Three cryptocurrencies soar 100% in 1 month and rekindle hope for “crypto summer”

After a long “winter” throughout 2022, the cryptoasset sector appears ready for a new season of sudden surges, like those seen two years ago – in the “summer” of digital assets.

One of the signs appeared in strong increases in three cryptocurrencies smaller than Bitcoin (BTC): Solana (SOL) and FTX Token (FTT), linked to the failed exchange FTX, and Chainlink (LINK).

SOL took off 113% in 30 days and hit US$47.45 this Thursday morning (9), a price that had not been seen since the second quarter of 2022, and FTT jumped 100%, to US$2.61 . LINK accumulated an appreciation of 102% in the period, to US$ 14.84, a level that was last reached at the beginning of last year. The data is from the CoinMarketCap aggregator.

The movement even overshadows the relevant appreciation of Bitcoin in 2023, which is in the middle of a rally driven by optimism with the possible launch of a North American ETF (index fund) with direct exposure to the currency. However, if BTC took the entire year to double in price, SOL, LINK and FTT did the same in just one month.

Part of the rise in tokens is due to the rise of Bitcoin – when the leading currency rises, it takes part of the crypto industry with it, which once again reaches a value of US$1.38 trillion. However, launches of new services, updates, optimistic forecasts and recoveries also boosted the performance of cryptocurrencies.

FTT: the return of FTX

FTT had been showing signs of recovery in recent days amid the advancement of the company’s bankruptcy process and the end of the trial of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. However, the token really took off today (90% in one day) after Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, signaled a possible reopening of the business.

Several groups are trying to take control of FTX, including former New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) President Tom Farley. When speaking to CNBC about the topic, Gensler said the following: “If Tom or anyone else wanted to be in this field, I would say, ‘Do it legally.’”

Furthermore, Gensler gave tips for anyone taking over the brokerage. He said that it is ideal to “build investor confidence” and ensure that “you are making appropriate disclosures” and “you are not mixing all these functions, negotiating against your clients”. FTX misused user funds.

Solana: 7,000% explosion

In the case of Solana, despite the cryptocurrency being linked to FTX, the rise is not directly linked to the company’s possible recovery, but rather to positive endorsements and improvements to its platform.

Last month, American asset manager VanEck published a report detailing a scenario that could see SOL rise 7,000% by 2030, hitting US$3,200. The optimistic prognosis was based on the idea that the crypto ecosystem can accommodate applications with more than 100 million users.

“Solana is an endlessly fascinating project that is committed to improving the user experience, going beyond what is possible on a blockchain,” wrote Patrick Bush, senior digital asset investment analyst, and Matthew Sigel, head of asset research. digital.

Jorge Souto, manager of TC Digital Assets, recalled that Solana was one of the cryptocurrencies most penalized by the collapse of FTX last year, but managed to recover. The foundation behind the project had a stake in the exchange and FTT tokens.

“Even with all the problems, many teams continued to build on Solana. Furthermore, it has a very specific design that makes some use cases possible that are more difficult on EVM (Ethereum) blockchains. Despite the rally, we still see a lot upside active, but the jury is still out on whether we will see new historic highs”, he assesses.

Chainlink: the institutional bet

The rise of LINK, according to analysts, is associated with changes in its blockchain, increased demand, as well as partnerships with important companies in the financial market. Recently, Vodafone (a major telecommunications company in Europe) started using the Chainlink protocol.

At the end of last week, amid the rally, a regulated product that allows US investors to gain exposure to LINK was trading at a 200% premium to spot prices, also suggesting institutional demand.

“The rise of cryptocurrency is a trend and it is the favorite in the financial market among traders,” said Giorgio Toniolo, CPO at Coinlivre.

Mychel Mendes, founder of Escola de Cripto, highlights that Chainlink recently changed its tokenomics (token economy), “which should bring more utility to the LINK token and the project’s staking (passive income method), which also underwent changes.

Read more: