DeFi tokens UNI, SKY, and AAVE are today’s top gainers, surging by 24%, 16%, and 15%, respectively.
Ethereum (ETH) is surging after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaled a more supportive stance toward decentralized finance (DeFi) on Monday.
At the time of writing, ETH is up 8% on the day to $2,750. The market reaction follows remarks by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins during the Crypto Task Force Roundtable on June 9, where he shared his vision for preserving decentralization amid a rapidly evolving crypto sector.
“I am in favor of affording greater flexibility to market participants to self-custody crypto assets, especially where intermediation imposes unnecessary transaction costs or restricts the ability to engage in staking and other on-chain activities,” Atkins said.
The Chairman also stated that American values such as economic liberty, private property rights, and innovation are “in the DNA of the DeFi movement.”
Notably, DeFi coins Uniswap (UNI), SKY (formerly MakerDAO), and Aave (AAVE) surged by 25%, 16%, and 15% on the day. The sector’s market capitalization has increased by 10% to $150 billion, according to Coingecko.
Elsewhere, both Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP edged up by 1% over the past 24 hours, trading at $108,800 and $2.28, respectively. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) climbed 1.7% to $158.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization remained unchanged in the past 24 hours at $3.55 trillion. Leveraged liquidations amounted to $489 million on the day, according to CoinGlass. BTC accounted for around $176 million of the total, while ETH liquidations came in at around $158 million.
In the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space, U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded $386.27 million in inflows. Spot ETH ETFs also attracted around $53 million in inflows, according to SoSoValue data.
Sentiment Shift
The SEC’s recent remarks underscore a shift in sentiment after a period of heightened uncertainty driven by both macroeconomic concerns and political drama.
“Positive sentiment from the SEC on DeFi has helped lift the market, and hence why we see Ethereum outperforming its position for a number of years,” said Paul Howard, Senior Director at Wincent. “Heading into Q3, we can expect some of the policy changes from the US to start filtering down Wall Street and into risk assets.”
Mena Theodorou, co-founder at crypto exchange Coinstash, echoed that sentiment, adding that the momentum is also reflected in Ethereum ETFs, which have posted 15 straight days of net inflows, totalling close to $837 million.
“Institutional support is also strengthening,” Theodorou said. “BlackRock has reportedly added over $500 million in ETH to its books in the past two weeks, a possible signal that traditional finance is readying its long-term Ethereum play.”
