Ripple sees a slight surge as its lawsuit nears conclusion, Vitalik Buterin just invested in this little-known blockchain project while Lithium Finance shocks experts with its performance.Here’s what caught our DeFi eye recently:As the SEC-Ripple case nears an end, the SEC contests Ripple’s claims in its closing brief. Amid debates over XRP’s statusMegaETH’s mega raise.investors eye Lithium finance staking platform. Let’s get the latest on these top crypto projects. SEC files final response in Ripple suitIn the ongoing legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs, the SEC filed its final response on June 10, challenging Ripple’s assertions in the remedies brief. The SEC argues that Ripple’s conduct was reckless, despite the court rejecting Ripple’s “fair notice” defense. The commission maintains that widespread uncertainty persists regarding XRP’s legal status as a security.Following the SEC’s final response in the Ripple lawsuit, XRP’s value saw a marginal surge from $0.618 on June 10 to $0.631 a month later, marking a 2.10% increase. Buoyed by this price movement and XRP’s growing adoption, Ripple experts are optimistic, predicting the cryptocurrency will reach $0.88 by August end.However, some analysts remain skeptical about XRP’s prospects in the coming weeks. Dissatisfied with its recent market performance, they expect the XRP price to plummet to $0.11 by the end of August, citing the wider crypto market downturn as the primary reason for their bearish prediction. Vitalik Buterin just invested in this little-known blockchain projectMajor blockchains aside, a new project called MegaETH came out of stealth mode last week as its team announced a $20 million seed funding round at a nine-figure valuation. While the space isn’t short of new chains, this update is notable for a few reasons: the investments came from big players like Vitalik Buterin, Consensys founder and Dragonfly Capital, MegaETH says it can deliver extremely fast “real-time” transactions, and it offers full compatibility with Ethereum. But will that be enough to compete with the abundance of chains in the ecosystem today? Time will tell.  Lithium Finance shocks experts with its performance Amid the fears of market uncertainty, lithium finance dares to stand out. Lithium finance (https://lithium.finance), an ecosystem enforced by the want for defiance and breakout from normalcy remains a compelling choice as seen in its reliability and security.Setting forward with a focus on creating the best staking pools for seamless transactions, this staking pool provides a good opportunity for potential long-term daily gains. Lithium finance remains at the forefront of creativity providing a glimpse into the starry possibilities of the future of decentralized finance and gaming.Lithium has proven to be one of the top investment opportunities. Various traders have begun to embrace it as the leading project to invest in as investors have locked in as much as 350% in potential gains. More By This Author:Analyzing XRP’s Path To $35: What Investors Should KnowWhy Is The Ethereum Price Dropping? Will ETH ETF Approval Bring Reversal?Trending Altcoins Under $1 Expected To Explode This Crypto Bull Run