Crypto Market Weekly Winners: Ripple, XDC Network, and Flare

The cryptocurrency market has taken a breather after rallying in the first half of March on the back of a series of bank runs leading to the collapse of multiple financial institutions. As of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $27,900 and Ethereum (ETH) at $1,765, while the total market cap has surpassed $1.2 trillion, according to CoinGecko.

Still, some coins are surging in value more than others, and this last week, the top three performers among the top 100 cryptocurrencies have been:

XRP

The 6th largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $23.6 bln is trading at $0.465, up more than 18% in the past week. In the last 24 hours, the crypto asset recorded $1.6 bln in trading volume. And although XRP is up 35% year-to-date (YTD), it is still down 86.5% from its peak of $3.40 hit five years ago in Jan. 2018.

According to recent data from CoinMarketCap, XRP has been seeing rising interest from Korean investors. While trading volume on Upbit and Bithumb has recorded a surge, it is unclear just how long this trend will continue.

XRP's positive price performance has also been in tandem with its soaring social metrics, as per data aggregator Lunar Crash. XRP's social engagement rose by 105.9% to 245.57 million, and its mentions grew by 26.4% to 80,720.

It also had up to 3,440 unique social contributors per hour, indicating an active and engaged community. Many within the XRP community have been actively promoting the token on social media, as they strongly believe that its parent company Ripple will win its ongoing legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It's worth noting that Ripple recently submitted a new filing for its fair notice defense, referencing the decision of Judge Michael Wiles of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in his ruling on SEC objections in the Voyager bankruptcy case. This move by Ripple has further fueled the optimism of XRP supporters, who see this as a positive sign in their favor.

The ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. SEC has been a major source of uncertainty for the cryptocurrency industry. But investors' optimism that Ripple will emerge victorious in the lawsuit is finally aiding XRP's value.

If the court rules in favor of Ripple, it could not only pave the way for XRP's future growth but also provide much-needed clarity on the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies.

The SEC has accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering of $1.3 billion in XRP tokens beginning in 2013. Ripple, however, has vehemently disputed the SEC's allegations and argued that XRP is not a security.

The court decision is expected to be made in the next few weeks, and if Ripple wins, it could further lead to increased demand for XRP and even boost the price of other cryptos facing regulatory uncertainty. A victory for Ripple could further encourage broader adoption of the crypto market.

Besides all this, Ripple (XRP) also witnessed a surge in transactions. Recent data from XRP Scan indicates that the XRPL network has processed over 1 million transactions on average, with over 2000 new addresses being created daily.

However, concerns have arisen over recent transactions involving large amounts of XRP tokens, coinciding with the news of Signature Bank shutting down.

Although Ripple CEO claims that the bank shutdown has not impacted its operations, it remains to be seen just how this will affect XRP as the repercussions of the bank shutdown become clearer.

Click here to learn all about investing in XRP.

XDC Network (XDC)

The 84th largest crypto with a market cap of $551 mln, XDC is trading at almost $0.04, up 13% in the past week while managing $4.3 mln in the last 24 hours. Although XDC is up 58.6% in 2023 so far, it is still down over 79% from its all-time high (ATH) of $0.192 from Aug. 2021.

XDC Network (formerly XinFin Network) is a blockchain platform that aims to revolutionize global trade and finance by addressing key issues such as scalability, interoperability, and transaction speed.

One of the most significant advantages of XDC Network is its delegated proof-of-stake (dPoS) mechanism, which ensures near-zero gas fees, two-second transaction times, and over 2,000 TPS. The platform's hybrid relay bridges and interoperability features enable blockchain users to enjoy a seamless and democratized trading experience.

XDC Network's native token, XDC, plays a vital role in fueling the platform and enabling users to access global trade by streamlining transactions and supporting various use cases through tokenized and non-tokenized solutions.

One of the key advantages of the XDC Network is its compatibility with ISO20022 messaging standards. ISO 20022 is an ISO standard for electronic data exchange between financial institutions, covering financial information such as payment transactions, securities trading and settlement information, credit and debit card transactions, and more.

The XDC Network's compatibility with this standard allows for easy integration into legacy banking systems, ERPs, and SWIFT systems, making it one of the most flexible enterprise-grade blockchains in the space.

In recent news, the XDC Network has partnered with Fathom to offer users an innovative way to earn XDC coins. And as part of the partnership, Fathom will allow users to borrow real-world assets as collateral and earn XDC tokens in return.

The goal of this collaboration is to offer higher returns than other lending platforms while also increasing the utility and liquidity of XDC. The partnership is a strategic move that will help bridge traditional finance and the blockchain space by providing a seamless and sustainable method for earning XDC.

Click here to learn all about investing in XDC.

Flare (FLR)

With a market cap of $425 mln, FLR sits at the 99th spot in the crypto market. The token recorded an 11.4% jump in its price this past week to now trade at $0.035 while managing $9.1 mln in trading volume in the last 24 hours.

The coin hit a new high earlier this year in January at $0.15 but is currently down 76.4% from its peak.

FLR tokens were airdropped to XRP holders earlier this year after almost two years of anticipation. More than 4.28 billion FLR tokens were distributed to XRP holders who held at least one token during the snapshot on a 1:1 basis. This represented 15% of the project's total supply, with the remaining scheduled to be distributed over the next three years.

Recently Flare Networks also successfully completed the first of 36 planned FLR airdrops to wrapped FLR token holders (WFLR). The airdrop was made possible after passing the Flare Improvement Proposal (FIP.01), which entitles WFLR holders to FLR drops every month for the next three years.

Previously, the plan was to distribute the remaining FLR tokens to XRP holders in 36 tranches over the same period, but the introduction of FIP.01 made the airdrop more inclusive and in line with the project's broader vision.

To be eligible for this airdrop, users need to hold WFLR for 23 days before each claim day. The network chooses three random blocks within this specified holding period to get an average of the WFLR tokens held by each wallet. Each holder's rewards are then calculated as a percentage of the wallet's average WFLR holdings to all WFLR in circulation.

Flare Network is transitioning from a mere DeFi application using XRP tokens to a layer 1 blockchain and oracle provider. The network has already handled more than 268 million requests for data and transactions.

Click here to learn all about investing in FLR.

Top Gainers of the Crypto Market

Among all the coins in the market, obscure tokens like Vow (VOW), Polylastic (POLX), Curio Governance (CGT), and Cratos (CRTS) recorded the most gains of 1,096%, 1,530%, 3,470%, and 14,426% respectively, as per Messari. However, these coins have extremely low volume, making them easy to pump and dump.

Low-cap coins with decent amounts of volume that pumped the hardest the past week involve OAX (OAX), which is a $26.4 mln market cap token with $2.38 mln in 24-hour volume. The coin is up 109% in the last week and 178% YTD.

The $278 mln market cap token FLEX Coin (FLEX), with $1.87 mln in 24-hour volume, surged over 79% last week and is up 102% in the last month.

Other notable mentions include; Diamond (DMD), a $34 mln market cap token with $0.85 mln in volume, which is up 52% in the past week and 112.5% YTD. QLC Chain (QLC) is a $58.5 mln market cap token with about $4.5 mln in volume, surging 45% in the past seven days and 219% YTD.

Radicle (RAD) is another one, which is a $124 mln market cap token with $43.13 mln in volume, up 44% in 7 days and 87% YTD. Trader Joe (JOE), meanwhile, is a $161 mln market cap token with $88.54 mln in volume recording 43% gains in the past seven days and 258% YTD.