The cryptoasset was determined not a security in certain contexts
XRP is the winner of the week, having jumped more than 50% after a federal judge declared that the cryptoasset was not a security in certain contexts.
Elsewhere, the resolution of the lawsuit has also catalyzed momentum for other cryptoassets; briefly sending Ethereum over $2,000, and supporting gains in altcoins such as Avalanche and Polygon.
Read more after the jump.
This week’s focus
– XRP up 50% following landmark legal judgment
– Ethereum rises 2% as it tops ESG ranking
– Avalanche up 6% on Uniswap deployment — can it make a DeFi comeback?
– Polygon token proposal fuels 5% surge
XRP up 50% following landmark legal judgment
The price of XRP almost doubled in just a few hours on Friday
Liberated from the uncertainty of a long-running lawsuit, XRP leaped 50% higher last week to put the price above $0.70.
In the ruling, a federal judge suggested that XRP should not be considered a security when sold to the public.
This was hailed as a momentous decision by analysts, providing clarity to investors and builders alike. Significantly, this could potentially affect not only XRP, but also other tokens such as Solana, Polygon, and Cardano that have also previously been implicated as securities by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The ruling significantly shifts the “regulatory cloud over the crypto industry”, according to financial advisory firm Bernstein, and could lead institutions who have previously steered clear of digital assets to reconsider investing.
Ethereum rises 2% as it tops ESG ranking
ETH has inched higher over the week to briefly eclipse $2K
Ethereum ran ahead of Bitcoin last week, notching up 2% gains as the cryptoasset affirmed its environmentally-friendly credentials.
Last Thursday, Ethereum was revealed to have topped the first ever institutional-grade crypto environmental, social and governance (ESG) ranking: CCData’s ESG Benchmark.
This ranking was created in unison with the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI), and evaluated 40 of the largest digital assets according to parameters such as decentralization, security, and climate impact.
Behind Ethereum, Solana and Cardano also topped the rankings. This could potentially make them more attractive to institutional crypto buyers, for whom ESG is said to be a “top priority”, according to the report.
Avalanche up 6% on Uniswap deployment
Climbing higher on a diagonal trendline, AVAX is now nudging $15
Smart contract blockchain Avalanche is on the rise after hitting another milestone for DeFi expansion.
Leading decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap made its debut on the network last week, marking a significant expansion of DeFi protocols on Avalanche. The decentralized exchange follows in the footsteps of other prominent DeFi platforms like Curve and Aave, which have already established a presence on the blockchain.
With several major protocols now operating on Avalanche, the stage is set for what some expect to be a DeFi revival. As protocol Velvet Capital recently tweeted: “Since DeFi TVL for the Avalanche blockchain peaked in December of 2021 at $11.4B, it has dropped 94% to ~$680M. Will AVAX make a DeFi comeback in the next cycle?”
Polygon token proposal fuels 5% surge
After a bullish week, MATIC has reclaimed support at $0.75
Continuing its recent winning streak, Polygon is once again pushing higher as the project weighs a potential upgrade to the MATIC token.
This upgrade would replace MATIC with another token, POL, that has more functionality and enables holders to become validators on the increasing number of chains and networks operating under the Polygon banner.
If the community agrees on the proposal, then migration to POL could start within months. MATIC holders are expected to be given four years or more to upgrade their tokens.
In one post-upgrade growth scenario, Polygon Labs projected that the price of POL could potentially reach $5.
This was summarized by independent crypto analyst DeFiIngas, who tweeted: “Polygon’s 10-year growth scenario expects POL price to average $5 USD… The growth scenario assumes that Web3 will mature in 10-15 years, and that Polygon will launch 15+ public chains, 200+ supernets, and 1M+ dApps. We’re still early.”