Key Takeaways
The second quarter of 2023 has witnessed some of the most significant moments in the history of crypto. From Ripple’s triumph to BlackRock’s ETF to Binance’s lawsuit, the year has been nothing short of stressful for crypto. As a result, investors have had a hard time deciding on the types of investments they should pour their money into and whether crypto is a safe place for investment.
All in all, crypto, especially Bitcoin, has averaged fairly into the third quarter of the year. Bitcoin itself is now hovering around $30,000, almost double its value at the start of the year. However, crypto stocks have somehow taken over market gains.
Coinbase (COIN), the biggest US-based crypto exchange has had its fair share of drama this year. In June, the exchange got into litigation with the SEC over alleged trading of unregistered securities. However, Coinbase managed to pin itself on the future of Wall Street, being named as a surveillance partner on numerous ETF applications. As a result, COIN stock is now at $101, although it started the year at $35. The stock is likely to increase in price if BlackRock’s and other asset managers’ ETF applications pull through.
Ripple’s case truly changed things. The SEC is now on the defensive, trying to fend off several claims that altcoins are in fact not securities. Moreover, the case resulted in increased optimism for exchanges such as Coinbase that are facing SEC scrutiny.
This revived hope positively impacted the entire market. XRP, Ripple’s token almost doubled in value since the case was dismissed.
Bitcoin is now gearing up for a potential surge if BlackRock’s application gets approved by the SEC. The asset manager’s application has already been accepted for review by the regulating body.
Ethereum is up by 58% over the past year. It is likely that the second-most popular token is reaping the gains of being among the list of SEC-approved tokens. Moreover, Ethereum is also seeing an expansion of applications through Layer 2 companies, such as Polygon.
Bitcoin Cash also reaped serious gains after being approved for listing on EDX Markets, seeing that it’s one of four SEC-approved tokens.