Ripple’s XRP token has surged in value, propelling it to the position of the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Forbes reports.
This surge follows a weeks-long rally, triggered by President-elect Donald Trump’s election win in November and growing speculation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may drop its legal case against Ripple Labs.
On Monday, XRP briefly surpassed $2.50 in price before settling slightly lower at $2.30, marking a 21% increase over the past 24 hours and nearly a 50% rise compared to the previous week. This jump in value has pushed Ripple’s market capitalization from around $30 billion to approximately $131 billion in just a few weeks. Over the weekend, XRP’s market cap crossed $100 billion for the first time since 2018, surpassing Solana’s SOL to become the world’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market value. At one point, XRP briefly overtook Tether’s USDT stablecoin, though it eventually settled just below it.
Bitcoin remains the top cryptocurrency with a market cap of nearly $1.89 trillion, followed by Ether with a market cap of $436 billion.
The significant rise in XRP’s value has been partly fueled by reports that the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) might soon approve the launch of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. According to Fox Business, Ripple could launch RLUSD as early as December 4.
In addition to these developments, the ongoing legal case between Ripple Labs and the SEC has also been a key factor driving XRP’s price movement. In 2020, the SEC sued Ripple, accusing it of selling XRP tokens without registering them as securities. However, a federal judge ruled in July 2022 that Ripple had not violated securities law by selling XRP on public exchanges, a setback for the SEC. Despite the ruling, the SEC filed an appeal, and the case remains ongoing.
The election of Donald Trump and the announced resignation of SEC Chair Gary Gensler in January have added to speculation that the SEC might drop its case against Ripple. Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Chris Giancarlo, a potential candidate for the role of “Crypto Czar” under the incoming Trump administration, suggested that the SEC should drop the lawsuit, further fueling optimism surrounding XRP.
Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse also commented on the evolving regulatory landscape in the cryptocurrency industry, noting that CBS News’ 60 Minutes recently interviewed him about crypto regulation and the industry’s push for clearer guidelines.
