decrypt.co
Following a U.S. federal judge’s ruling that XRP—the token powering the Ripple network—is not a security in certain contexts, a sea of green has emerged across popular altcoins, with top coins up double-digit percentages over the past 24 hours.
XRP itself is up a colossal 62% as of writing upon the news–which has seen an uproar from the self-proclaimed “XRP army” all throughout Twitter—trading above $0.76, according to data from CoinGecko.
Select other altcoins, some of which were previously deemed securities by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have also benefited from the rising tide. Solana (SOL) has roared upwards with a 17% gain on the day, marking a sizable 32% increase on the week, changing hands at around $26, according to CoinGecko.
Ethereum scaling network Polygon (MATIC), which made news last week for a restructuring in its executive team, has also had a favorable day, notching an 16% gain, trading at $0.84 on the day—showcasing a bullish 27% candle on the week.
Meanwhile, Cardano (ADA) is changing hands above $0.32 on the day, which translates into a nearly 13% daily gain—along with Stellar Lumens (XLM), which has clocked a massive 35% gain on the day, currently trading above $0.13.
Upon readings from CoinGecko, several other cryptocurrencies that were also called securities by the SEC—arbitrarily so, in the view of former SEC Cyber Chief Robert Cohen—have also had exceptional months. However, their respective gains are not as vast as the above tokens over the past 24 hours.
Although Filecoin (FIL) has seen a comparatively mild 6% gain today, the month has been very positive, with a 25% increase in its current market value, which sits at $4.55. Cosmos Hub (ATOM) follows suit, showcasing a green 6% candle on the day, and a nearly 12% gain over the past 30 days. According to CoinGecko, it’s trading above $9.60.
Analysts hailed the judge’s decision as a positive one for the broader crypto space, providing clarity to investors and builders alike. That said, while the ruling suggested that XRP should not be considered a security in certain contexts, the matter is not yet fully resolved.
“The judgments today are a huge step forward for the industry,” Chris Martin, head of research at Amberdata, told Decrypt. “First, by judging that XRP is not a security, we're starting to get clarity on what constitutes a security and what constitutes a commodity."
He told Decrypt that “the SEC will have to revise their tactics on several of their ongoing cases, and I expect that this judgment will implicate several other tokens as non-securities.”
Cory Klippstein, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, did have some words of caution, despite the cheering of Crypto Twitter today.
“The judge declined to deliver summary judgment on the question of whether programmatic sales of XRP via exchanges constituted the sale of securities, meaning that this question will be litigated further,” he told Decrypt.
Klippstein added that he believes “secondary trading of altcoins on exchanges will be given a pass, and that this is consistent with the laws on the books.”