Fueled by a widespread rally among alternative cryptocurrencies, Ethereum (ETH-USD) surpassed the $4,000 mark on Friday, achieving a new yearly peak. This surge followed gains led by Ripple and Chainlink earlier in the day.
The surge in altcoins at the start of Friday’s trading was sparked by announcements regarding Ripple’s acquisition of a stablecoin payment platform and Chainlink’s plans to establish a reserve funded with its own tokens.
As the stock market concluded trading at 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Ethereum (ETH-USD) and Solana (SOL-USD) had risen by as much as 5% and 3%, respectively. Ripple’s XRP (XRP-USD) experienced gains of up to 8%, while Chainlink’s LINK (LINK-USD) saw a surge of as much as 11%.
Ripple (RIPL.PVT), the company backing XRP, which holds the third-largest market capitalization among cryptocurrencies, revealed on Thursday its plan to acquire Rail, a global payment solution centered on stablecoins. Ripple stated that this acquisition would aid in the construction of its own stablecoin payment platform.
The deal, estimated at $200 million and anticipated to finalize in the fourth quarter, will “offer comprehensive stablecoin pay-ins and pay-outs across key corridors, including USD payments, without requiring customers to hold crypto on their balance sheets,” as stated in the official press release.
Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) recently became a publicly traded company through a highly successful IPO; the company now boasts a market capitalization of $37 billion. Circle’s USDC (USDC-USD) ranks as the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap and the second-largest stablecoin, trailing only Tether’s USDT (USDT-USD).
On Thursday, Chainlink, the organization behind LINK – currently ranked as the 14th-largest cryptocurrency according to CoinMarketCap data – announced the introduction of its Chainlink Reserve.
According to the company’s press release, the reserve will be built up using revenue from institutional and on-chain usage fees, which will be converted into LINK tokens and accumulated within the reserve.
These announcements coincided with President Trump’s move to enact an executive order, signed on Thursday afternoon, which advocates for the incorporation of alternative investments, such as private equity and cryptocurrency, into retirement accounts that have traditionally been limited to stocks and bonds.
“My Administration is dedicated to easing regulatory burdens and minimizing litigation risks, paving the way for American workers to achieve competitive returns and diversify their retirement accounts, ensuring a secure and comfortable retirement,” the order stated.
· ASSOCIATED PRESS
Further Reading: Exploring the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing crypto with a credit card.