Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, new data has revealed that Bitcoin-based decentralized finance applications had a breakout year in 2024, a Bloomberg report suggests US President-elect Donald Trump is planning an executive order that would designate crypto as a policy priority, and XRP is in price discovery for the first time since 2017, with a three-month consecutive green candle.Bitcoin DeFi TVL up 2,000% amid bumper 2024 for BTC price, adoptionBitcoin-based decentralized finance applications saw a breakout year in 2024 after the April halving, with the industry’s value experiencing a 22-fold increase driven by infrastructure development and soaring Bitcoin prices.Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi), also known as BTCFi, is a new technological paradigm that aims to bring DeFi capabilities to the world’s first blockchain network.The total value locked (TVL) in the Bitcoin network saw more than a 2,000% increase during 2024, from $307 million in January to top $6.5 billion on Dec. 31, 2024, DefiLlama data shows.The 2,000% increase marked a “breakout year for the sector,” according to Binance Research.The increase is mainly attributed to growing developments around Bitcoin staking and restaking platform Babylon, which controls over 80% of TVL in BTCFi, Binance Research told Cointelegraph:“The first phase of their mainnet was launched in August 2024, and their stage 2 testnet in Jan 2025. Given this is a major BTC DeFi dApp and in the process of launching, many users have likely been deploying capital here to use it and potentially qualify for an airdrop.”Babylon was seen as a significant opportunity for Bitcoin-based DeFi, thanks to introducing Bitcoin-native staking for the first time in crypto history.Trump plans executive order making crypto a national priority: ReportUS President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly expected to sign an executive order designating crypto as a national priority that could come as soon as he re-enters office on Jan. 20.Bloomberg reported on Jan. 17, citing people familiar with the plans, that the order would mean regulatory agencies would be guided to work with the industry. It could also create a crypto council to advocate the industry’s policy wishes. The order could be signed on Jan. 20 — Trump’s first day back as president — but it’s not final and could change before it’s made public, the report said.Trump is widely speculated to be lining up a day-one crypto-related executive order as the local industry heavily backed his campaign, and the incoming president promised that the US would be a “crypto capital.”XRP key price metric up by 300% in 2025 as the altcoin hits new all-time highsXRP (XRP) price has entered a price discovery period for the first time since 2017. The altcoin has exhibited a three-month consecutive green candle for only the second time in its history, with the current streak far more significant than the period between March and May 2017.While the altcoin has attained a new all-time high on certain exchanges, a break above $3.40 will confirm a clear all-time high.XRP’s open interest (OI) has reached a new all-time high of $7.9 billion, with the OI increasing by 27.34% over the past 24 hours. The futures volume has doubled at the same time, currently at $42.87 billion, according to CoinGlass data.Since Jan. 1, XRP’s open interest has increased by 300%, jumping from $1.92 billion at the beginning of 2025. The common assumption here would be that the futures market has played a vital role in XRP’s parabolic rise. However, that has not been the case.