XRP skyrocketed 11% in the last 24 hours, leading to a broader crypto market rally as bitcoin briefly broke the $100,000 barrier.
The token reached a six-year high to reclaim its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, overtaking Tether’s USDT and even exceeding the market value of asset management giant BlackRock.
During Wednesday’s early U.S. trading session, XRP peaked at $3 for the first time since January 2018, before slightly retreating to $2.95.
The rally follows bullish sentiment fueled by U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data and optimism about crypto-friendly policies under the incoming administration. Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC over XRP’s status as a security has also drawn attention to the asset, particularly amid speculation of regulatory changes.
XRP has been on a tear, skyrocketing 488% since Donald Trump’s election victory. With a market cap of $170 billion, it’s now firmly in third place behind Bitcoin and Ethereum’s Ether. The token’s comeback is powered by Ripple’s expanding alliances, the rollout of its RLUSD stablecoin, and chatter about a spot XRP ETF. Ripple President Monica Long is also feeling bullish, hinting that ETF approvals might pick up steam under the new administration.
Large investors also played a key role in XRP’s rally. Analytics firm Santiment highlighted that addresses holding 1 million to 10 million XRP have accumulated 1.4 billion tokens, worth nearly $3.8 billion, since mid-November. This accumulation continued as prices consolidated after early December highs, providing additional momentum for the rally.
Traders and analysts are optimistic about XRP’s trajectory, with the next major milestone being its all-time high of $3.40, reached in January 2018. Adjusted for inflation, XRP would need to exceed $4.24 to set a new record, according to Alex Thorn, Galaxy Digital’s head of research.
Meanwhile, Google Trends data shows that XRP recently surpassed Bitcoin in search interest. This is the third time in the past year that XRP led Bitcoin in global search volumes.
The market now waits to see if XRP can break its all-time high. If the rally continues, it could even challenge Ethereum’s position as the second-largest cryptocurrency.