In a recent lawsuit filed against top cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has classified several tokens, including Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL), as securities.
This move marks a significant development in the crypto industry, as the label of a ‘security’ can potentially dampen a token’s liquidity and price.
Immediately following the announcement, both Cardano and Solana experienced substantial price drops. Cardano’s value declined by 10.8%, while Solana’s dipped 12.5%.
ADA/USD plummeted to a three-month low, reaching $0.3159 during today’s trading session, marking its lowest point since March 15, when it was priced at $0.3166. This decline was accompanied by the relative strength index (RSI) plunging into oversold territory, indicating intense selling pressure.
Although the RSI has slightly rebounded to 34.21, above the key resistance level of 33.00, ADA bulls are eyeing a potential recovery towards the $0.3500 mark.
Solana (SOL) also experienced a drop, hitting a multi-month low of $18.29, down from its previous level above $20.00. This decline pushed SOL to its weakest point since March 13.
Over the last seven days, SOL has seen a nearly 9% decrease, with the 10-day moving average (MA) in a downward trajectory. If the current trend continues, a downward cross with the 25-day MA could be imminent, potentially targeting the $16.00 level.
According to data from DeFiLlama, the Total Value Locked (TVL) – a metric used to measure the total value of all assets locked or staked in a DeFi protocol – on the Cardano, Solana, and BNB Chain networks declined by only around 1% on a monthly basis.
This minimal impact suggests that the SEC’s classification has not significantly affected the perceived trustworthiness and utility of these platforms among DeFi community members.
Looking deeper into the figures, Cardano’s TVL declined by 6.41% overnight, yet this has not negatively impacted the total value of digital assets locked in the protocol.
As of the time of writing, the protocol’s TVL (excluding staking and vesting) stands at $158,9 million, marking a 10.49% increase on a monthly basis from $147,39 million as of May 8. Prior to the SEC’s lawsuits announcement against Binance and Coinbase on June 5, Cardano’s TVL stood at $183.06 million.
As for Solana, the TVL declined to $268.39 million on June 8, down from $271,33 million a month earlier, which equates to a 1.9% decrease.
Despite the SEC’s label for Cardano and Solana, the TVL metrics suggest these assets have maintained their resilience, possibly signaling a short-term price recovery.
Kyle Doane, a trader at crypto investment firm Arca, stated that “The tokens themselves being deemed securities have nothing to do with the viability of the underlying tech of DeFi and does not make the tokens/dApps any more or less valuable”.
