The little-known Populous coin (PPT) rose sharply on Wednesday, defying a broad downtrend in the cryptocurrency market to reach its highest level in over a week. The gains quietly pushed PPT into the no. 22 spot among active cryptocurrencies based on market cap.

PPT Price Levels

Populous was up nearly 13% at $47.27, according to data provider CoinMarketCap. It had an overall market capitalization of $1.7 billion, with trade volumes averaging $4.4 million over the past 24 hours.

There are more than 37 million PPT tokens in circulation out of a maximum supply of 53,252,246.

Most of the transactions in PPT occurred against bitcoin and Ethereum, and were placed on the international Binance exchange. Other exchanges that provide access to PPT include HitBTC, OKEx and Token Store.

Like other digital currencies, Populous suffered a sharp decline last week on speculation that South Korea was clamping down on cryptocurrency trading. On Tuesday, federal regulators announced a ban on anonymous trading accounts beginning Jan. 30. As Hacked speculated earlier, no ban on cryptocurrency trading was announced.

The cryptocurrency market staged a large recovery from Tuesday’s low of around $486 billion, but gains soon evaporated. On the basis of market cap, cryptos are virtually unchanged compared to 24 hours ago.

Against this backdrop, PPT’s double-digit advance is noteworthy. The coin has actually been trekking higher for the better part of the week, but remains well off record highs set earlier this month. On. Jan. 8, the coin peaked near $64.

A Primer on Populous

Populous has largely flown under the radar since it launched back in July. The Ethereum-based platform is actually a peer-to-peer network designed to make invoice financing more efficient. Because it leverages the blockchain, Populous is offers transparency to the multi-trillion dollar invoicing industry.

The ICO raised more than $10 million last summer.

Although there is no apparent catalyst for the coin’s meteoric rise over the past three months, it is operating in an industry that is well positioned for blockchain disruption. If successful, the Populous project could have a significant impact on the billings market, including opening up new avenues for investors.

Beyond its potential to transform the billings market, Populous has announced a few momentous partnerships in recent months, including a new deal with Luxure Global Citizen. According to the project’s Medium page, it has reached a £1 billion partnership with the company, which has a database of over 750,000 customers. Through Populous, investors will have the opportunity to finance invoices that Luxure raises from luxury brands that include Rolls Royce and Cartier.

For investors, the deal means Populous will have a steady supply of invoices from some of the world’s leading brands.