Over the past 30 days, just about every major cryptocurrency has posted double-digit percentage losses. Market stalwarts Bitcoin and Ethereum are down more than 10% and investors appear to be dumping all cryptos right now, regardless of their underlying value or potential growth prospects.
Amid all this selling, there are two cryptos -- XRP (XRP -1.69%) and Solana (SOL -5.11%) -- that are now down more than 20% and seem to be ready to pop. Both are top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, and both have important catalysts that could propel them higher over the near term.
XRP
XRP may be down 23% during the past 30 days, but it's still up 42% for the year. XRP's zigzag performance is due in no small part to its long-running battle with the SEC. In July, XRP won a major court ruling in its long-running case with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been attempting to classify XRP (formerly known as Ripple) as an "unregistered security" for more than two years.
As might be expected, XRP's price surged on the good news. But in August, the SEC said it was planning to appeal the ruling, and we're basically back to square one. XRP has given up all of its gains from earlier this summer.
Image source: Getty Images.
That's why XRP could be ready to pop. We've already seen once what can happen if XRP wins a positive ruling against the SEC, and investors are now eagerly awaiting to see what happens next. The courts, for example, could decide to deny the SEC's appeal, which would be seen as a win for XRP. Or there could be a final settlement between the XRP and SEC, which would provide everyone with a sense of closure and enable XRP to get back to business. In both outcomes, XRP could soar.
And that's where things get really exciting for XRP -- there's actually a great core business based around its Ripple payment network, which enables fast, affordable cross-border payments. With the SEC regulatory drama hanging over it, XRP was forced to focus on its overseas operations. So any positive resolution of the SEC drama could unlock value from its U.S. operations. As a positive sign that this U.S.-based business could be coming back, Western Union just announced a new partnership agreement with XRP.
Solana
Solana is down 25% in the past 30 days, but is still up 82% for the year. The volatility surrounding Solana over the past nine months is due primarily to one key factor: the hangover from the scandalous collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Due to its close relationship with former FTX Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried, Solana suffered more than most cryptos after the FTX meltdown, falling all the way to the $10 mark by the end of last year. For context, it's high was $260 in November 2021. Many investors thought that was the end of the road for Solana.
So, after a huge rally for Solana earlier this year, we've reached another key stage in the FTX drama: the liquidation of assets held by Bankman-Fried, FTX, and related affiliates. Estimates vary widely about the size of Bankman-Fried and FTX's Solana holdings, but a sustained wave of selling by FTX and affiliated entities could have a dramatic impact on Solana's price.
And that's why Solana could be ready to pop: As soon as this wave of selling is over, Solana's price should have nowhere to go but up.
If that were the end of the story for Solana, I wouldn't be so excited about its future prospects. As a long-term investor, I'm looking for more than that. So the good news is that Solana is a world-class blockchain network known for its speed, efficiency, and low costs. And that has made it a potential valuable partner for some of the largest financial services firms in the world.
Visa, for example, recently turned heads with a new Solana partnership. Visa will use the Solana blockchain platform to settle transactions involving a popular stablecoin, USD Coin, thereby speeding up credit card payments.
Moreover, Solana continues to move forward with its mobile crypto strategy, which includes several key components, such as an Android-based "crypto phone" and a software development kit (SDK) to help web developers build on top of the Solana blockchain. Of all the potential "Ethereum killers" out there, Solana continues to impress the most with its vision of what a mobile future looks like.
Ready to pop?
Putting it all together, it looks like XRP and Solana are ready to pop. Both have key near-term catalysts that could send them soaring later this year. Looking longer term, both also have world-class payment networks that make them valuable partners. I'm bullish on both over the long term.
