On Monday (December 2), Bitcoin hovered around the $97,900 level, with the price struggling to break through the critical $100,000 threshold. Ripple (XRP) surged over 20%, with a market capitalization exceeding $100 billion, jumping to become the fourth largest cryptocurrency in the world. A new wave of Altcoin Season saw Ethereum return to the top 30 in global asset market capitalization.
Historical data shows that when Bitcoin Dominance declines, funds usually flow into other tokens. In 2017-2018, altcoins saw their first wave of surges; while in 2020-2021, decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT explosions were the main driving factors. In 2024, institutional capital will enter the market through compliant channels such as ETFs, providing new momentum for altcoin expansion.
According to Trading View data, Bitcoin's dominance has dropped by over 4%. Since Donald Trump's election victory, Bitcoin's share of the cryptocurrency market capitalization has gradually declined, with the rise of Ethereum, the US blue-chip public chain Solana (SOL), and Ripple's XRP.
CoinMarketCap data indicates that Ripple's market capitalization currently exceeds $135 billion, while Solana's market capitalization is $111.9 billion.
Ripple has also climbed 13 spots in the global asset market capitalization ranking, reaching 177th place, surpassing well-known giants such as luxury goods leader Dior, semiconductor giant Micron Technology, and BHP Group.
Ethereum's market capitalization has surpassed that of US warehouse club giant Costco and Vanguard Group, returning to the top 30 in global asset market capitalization, currently ranking 29th.
Ripple has performed strongly in recent weeks, rising since November 10 and has now reached its highest point in seven years for this digital asset.
CoinTelegraph reports that Ripple's rapid price performance can be attributed to an increasing number of key partnerships, new product development by Ripple Labs, the possibility of a Ripple spot ETF on Wall Street, and unverified rumors about billionaire Elon Musk making a large investment in Ripple.
Asset management company 21Shares applied for a Ripple ETF on November 1, raising investor expectations that the SEC will approve the ETF application after the Trump administration takes office.
New York Stock Exchange Arca submitted an application to the US SEC on November 15 to list Bitwise's cryptocurrency index exchange-traded products. The Bitwise cryptocurrency index will include 10 digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Avalanche, and others.
On November 25, asset management company WisdomTree applied for a Ripple ETF in Delaware, joining 21Shares, Canary Capital, and Bitwise.
Ripple Labs also announced on November 25 the launch of the first tokenized money market fund on the Ripple ledger. The tokenized fund was realized in collaboration with the UK-regulated cryptocurrency exchange Archax.
As part of the collaboration between the two companies, Ripple will tokenize Abrdn's $4.77 billion liquidity fund.
Recent reports indicate that Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin will receive approval from New York financial regulators in the coming days. This is a token that is over-collateralized and pegged to the US dollar.
Bitcoin's Uptrend Stalls: Strong Dollar from Trump, Potential Rate Hike by Bank of Japan
Regarding Bitcoin's trend, Bitwise analysts recently stated that the dollar index has risen from 103.42 on the day Donald Trump won the US election to the current level of 106, which may hinder Bitcoin's efforts to reach $100,000.
Analysts stated: "Historical data shows that Bitcoin often faces restrictions during periods of a strong dollar. Additionally, a strong dollar often signals global liquidity tightening, which is currently the most important economic factor affecting Bitcoin."
Additionally, Bitwise analysts pointed out that another major factor potentially hindering Bitcoin's rise is the increasing likelihood of the Bank of Japan raising interest rates on December 19. The October Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on November 22 shows that inflationary pressures still exist in Japan, and the USD/JPY has recently seen a decline, which increases the likelihood of the Bank of Japan raising rates at the December meeting.
If Japan raises interest rates again, the yen carry trade that previously caused turbulence in global capital markets may re-emerge, and Bitcoin may also be affected.
George Milling-Stanley, Chief Strategist at State Street Global Advisors, warned that the spike in Bitcoin in November may have created a false sense of security for investors, as current investors tend to buy to profit from Bitcoin investments rather than seeing Bitcoin's long-term value.
He wrote: "Simply put, investing in Bitcoin is an act of seeking returns, indicating that the influx of investors is driven by profit chasing rather than recognizing Bitcoin's long-term value or utility."
"The Bitcoin ETF options launched last week may be related to this; people can bet on price fluctuations with smaller amounts of capital, but they are not actually buying Bitcoin."
Ripple Technical Analysis
FXStreet junior cryptocurrency analyst Michael Ebiekutan stated that according to CoinGlass data, Ripple triggered $24.75 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours. Long and short liquidations were $7.58 million and $17.17 million, respectively.
Ripple is expected to complete a rounded bottom formation. If the price firmly breaks through the resistance near $1.96 and encounters rejection, its uptrend could extend by over 30% to $2.58.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is in the oversold region, indicating that prices are overheated and a correction may occur.
A weekly candlestick closing price below $1.35 will invalidate this argument.
