Ripple’s XRP Overtakes Solana and Tether’s USDT to Become 3rd Largest Crypto Fueled by Rising Whale Demand

by

As a seasoned researcher who has witnessed the rise and fall of countless cryptocurrencies over the past decade, I must admit that the current surge in XRP‘s price is nothing short of spectacular. After years of legal battles and market fluctuations, it seems that the tide has finally turned in favor of Ripple Labs and their flagship token.

Following a strong upward surge in November, XRP – supported by Ripple Labs – entered the final month of 2024 with optimistic expectations. This seasoned digital currency, dedicated to resolving practical financial problems, experienced a significant rise exceeding 280% in November, approaching its record high (peak value).

As per recent market figures, the value of XRP increased by approximately 27% over the past 24 hours and was trading at around $2.4 on December 2, London session. This surge took the price beyond its highest point this year, suggesting that the bulls are currently dominating the market.

Previously, Solana (SOL), with a market cap of $107.82 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of about $7.05 billion, Tether’s USDT ($134.24 billion, $135.36 billion in 24h volume), and Binance Coin (BNB) with a market cap of $93.07 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of approximately $1.97 billion were ranked as the fourth, fifth, and sixth largest cryptocurrencies respectively. However, a large-cap altcoin, boasting a fully diluted valuation exceeding $243 billion and daily average traded volume of around $34 billion, has surpassed all three, taking its place as the third largest cryptocurrency.

Major Factors that Influenced the XRP Price Rally

Reflecting on my crypto investment journey, I’ve noticed a remarkable upsurge in XRP’s value, which I attribute to the pro-crypto leadership under President-elect Donald Trump. Over the past three years, the SEC vs Ripple lawsuit has undeniably created some turbulence, serving as a persistent source of challenges for my portfolio.

In light of the anticipated shifts within the U.S. Securacy and Exchange Commission (SEC), particularly Gary Gensler’s departure, the Ripple community speculates that the ongoing lawsuits may soon reach a conclusion.

As a result of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) among traders, both individual and institutional, as well as institutional investors, there is a predicted continued high interest in XRP in the short term. Based on recent analysis by Santiment, wallets on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) that hold between 1 million and 10 million XRPs have accumulated over 679 million units within the past three weeks.

🚀 The value of XRP has soared to an impressive $2.49 for the first time since January 8, 2018, marking a significant increase that almost reaches a 6-year (almost 7-year) high. This surge is attributed to wallets containing between 1 million and 10 million XRP amassing 679.1 million tokens, which translates to approximately $1.66 billion, within merely three weeks. Furthermore, the total number of non-empty XRP wallets has…

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 2, 2024

Over the last day, information from blockchain transactions indicates that numerous large investors (whales) withdrew substantial amounts of XRP from various cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Upbit. Simultaneously, Ripple released a billion XRP from their escrow accounts but chose to keep around 800 million units locked up.

The significant increase in XRP’s standing can be largely attributed to the significant advancements made by the XRP Ledger (XRPL) from Ripple’s main developers, which aligns with the expanding Decentralized Finance (DeFi) environment. For example, the upcoming native stablecoin, RLUSD on the XRPL, is almost ready for launch to reinforce Ripple’s cross-border transaction capabilities.

What’s Next?

For over two years, the price of XRP has not surpassed a symmetrical triangular pattern until now, indicating a positive market trend. The increased interest from large-scale investors (whales) and individual traders has caused the XRP/BTC pair to challenge a significant resistance level. If successful, this could initiate a powerful upward surge in the next few months.

— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) December 1, 2024

Looking at the technical perspective, it seems that XRP’s price might be experiencing a brief correction phase to calm down an overheated market with high leveraged trading activity. Interestingly, the weekly and monthly Relative Strength Indexes (RSI) have surged above 85% and 70% thresholds respectively, which is quite unusual and hasn’t been seen in several years.

Read More

2024-12-02 12:42