[NEWS] XRP surges to highest level since January 2018, surpassing Tether to become third in market capitalization

The cryptocurrency XRP has seen a big price increase. About a month ago, it was trading at around 0.5 dollars (about 75 yen), but on the morning of the 2nd, it temporarily reached 2.5 dollars (about 377 yen). This is the highest level since January 2018.

With this price increase, XRP's market capitalization has exceeded 135 billion dollars (about 20 trillion yen). It has surpassed Tether (USDT), a stablecoin backed by the US dollar, and has risen to third place in market capitalization.

According to CoinMarketCap, XRP has risen 315% in the past 90 days. Even compared to one week, the increase rate exceeded 70%.

▶︎Cryptocurrency market capitalization ranking: Quoted from CoinMarketCap

The rise is due to expectations of changes in the environment surrounding Ripple, the US company that issues XRP.

With Republican candidate Donald Trump winning the US presidential election last month and becoming the next president, many people believe that there will be positive developments for the industry, such as the establishment of regulations regarding cryptocurrencies.

In particular, Trump has announced his intention to fire SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) Chairman Gary Gensler, and in light of this situation, Gensler recently indicated his intention to resign himself. This has been pointed out as a possibility that the ongoing trial with the SEC over XRP securities issues may come to an end, which has had a positive impact on the price.

In addition, the movement surrounding the approval of RLUSD, a stablecoin that has attracted attention due to its issuance by Ripple, is also having a positive effect. RLUSD is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, and if issued, it will compete with Tether and USD Coin (USDC).

According to a report by FOX Business on the 29th of last month, the NYDFS (New York State Department of Financial Services) is expected to approve RLUSD around the 4th of this month. After approval, RLUSD may be launched promptly.

XRP had been sluggish in price for a long time due to a lawsuit with the SEC, but a combination of positive factors, as well as the booming cryptocurrency market situation, have led to a significant price increase.

On the other hand, since the price has risen sharply, large-scale selling due to profit-taking is also possible, so caution is required for sudden price fluctuations.

Reference: FOX Business
Image: Shutterstock

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