XRP overtakes USDT and Solana to become 3rd largest crypto asset
The cryptocurrency community has responded to XRP's historic return as the third-largest coin by market capitalization.
In December 2020, Ripple was sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly facilitating an "unregistered digital asset securities offering," which caused XRP to fall out of the top three cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
XRP regains third place after flipping Solana and USDT
As the SEC's lawsuit draws to a close, and Ripple wins a number of court cases in 2024, XRP has recovered and saw a sharp increase in November following Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election.
After years of trailing Tether's USDT stablecoin, Binance's BNB, Solana (SOL), and Circle's USD Coin (USDC), XRP has risen to the third position among cryptocurrencies, behind Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
XRP now has a market value of over $150 billion, making it the only cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and Ether. It is currently worth more than Solana, which is currently in fifth place with a market value of $108 billion, and USDT, a 1:1 dollar-pegged stablecoin, which has fallen to fourth position with a market value of $134 billion.
XRP coin was the seventh-largest for four years
Eleanor Terrett, a reporter for Fox Business, stated in an X post on December 1, 2024, that the price of Ripple dropped from about $0.50 to $0.17 when the SEC filed a lawsuit against it in December 2020, wiping out over $15 billion in market value. Terrett continued, "XRP spent the next four years at the #7 spot, even though the price recovered."
XRP now more popular than cryptocurrency
The cryptocurrency gained a lot of attention online since its huge breakout in November, when searches for the keyword "XRP" on Google surpassed those for "crypto." Google Trends indicates that XRP has not yet flipped Bitcoin, but it did flip Ethereum based on Google searches in early November.
Why XRP price is high?
As of this writing, XRP has increased 37.18% in the last day to trade at $2.63, according to CoinMarketCap.
Donald Trump’s victory raises the price of XRP
Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 US presidential election is one of the major contributing factors to this momentum, as there is growing hope that his administration will foster an environment that is welcoming to cryptocurrency businesses. As investors await pro-crypto developments in the US under President-elect Donald Trump, XRP, the native asset used by blockchain payments company Ripple, has soared to a new 2024 high.
During his campaign, Trump pledged to fire Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on "day one" and make the US the global center of cryptocurrency. The hope for a crypto-friendly future raises the price of XRP. When Americans went to the polls on November 5, the price of XRP was $0.50. By December 2, it had risen nearly 400% to an intraday high of $2.50.
Expectations of SEC cases being dismissed or settled
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple in 2020 for selling XRP to make unregistered securities offerings. This resulted in a legal dispute between the securities regulator and the cryptocurrency company.
Chris Giancarlo, the former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, also urged authorities to dismiss a number of cases, including Ripple's. On November 26, Giancarlo stated in an interview with Fox Business that "it's time for regulatory agencies to drop a lot of these cases."
Joe Lubin, the CEO of Consensys, said on November 15 that the Trump administration may "dismiss or settle" legal disputes between cryptocurrency companies and the SEC. Although not every case will be resolved, Lubin stated that the industry will "save hundreds of millions of dollars" going forward.
Gary Gensler’s announcement to step down in January
The recent announcement by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler that he will be leaving his position in January may also have an impact on XRP's price momentum. Many in the crypto industry, who thought his regulatory approach was too harsh, applauded this move.
Approval of the company’s new RLUSD stablecoin
The latest announcement that the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is engaging payments company Ripple, the company that created XRP, regarding the approval of the company's RLUSD stablecoin has contributed to the recent surge in XRP's value, according to a Fox Business report. Ripple stated in August that it would incorporate XRP and RLUSD into its cross-border payments system as soon as the stablecoin is made available.
Volume of spot crypto exchanges reached $2.7 trillion in November
In November, the total monthly trading volume on spot cryptocurrency exchanges hit $2.71 trillion, the highest since May 2021. The size more than doubles the $1.14 trillion in trade volume from October.
Bitcoin and Ethereum futures saw their highest trading volumes since May 2021 in November, with $2.59 trillion and $1.28 trillion, respectively, on exchanges. After pro-crypto Republican Donald Trump was reelected as U.S. President on November 6, the broader cryptocurrency market saw a record-breaking price rally in November.
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