This week has been quite exciting for cryptocurrency investors. After a sideways market in June, July has been action-packed. Significant developments determine the direction of the markets as sideways movement frustrates investors. The transition period between the bear season and the bull season in 2023 is being successfully executed. So, what are the recent developments?
Ripple (XRP)
Ripple’s victory against the SEC in court has contributed to massive gains for altcoins. This was highlighted even after the cases in June. Ripple’s victory against the SEC has been a lifeline for altcoins labeled as “securities.” This decision, which demonstrates that the SEC is not as powerful as believed, has greatly encouraged investors who were hesitant to invest in altcoins. However, it should be noted that there is no constant upward or downward movement in the markets. Especially when we talk about cryptocurrency markets, we will not see the days when everyone will confidently enter the market and flock to altcoins with profit expectations. There will always be a fear lurking in the minds of investors, feeding their doubts.
According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin (BTC) has gained a modest 3% and is currently trading at $30,287.
Solana, Cardano, and Polygon
The latest CPI report released on Wednesday did not attract enough investors to direct them towards the two most popular cryptocurrencies, despite showing a decrease in US inflation as expected. The first major altcoin news came on Tuesday with the rise of Polygon following the increase in its network growth. On Thursday, Polygon published a technical proposal for Polygon 2.0 and suggested the release of a new native token for the network. This meant an upgrade for the MATIC Token.
Clearly, it was already a good week for the Polygon community, but things got even better on Thursday when a judge presiding over the Ripple/SEC case ruled in favor of Ripple.
Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is not a “security in appearance” and that the public sale of XRP did not violate securities laws. However, she classified the sale of $728 million worth of institutional XRP as a securities offering because it was sold to buyers expecting to profit from a joint venture. This news not only boosted XRP, but also caused Polygon, Solana (SOL), and Cardano to surge with double-digit percentages on Thursday. The total market value of crypto increased by 6% in the following hours, reaching $1.3 trillion on Friday.
As the weekend begins, all four altcoins have seen double-digit increases in the past seven days. XRP leads the way with a dazzling 66% increase and is currently trading at $0.72194.
Solana is trading at $27.44 with a 33% increase, Polygon has risen to $0.8061 with a 24% increase, and Cardano is trading at $0.3299 with a 22% increase.
The biggest fear for cryptocurrency investors these days will be the Fed’s decision to continue raising interest rates at the end of the month. It is currently unlikely that falling inflation due to base effects will reach the 2% target. However, the Fed believes that the markets can withstand further interest rate hikes. So, why not tighten further? The meeting at the end of the month will largely shape the roadmap for interest rates until the end of this year. A surprise interest rate ceiling could bring cryptocurrency investors face to face with the expected real rally. In this scenario, Solana, Cardano, and Polygon will aim for their true local peaks.
Closing above $27 for SOL Coin could indicate peaks at $35 and above. The critical target for Cardano (ADA) is $1, and the current price looks cheap for an optimistic scenario. If MATIC Coin can benefit from its upcoming launch and receive support from the Fed (in the most optimistic scenario), it could target a new peak above $1.75 by the end of the month.
