Cryptocurrency prices jumped Thursday after Ripple Labs won a key ruling in its lawsuit against the SEC. The judge said XRP was a security when sold to institutions but not to the general public. This sparked a rally, with Bitcoin hitting a 1-year high and Ethereum nearing $2,000. Crypto exchange oinbase">Coinbase also surged over 25% after initially sliding.
In other news, Standard Chartered raised its Bitcoin price forecast to $50,000 this year and $120,000 by end of 2024. They expect increased miner profits will reduce net Bitcoin supply, pushing prices higher. Previously they saw $100,000 by 2024, but now see additional upside. Overall, positive legal news and bullish price predictions are boosting crypto market sentiment.
Following the positive Ripple news, Bitcoin shot up to $31,809 on Thursday – its highest since last May. BTC has held above $30,000 the past two weeks after briefly dipping below $25,000 on June 15 for the first time since March. Overall, Bitcoin has surged over 90% year-to-date.
Ethereum also jumped to around $1,990 Thursday, briefly reclaiming the $2,000 level intraday. ETH had traded around $1,900 since June 22 after falling under $1,700 on June 15 for the first time since March. Ethereum hit its 2022 peak of $2,139 in April after its major network upgrade. The second largest cryptocurrency by market cap has gained over 66% year-to-date.
Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile, so investors should focus on two key goals: protecting their capital by learning when to sell, cut losses, or take profits, and being ready to profit if prices rebound.
Though originally touted as inflation hedges, cryptocurrencies have actually tended to trend with broader market indexes rather than act as a hedge. So traditional investment principles of managing risk and identifying buy low/sell high opportunities remain essential in crypto.
