Why Utility Cryptos Were Triumphant This Week

In the cryptocurrency world, to use a tired old saying, a rising tide frequently lifts all boats. That has certainly felt like the dynamic this week, as an eager investing public has kept the late 2024 crypto rally alive. This upswing is deep and broad, and one of its beneficiaries is the utility coin and token segment.

It wasn't hard to find rising investments in that group. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, Polkadot (CRYPTO:DOT) was a big winner with a 22% gain week to date as of Friday before market open. Close behind were the increases of Bitcoin Cash (CRYPTO:BCH), Uniswap (CRYPTO:UNI), and Chainlink (CRYPTO:LINK), which clocked rises of 15%, 11%, and 12%, respectively.

Salad days for cryptos

This big wave of crypto enthusiasm has been with us since the presidential election. This galvanized the world's growing ranks of crypto-heads, as President-elect Donald Trump has both indicated support for the industry and has even been involved recently in a crypto project, World Liberty Financial.

Another development at the government level was Thursday's news that Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would be stepping down on Inauguration Day. At times, Gensler was a proponent of tighter regulation of cryptocurrencies and generally considered to be outright opposed to them. His replacement will almost certainly be more amenable to not only their continued existence, but also their expansion.

As the trading week came to a close, all eyes were on Bitcoin, ever this fascinating asset class's bellwether. As of early Friday morning its price was heavily teasing $100,000 apiece, quite a milestone for what some critics still decry as "funny money." Almost needless to say, hitting or exceeding that level would put it at a new all-time high. It would also be likely to extend the rally all on its own.

Anytime an indicator asset like Bitcoin scales heights like that on a surge of bullishness, investors start to hunt around for comparable investments that might produce better returns. Utility cryptos fit this bill, as they're less volatile than, say, meme coins, and they coat-tail quite nicely behind the leader. Bitcoin Cash even has the vaunted Bitcoin name in its title.

It might start cooling down

Not to be a downer, but the longer a financial rally lasts, the harder it is to sustain.

This one feels late-stage to me, not least because it seems to be reaching a point where it requires constant fuel -- i.e., crypto-positive news items -- to keep up the burn. Investors can never really predict events like an SEC chair's resignation, but so far there are no signs of serious market-moving developments racing down the pike. Crypto investors will surely be hoping I'm wrong.

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Eric Volkman has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Chainlink, and Uniswap Protocol Token. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.