Cryptocurrencies headed for a winning week after a court decision Thursday fueled a sharp, broad crypto market rally.
Bitcoin is on pace to end the week higher by about 3%, according to Coin Metrics, and on pace to finish above $30,000. Even with lower-than-expected inflation reported Wednesday and Thursday, the price of the flagship cryptocurrency was flat for most of the week, and after its 4% rally Thursday it was still unable to maintain the key technical level of $31,500. On Friday it was trading lower by 1% at $31,251.92.
Ripple’s XRP led the rally after a judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that it’s a security in some cases but not others. XRP is on track to end the week with a 65% gain. The token tied to Solana is up 30.5% for the week, Cardano’s ada has gained 21% and Polygon’s matic token in on track to finish 25% higher. Ether is up 7%.
“For bitcoin, the $30,000 psychological level has been a reliable support for its price, but it has also been struggling to demonstrate an undeniably clear break-out for the past couple of weeks, resulting in a range-bound movement,” said Yuya Hasegawa, crypto market analyst at Japanese bitcoin exchange Bitbank. “It is somewhat difficult to comprehend the fact that the struggle is still going on.”
Most big crypto assets are in the red on Friday as investors hit the brakes on Thursday’s excitement and weighed what could come next for crypto. While the decision on the whole is considered a positive for Ripple and the crypto industry, it wasn’t a clear-cut win.
The order was the latest development in a three-year battle between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission. There is a possibility that some of these findings could be appealed and reversed; the filing even said that the court would issue a separate order setting a trial date.