The price of Ripple’s XRP digital token rose 68% in the last 24 hours as investors pile into cryptocurrencies and push the prices of altcoins to new heights.
Solana’s SOL token and Cardano’s ADA coin increased 26% and 21% respectively in the past day, while Algorand’s ALGO token gained 12% and Polygon’s MATIC rose 9%.
Altcoins are generally defined as any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin (BTC), which is the biggest digital token by market capitalization.
The price of Bitcoin is up 88% so far in 2023 and trading above $31,000 U.S.
Altcoins have been rising sharply due to increased risk appetite on the part of investors. Some analysts have said that “crypto fever” has once again gripped retail investors.
However, digital assets have also risen sharply following a favourable court ruling related to cryptocurrencies.
The aforementioned altcoins were singled out in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit that seeks to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this week, a U.S. District Court Judge raised concerns about the SEC lawsuit and the way in which the Wall Street regulator is seeking to classify cryptocurrencies as securities.
For three years, the SEC and Ripple Labs, the developer of the Ripple blockchain and XRP token, have been locked in a legal battle over whether the XRP token, the world’s fourth biggest cryptocurrency, is a tradeable security similar to a stock.
Many investors view the SEC lawsuit against Ripple as a bellwether case for the entire crypto industry.
The latest court ruling stated that XRP in itself is “not necessarily a security on its face.” That comment thrilled crypto investors who see it as a victory for XRP and other digital assets.
The SEC could now have difficulty defining which of the nearly 20,000 cryptocurrencies in existence falls under its regulatory jurisdiction.
Analysts now say they are seeing signs of the cryptocurrency boom of 2021 returning as sentiment towards digital coins and tokens improves dramatically.
