Traders Are Turning From Bitcoin to Altcoins Amid Favorable Ripple Ruling

By Pedro Solimano

The favorable Ripple ruling last week appears to have spurred new interest in the wider altcoin market.

Per a new Kaiko Research report, Bitcoin’s dominance–its relative percentage of the total market capitalization–has dropped by 8% across the 25 largest exchanges this month.

That occasion simultaneously sparked a mini altcoin rally over the past week, led by XRP, and other select altcoins, such as Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), and Stellar Lumens (XLM).

According to the crypto data provider, Bitcoin dominance is at a multi-month low, hitting 27% across the largest exchanges on the market, a number not seen since April.

Although altcoin investors were quick to celebrate and capitalize on the XRP-led “alt season” over the past week, Kaiko analyst Dessislava Ianeva told Decrypt that it is too soon to consider this a sustainable rally.

Though volumes have risen over the past weeks, they remain well below the 2020-2021 average, said Ianeva.

“Buying pressures have dropped on American markets,” she told Decrypt, adding that “liquidity continues to be very thin and the full impact of the ruling will unfold over the next few months.”

The current environment is especially volatile in both directions, and Ianeva considers that the “market lacks a clear catalyst,” and pointed to the U.S. government and Bitcoin miners selling swathes of Bitcoin.

After a judge issued a partial ruling somewhat in Ripple’s favor, the XRP token has been on a heady ride, enjoying a 45% gain over the past two weeks. The token is now trading hands at $0.69.

The outcome, which might see an appeal by the SEC, confirms a large interest in XRP, which according to Kaiko’s research is even more accentuated outside U.S. borders.

The report states that the Korean market, one that Ianeva says is “historically altcoin driven” and the second largest for XRP activity has seen an uptick in “broad-based” activity–meaning retail and whales are buying.

“Overall BTC longer-term outlook has improved, benefiting from ETF-related inflows, should the SEC approve it, and the upcoming halving event,” says Ianeva. “And should inflation continue to soften, the Fed tightening cycle has peaked.”

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