The crypto market continues to be on fire with values ripping higher across the board this week. But the biggest movers weren't Bitcoin or meme coins, it was altcoins that are trying to go mainstream.
According to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, Solana (SOL 5.01%) is up 21.2% over the past seven days as of noon ET on Friday, XRP (XRP 2.64%) is up 67.2%, Cardano (ADA 2.18%) has jumped 46.4%, and Stellar (XLM 1.88%) is up a whopping 119.1%.
The SEC and crypto
The biggest reason crypto is moving this week is anticipation President-elect Donald Trump will bring in a more favorable environment in the U.S. The latest push is to replace Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, which Trump said he would do on "day one."
If that happens, it's possible some of the SEC's litigation against the crypto industry will end. XRP, in particular, has been a target and regulatory clarity along with a more favorable environment would be good news. And Stellar is following because of ties it has with XRP's founders and the use cases it was built for in the financial ecosystem.
Momentum and Bitcoin near $100,000
It's impossible to overlook the impact momentum is also having on the crypto market. In particular, the momentum of Bitcoin now trading at nearly $100,000. That's a critical price point that traders watch and the token has been near it for the last day.
Bitcoin is a very different token from these altcoins because it's not built to be as utilitarian, but it still drives the "vibes" of crypto trading and that's what's most important today.
ETFs and fund flows
The final item of note is the potential for more exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in crypto, following Bitcoin and Ethereum into the market earlier this year. There have been applications submitted for at least four Solana ETFs and that could be the start of a rush of ETFs for altcoins like XRP, Stellar, and Cardano, which are among the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap today.
ETFs bring in new funds to the industry, which is why investors are so excited about them. They don't require buyers to know anything about the blockchain or how to use a crypto wallet and they're also allowable for a number of funds that can't own crypto directly. The speculation today is that more ETFs would be great for the value of cryptocurrencies.
Has speculation gone too far?
The crypto bull market has been on an absolute tear recently and everything is moving higher as a result. What's concerning is that the move is coming on speculation that some kind of rule changes or fund flows will be coming, but we don't know exactly what's in store from the new Trump administration.
I also think it's clear the crypto economy is going to largely run on stablecoins, which are now being transacted to the tune of trillions of dollars every month. If crypto is truly going to change the financial ecosystem it will be as a medium of exchange, not a medium of speculation. And that's why I'm not buying the bump today.
