What happened

Three of the better-performing cryptocurrencies today are Curve DAO (CRV 1.87%)Maker (MKR 1.30%), and Aave (AAVE 0.88%). As of 4 p.m. ET, these three tokens had appreciated 9.4%, 3.2%, and 4.5%, respectively, over the past 24 hours. 

Overall, the crypto market today is trending in a positive direction, following news that India has chosen regulation and taxation over an outright ban or harsher anti-crypto measures. Accordingly, investors seem to like the certainty this provides, particularly in the context of Russia recently backing off from its initial harsh regulatory stance this past week.

Person sitting in front of their computer taking notes.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

For cryptocurrencies tied to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structure, Curve DAO, Maker, and Aave each have unique structures that investors may have been wary about, from a regulatory standpoint. These blockchain-based projects benefit from rising demand for decentralized finance solutions.

For Aave and Maker, two lending and borrowing platforms, these geopolitical regulatory risks are ones investors may pay closer attention to than those in other tokens might. In this case, it appears investors are looking at these proposed regulations and seeing little in the way of headwinds for these tokens, allowing investors to breathe a sigh of relief today.

With relatively little token-specific news flow coming about in recent days, it appears these higher-level market-based tailwinds have been enough to propel investor interest in these tokens.

Now what

It's been hard for investors to gauge which direction the winds are blowing in the crypto world. When it comes to regulation, investors have really been kept on their toes of late. 

Today's news seems to be broadly bullish from the perspective of investors wanting to know what the regulatory environment in key markets like India and Russia may look like. For now, these measures appear to be more reasonable than expected. Indeed, sometimes bad news can be good news.

However, there's always the prospect for harsher or more punitive actions to be taken at some point. Volatility is the name of the game in the crypto world, and investors should ensure their holdings correlate well with their risk tolerance level.