By Jake Simmons, Bitcoinist.com, 2024-07-15
This week in crypto, several key developments stand out that could significantly influence the price and adoption of certain altcoins. Here, we explore the top three altcoins to monitor this week: Ethereum, XRP, and Cosmos, each poised at the brink of potentially market-shifting news.
#1 Ethereum: Crypto's Next Spot ETF?
The crypto community is still waiting for the approval of the first US spot Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), a development that could usher in new institutional investment. Nate Geraci, host of the ETF Prime podcast and co-Founder of the ETF Institute, has predicted via X that approval could arrive this week.
“Welcome to spot eth ETF approval week… I'm calling it. Don't know anything specific, just can't come up w/ good reason for any further delay at this point. Issuers ready for launch,” he expressed. On Friday, Geraci speculated that the SEC could play the spot ETH ETF “S-1s similar to the 19b-4s… *Extremely* tight-lipped.”
Echoing this sentiment, Bloomberg's ETF specialist, Eric Balchunas, stated, “Yeah, rn it's all quiet on the Western Front re eth ETFs. Nada from SEC this week. Unclear why they taking such sweet ass time. Every issuer is ready. Docs are ready. It's like a rain delay in baseball. Gotta just wait. Maybe things will move fast next week. We'll see…”
The crux of the matter lies with the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) handling of the S-1 registrations necessary for these ETFs to go live. Having already granted initial approval on May 23, 2024, the market awaits the final signoff on these forms, a step that could significantly impact Ethereum‘s liquidity and market exposure.
#2 XRP Lawsuit: Settlement Talks?
One year and a few days after the summary judgment by Analisa Torres, Ripple Labs might be nearing the end of its legal battle with the SEC. According to a rumor floating around on X, the crypto firm could attend a scheduled private meeting with the SEC on July 18, 2024, as reported earlier today.
Speculation about a potential settlement has been fueled by crypto exchange Bitrue's ambassador Brett Hill, who tweeted about the meeting: “BOOOOOOOM! private executive meeting at their headquarters in Washington for this Thursday (18 Jul-24)! Reliable sources have informed us that this meeting is connected to the Ripple vs SEC resolutions and the finalization of the court case! #XRP.”
Importantly, the SEC's official announcement outlines the logistics and nature of the meeting, however, it does not explicitly reference the Ripple case.
#3 Cosmos: V18 Upgrade
Cosmos is set to undergo a significant network enhancement with the v18 upgrade, aimed at refining governance and transaction efficiency. Scheduled for implementation on July 17th, the upgrade is poised to introduce a permissioned CosmWasm, enabling the deployment of smart contracts upon community approval.
This governance-focused upgrade aligns with Cosmos's aim to bolster security and control over which contracts can be added to the network, minimizing risks associated with open deployments.
Another feature of the Gaia v18 upgrade is the Dynamic Fee Module, a mechanism that dynamically adjusts transaction fees based on network congestion, akin to Ethereum's EIP-1559. This feature promises to optimize fee structures, potentially enhancing network performance during peak periods and providing a more predictable fee environment for users.
The introduction of expedited governance proposals is also noteworthy, as it allows for quicker community response to urgent network decisions, thus enhancing Cosmos's agility in governance and strategic decisions.
At press time, ETH traded at $3,341.
