Dfinity’s Internet Computer (ICP) coin has risen 28% over the past day to $45, data from Nomics shows.
It is the first major rise since the end of last month, when ICP rose from $29.43 on June 26 to highs of $57 on June 29.
In the latest rally, the price started to rise around noon UTC yesterday, shortly after Dfinity tweeted that the blockchain had surpassed 100 million blocks.
Although that milestone is only symbolic of the blockchain’s usage, it has managed to kick up a PR storm for the network.
The #InternetComputer blockchain recently surpassed 100MM blocks on Friday, July 23, 2021 09:15:28 AM GMT, and currently has a flow of 20bps.
Finality in a matter of seconds
Verify yourself with Stoic or Plug wallets featured at https://t.co/Mb76vjeW1p pic.twitter.com/LO5oz6l5th
— DFINITY Foundation (@dfinity) July 23, 2021
The rise comes three days after a California class-action suit alleged that Dfinity held an unregistered securities sale for ICP. The lawsuit was filed by investor Daniel Ocampo “on behalf of all investors” who bought ICP after May 10. The lawsuit news didn’t have an immediate effect on the price.
Securities lawsuits are common in crypto. Ripple, for instance, is facing its own securities lawsuit, filed by the SEC, over sales of its token, XRP. While the token crashed following the lawsuit, XRP rose along with the rest of the market during this year’s bull run—before crashing again when the market withered.
Founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Dominic Williams, Dfinity is a blockchain project of decentralized data centers, which the creators pitch as a decentralized alternative to the centralized cloud computing industry that large technology companies like Amazon and Microsoft dominate.
ICP is Dfinity’s utility token. It allows holders to vote on proposals for the direction of the protocol and pay for transactions. It trades on exchanges, just like Ethereum or XRP.
ICP’s current price of $45 is nowhere near its all-time high of $737, recorded on May 11, a day after its immensely successful launch. At its peak, ICP was the eighth-largest cryptocurrency. It has since slid to 20th position with a market cap of $6.1 billion.
Last month, ICP’s price surged by 15% to $42 after Goldman Sachs mentioned it in a report on cryptocurrencies. The investment bank said Dfinity “could pave the way to the future.” But Goldman also said Dfinity is “untested, early stage, complex”—like much of crypto.
