert assigns a 35% probability to this conservative case, highlighting that price and Relative Strength Index (RSI) behaviors indicate a potential base formation around current levels before reaching new highs later in the year.

Maelius’s more optimistic scenario suggests that the top of Wave 3 may not have been reached yet. He points out that the accumulation phase for the XRP price has been longer than in previous cycles, indicating that the market may just be taking more time to develop. 

In this case, the final W5 could extend into the first or second quarter of the next year, with targets ranging from $15 to $20 or higher.

Can Dominance Translate To Price Gains?

In addition to the XRP pprice analysis, Maelius examined the token’s market dominance, which indicates the token’s share within the broader cryptocurrency market. 

The expert noted that while the token’s dominance has been preparing for a final upward move, this does not necessarily correlate with the XRP price reaching new highs. 

The dominance metric, seen in the image below shared by Maelious, suggests that while XRP might underperform relative to other altcoins, it still has the potential for significant price appreciation.

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The 1-week RSI for the token’s dominance is currently in an uptrend and resting on horizontal support. If this support level fails, a diagonal support line could provide the next level of defense. 

Historically, XRP’s dominance has experienced two major impulses during previous cycles, each reaching notable resistance areas. However, Maelius cautions that the growing size of the market makes it increasingly challenging for any single asset to achieve the same peaks as in prior cycles.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina says a bill seeking to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for the digital asset space will become law later this year.

In a new interview with Fox News, Scott, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, says a bill that will help crypto firms thrive and innovate is set to be passed later this year, countering the last regime’s stance on digital assets.

“There’s no doubt that under the Biden Administration and [Chairman Gary] Gensler at the SEC – they just didn’t like crypto. What I’ve said very often is simply this: we must innovate before we regulate. That means allowing innovation to happen here at home in the digital assets space is critical to American economic dominance across the globe.

The good news is President Trump is leading the way to a crypto revolution starting here at the Banking Committee. And that’s why we’ve moved very quickly the GENIUS Act… It’s passed through my Committee in a bipartisan fashion. Next [is] market structure…I believe [it will be] passed into law by August.”

The Genius Act, which establishes regulations for stablecoins, is headed to the Senate floor for a vote after the Senate Banking Committee approved the bill with a bipartisan vote of 18-6.

While Scott says a bill to establish a crypto market structure is next, he didn’t mention any specific piece of legislation.

However, one bill that fits the mold is the Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act, which would give the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulatory power over digital assets while handing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the authority to oversee digital asset securities.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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