U.Today is here with your daily crypto digest, bringing you the top three news stories from the past 24 hours.

XRP holders, mark your calendars! A new key date just popped up

Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit dropped a hint in a recent X post, revealing a surge of trader interest in XRP options expiring on March 28. Specifically, there’s a lot of buzz around in-the-money (ITM) calls, signaling a bullish mood among traders following the SEC’s failed appeal against Ripple. Looking at the chart in Deribit’s post, you can see a significant jump in ITM for March 28. This suggests many are betting on XRP climbing above certain price targets by that date, aiming to lock in profits. Interestingly, XRP saw a rally to $2.59 on Wednesday, March 19, but CoinMarketCap data shows it currently trading around $2.37, down nearly 5% in the last day.

Coinbase expands its horizons: Cardano (ADA) and Coinbase Ethereum now accepted as futures collateral

Just yesterday, Coinbase International Exchange announced via an X update that you can now use Cardano (ADA) and Coinbase Wrapped Staked ETH (cbETH) as collateral for perpetual futures on both Coinbase International Exchange and Coinbase Advanced. This move highlights Coinbase’s ongoing efforts to support a wider range of cryptocurrencies. This is a noteworthy development for ADA, especially considering its past run-ins with regulatory scrutiny from the SEC, who previously labeled it as an unregistered security. However, with potential shifts in the SEC’s crypto approach, particularly following Gary Gensler’s hypothetical departure, the outlook for ADA seems to be brightening, potentially paving the way for broader market adoption. Beyond futures trading, Coinbase is also actively working to integrate more assets on-chain, aligning with the growing industry trend of tokenization and deeper blockchain integration within financial services.

Ethereum whale awakens and scoops up billions of Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Fresh data from Arkham Intelligence reveals a significant move: a large Ethereum whale has recently purchased a whopping 64.8 billion SHIB tokens, worth roughly $834,620. This marks the first time this particular investor, identified by the wallet address “0xE996,” has dipped into Shiba Inu. Interestingly, they already hold a substantial portfolio of around 1,680 ETH and other Ethereum-based cryptos like LINK, AVAX, AAVE, PAXG, and BNB, totaling over $5.14 million in assets. Adding to the intrigue, all transactions involving these assets occurred within a tight eight-hour window on March 20, following two months of wallet inactivity. Another head-scratcher: the funds for these transactions all came from the same three unidentified addresses, hinting at a possible single entity behind them, perhaps a savvy individual investor or a market maker making a big play.