SINGAPORE: Bitcoin was hovering near its highest so far this year on Friday after crypto investors took encouragement from a legal victory in which the cryptocurrency XRP was ruled not to be a security. A US judge on Thursday said Ripple Labs Inc did not violate securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges.

The case marks the first win for a cryptocurrency company in a lawsuit brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the decision was specific to the individual case, it unleashed a wave of optimism among crypto investors that more cryptocurrencies may also not be deemed securities, as per an agency report.

Bitcoin hit its highest price since June 2022 earlier, touching $31,818, before edging down to trade around $30,091 on Friday.