The Daily: Ethereum jumps over 20% following Pectra upgrade, Wellgistics unveils $50 million XRP integration and treasury reserve plan, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

It's Friday! Crypto's latest price surge has wiped out at least $1 billion in shorts over the past 24 hours, with momentum building again as bitcoin climbs back toward all-time highs.

In today's newsletter, Ethereum jumps 20% following its Pectra upgrade, Wellgistics unveils a $50 million XRP integration and treasury reserve plan, SEC Commissioner Crenshaw blasts the agency's settlement agreement with Ripple, and more.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats demand answers on President Trump's crypto ties and Binance dealings.

Let's get started.

Ethereum jumps over 20% following Pectra upgrade

Ethereum soared over 20% on Thursday following the network's Pectra upgrade earlier in the week — marking its biggest single-day gain since May 2021.

• "ETH is finally catching up after lagging behind BTC for most of the year," Presto Research Analyst Min Jung said. "The recent Pectra upgrade has helped restore some confidence, and with ETH/BTC down nearly 40% year-to-date at 0.02, it's not surprising to see buyers stepping in at these levels."
• Pectra is Ethereum's biggest upgrade since The Merge in 2022, introducing improvements to staking efficiency, validator operations, and Layer 2 scalability.
• LVRG Research Director Nick Ruck told The Block that the upgrade triggered a bullish reaction, driving gains in altcoins.
• "In addition to positive macroeconomic news, traders believe the crypto industry may have finally found its second wind as a hedge against market uncertainty," Ruck said.
• "Investors are changing their perspectives on crypto now that altcoins have departed from a negative trend and found buying pressure from a renewed risk-on sentiment," he added.
• The broader crypto market rallied alongside Ethereum, supported by renewed U.S.-China trade negotiations, as bitcoin retook the $100,000 level.

Wellgistics to adopt XRP for payments and treasury reserve with $50 million credit facility

Pharmaceutical distribution company  Wellgistics plans to use XRP as a real-time payment rail and treasury management asset , aiming to cut costs and settlement times across the healthcare supply chain.Wellgistics plans to use XRP as a real-time payment rail and treasury management asset, aiming to cut costs and settlement times across the healthcare supply chain.

• The Florida-based firm has secured a $50 million equity credit line to fund its XRP plan and explore programmable liquidity models.
• The company said XRP's sub-penny fees and 3 to 5 second transaction speeds can outperform standard wire transfers that typically take up to three days to complete and cost between $10 and $30.
• "We challenge the idea that healthcare has to be tethered to legacy systems, bloated intermediaries, and slow-moving money," Wellgistics CEO Brian Norton added.

SEC Commissioner Crenshaw blasts agency's settlement with Ripple in public dissent

Democrat SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw publicly dissented from the agency's settlement agreement with Ripple on Thursday, arguing it weakens investor protections.

• The $125 million deal would dissolve the injunction, send $50 million to the SEC, and return $75 million to Ripple — effectively ending the long-running legal battle.
• "This settlement, alongside the programmatic disassembly of the SEC's crypto enforcement program, does a tremendous disservice to the investing public and undermines the court’s role in interpreting our securities laws," Crenshaw wrote.
• The dissent comes amid broader SEC shifts under President Trump's second term, including multiple dropped cases and a rollback of Gensler-era crypto enforcement.

German authorities seize $38 million worth of crypto from eXch

German authorities seized around $38 million worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from eXch a day before its scheduled closure, alleging it operated as a criminal trading platform.

• Prosecutors said eXch enabled anonymous crypto swaps without implementing anti-money laundering protocols or know-your-customer measures, and was promoted on criminal underground forums.
• Authorities estimate eXch facilitated $1.9 billion in transactions since its inception in 2014, including a portion of the $1.4 billion Bybit hack linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group.
• eXch previously claimed its privacy-first mission was misunderstood and criticized traditional KYC/AML practices as ineffective.

Doodles launches native DOOD token on Solana

NFT project Doodles has launched its native token DOOD on Solana alongside DreamNet, a decentralized AI storytelling protocol, and a social survival game called "Lord of the Files."

• The token is already supported by centralized exchanges including Bybit, Binance Alpha, Gate, KuCoin, and MEXC, with an airdrop now live on the Doodles website.
• Initially announced in February, DOOD has a total supply of 10 billion, with 30% set aside for the community. Doodles also intends to launch DOOD on the Ethereum Layer 2 Base.

Looking ahead to next week

• U.S. CPI inflation data are released on Tuesday. UK and Eurozone GDP figures are due Thursday, followed by U.S. jobless claims and PPI numbers.
• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will speak on Tuesday. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks on Thursday.
• 1inch, Solayer, Render, Axie Infinity, Aptos and EigenLayer are among the cryptocurrencies set for token unlocks .

Never miss a beat with The Block's  daily digest  of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.