XRP, DOGE Shining Lights in Altcoin Market Depth Boost

• XRP is the top traded altcoin of 2023 with over $150B trading volume.
• Dogecoin added a substantial amount of social mentions for crypto.
• Crypto traders were stocking up their $XRP bags throughout the year.

A new report by the digital asset research provider Kaiko suggests that two altcoins have particularly contributed to increasing the altcoin market depth. Unsurprisingly, altcoins have been on a downward slope since Gary Gensler declared war on most cryptocurrencies, calling everything except Bitcoin (BTC) a security.

However, the tables have turned since Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s sale of $XRP tokens should not fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as $XRP is not a security. 

The landmark jurisprudence decision has boosted the OG altcoin $XRP to reach a new yearly high and even hit $0.843750, a price range last seen before the Terra (LUNA) fiasco, which spread contagion across the whole crypto market.

Currently, the market depth rate is slightly on the uptrend, even though Kaiko data shows the increase slows that an average altcoin rally usually produces. This is also evident by the indecisive sentiment in crypto’s fear and greed index, which currently points to neutral 51.

Who’s to Blame for Slow Market Recovery?

Even though Gensler’s crackdown on crypto has punched large-cap altcoins in the face, the slow growth in the 1% market depth metric is linked to the FTX crash late last year. Both the leading digital asset Bitcoin (BTC), and the TOP 10 altcoins by rank are yet to recover from the staggering FTX liquidity crunch.

Kaiko research indicates that Bitcoin hasn’t recovered even half the $550 million 1% market depth rate, while altcoins have bounced back around 50% since the FTX-infused financial disaster. Market depth is calculated as the total number of buy and sell orders on order books across all exchanges, which are in the 1% mid-price.

Even though Dogecoin’s price run didn’t reflect on other altcoins, DOGE champions in social engagement, only behind XRP. The blockchain social analytics platform LunarCrush recently reported that Dogecoin’s social dominance is above 9%, while trading activity is also rising.