By James Davis
Over the past seven days, most altcoins have recorded good runs, with XLM, Chainlink, and XRP being the top gainers. On the other hand, Bitcoin and Ethereum entered this weekend while in the red zone. According to data from CoinGecko, BTC is down 1.8% this week to trade at $29,990. The second-biggest crypto asset Ethereum has declined by 3.1% to $1,889.
Other top 30 cryptocurrencies that have taken a hit over the last seven days include Solana, which has dropped by 12.9% to $24.96; Avalanche, which is down 7.3% to trade at $13.62; and Lido DAO, which has plunged 13.4% to $2.04.
As mentioned earlier, a number of altcoins have posted massive gains this week, with both Chainlink and XLM growing by 17.2% to change hands for $8.02 and $0.156, respectively. Other notable rallies have come from Toncoin, which is up 11% to $1.49, and Uniswap, which has increased by 6% to $6.17.
Chainlink started rallying at the start of the week following the launch of the network’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, which supports Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, and Avalanche. During the launch, Chainlink announced it had integrated its protocol with decentralized finance platforms Synthetix and Aave. The company has promised to continue offering a simple way for traditional institutions to enter the crypto world.
This Week’s Crypto News
On Tuesday, G20 financial regulator Financial Stability Board published nine recommendations aimed at preventing crypto crashes. The new proposals require crypto issuers to meet certain governance requirements and make mandatory disclosures.
On Wednesday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced it would put Valyrie’s application for Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Fund under official review. The commission made a similar announcement for BlackRock’s application on July 14.
That day, Nasdaq, an exchange operator, said it had temporarily paused its plan to launch a crypto custodian service. The company’s CEO, Adena Friedman, revealed that the current regulatory uncertainty in the United States fueled the decision. However, he promised Nasdaq will not abandon its plans to explore the crypto space.
On Thursday, the United Kingdom Treasury turned down recommendations from the House of Commons Treasury Committee that would have seen crypto trading classified as gambling.
Crypto Regulations in the US
Later that day, a group of Senators tabled a bill designed to ensure that decentralized finance protocols follow the same rules imposed on centralized crypto exchanges and banks. According to the lawmakers, the regulations will play a big role in blocking illegal activities executed by various criminals.
On Friday, Washington-based Republican lawmakers introduced the Financial Innovation and Technology Act, a 210-page bill aimed at bringing regulatory clarity for blockchain firms in the United States. The Act states all the requirements a blockchain needs to fulfill to be considered decentralized.