Group 1: Cryptocurrency Overview - Bitcoin and Ether are considered high-risk investments with foundational differences that investors should understand [1] - XRP is included as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this series began [1] Group 2: Bitcoin Insights - Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, launched in early 2009, and has become a mainstream financial asset [2] - Bitcoin's closing price fell over 10% from its all-time high last week but has recovered some losses, currently up approximately 20% year-to-date and about 9% below its record close from October 2025 [3] Group 3: Ether Insights - Ether operates on the Ethereum blockchain and was launched in July 2015, holding the second largest market share [4] - Ether's closing price briefly dipped below $4,000 this week, is up around 23% year-to-date, and is approximately 15% below its record close from August 2025 [4] Group 4: XRP Overview - XRP, owned by Ripple, was launched in 2012 and was one of the larger cryptocurrencies until newer coins entered the market [5] Group 5: Comparative Analysis - An index has been created to chart Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP, using a logarithmic scale to illustrate relative percentage changes and long-term growth [6] - As of the time of writing, Bitcoin leads in price changes since November 9, 2017 [6] Group 6: ETF Developments - On January 10, 2024, the SEC approved several spot Bitcoin ETFs from various issuers, including Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund [7] - On July 23, 2024, multiple spot Ether ETFs were launched from issuers such as Grayscale Ethereum Trust and Franklin Ethereum ETF [8]