Following Ripple’s positive court ruling against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and details emerging about Polygon’s upcoming 2.0 network upgrade, alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) saw rallies this past week. The focus shifted away from the leading cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum during this time.
Bitcoin did still see modest gains of around 3% for the week. As of now, Bitcoin is trading at around $30,287 according to CoinGecko data. However, the biggest upside momentum came from altcoins based on project-specific developments rather than broader crypto market trends.
While Bitcoin climbed slightly in value, the major headlines and investor attention were captured by altcoins like Ripple’s XRP token in the wake of the SEC lawsuit victory.
On Monday, Standard Chartered bank predicted Bitcoin could reach $120,000 before 2025. However, this forecast did not significantly boost Bitcoin’s price this past week, despite being the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Ethereum saw more substantial gains compared to Bitcoin, rising 6.6% to over $2,000 as of Thursday – its highest price since May. But Ethereum’s rally was still dwarfed by the major uptrends across altcoins.
The latest US CPI inflation report on Wednesday showed prices cooling as expected, but this macro data did not spur increased investment into Bitcoin or Ethereum. Rather, positive project-specific news fueled altcoin momentum, while Bitcoin and Ethereum saw only marginal gains amidst the overall altcoin frenzy this past week.
On Tuesday, Polygon (MATIC) began surging as the network saw increased growth and activity.
Then on Thursday, Polygon published plans for a major 2.0 upgrade, proposing a new native token called POL to replace MATIC. This sparked further price gains for Polygon holders.
The positive news kept coming for altcoins when a judge issued a favorable ruling for Ripple in its lawsuit with the SEC. Judge Analisa Torres stated XRP is not inherently a security, and Ripple’s public token sales did not violate securities laws. However, some institutional sales totaling $728 million did qualify as unregistered securities.
The judge’s nuanced view was seen as a victory for Ripple and the wider crypto industry. Following the ruling, Ripple’s XRP token saw tremendous upside price action to cap off a week filled with positive altcoin developments separate from Bitcoin and Ethereum’s flatter performance.
Ripple’s favorable court ruling sparked a rally across several major altcoins beyond just XRP. Polygon, Solana, and Cardano all saw double-digit price jumps on Thursday following the news. Crypto’s total market capitalization surged 6% within hours, reaching $1.3 trillion on Friday.
By the start of the weekend, XRP, Solana, Polygon, and Cardano were all up by over 20% in the past 7 days. XRP led the charge with a staggering 66% price increase, trading around $0.72.
Solana rose 33% to $27.44, Polygon was up 24% at $0.80, and Cardano climbed 22% to $0.33. The altcoin surge was driven by project-specific events rather than broader crypto market trends. Ripple’s legal win boosted optimism for the regulatory outlook, while Polygon’s upcoming upgrade stoked investor interest.
Other notable altcoin gains this past week included Stellar’s XLM token, up 47% at $0.13, Chainlink climbing 14% to $6.96, and Lido DAO rallying 26% to $2.37. Among the top thirty cryptocurrencies by market cap, there were no major losses.
In response to Ripple’s court ruling, major exchanges like oinbase">Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com announced they will relist XRP trading.
Regulators worldwide continue addressing the growing crypto industry. On Monday, two EU institutions released new crypto guidelines ahead of the bloc’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework starting in mid-2024. Also on Tuesday, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced rules forcing crypto firms to provide detailed disclosures in financial statements beginning in January 2024.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum tread water, it was a week of strong upside momentum for altcoins based on positive project developments and regulatory clarity. The broader crypto industry saw benefits from Ripple’s progress fighting the SEC in addition to Polygon’s network upgrade plans.
