Author: Socra, Golden Finance.
On December 2, XRP's market capitalization surpassed USDT and Solana, ranking third in the cryptocurrency market capitalization list, and even surpassed Pinduoduo, rising to the 138th position among global mainstream assets.
As XRP's price rose above $2, it also successfully set a new high since April 2021. On the eve of XRP's takeoff, Ripple's CEO stated that the Trump administration brought new hope to the crypto industry, and XRP might see a turnaround. What surprised many investors was that this turning point came quickly and violently, with XRP's price increasing by 400% in nearly a month. However, with such a high increase, can one still get on board with XRP now?
1. XRP blooms again.
At the beginning of November this year, XRP's price hovered around $0.5. However, after the Ripple CEO stated on November 10 that Trump might bring a turnaround for XRP, the price really soared.
According to CoinMarketcap data, as of the writing of this article, XRP has risen from around $0.5 to approximately $2.5, with an increase of 400% in the past month.
Since reaching a peak of $1.966 during the bull market in April 2021, XRP has been continuously declining for three and a half years, with a minimum drop to $0.287 during this period.
The surge in XRP's price has also led to soaring market capitalization, not only surpassing USDT and Solana with a market cap of nearly $140 billion, ranking third in cryptocurrency market capitalization, but also surpassing Pinduoduo and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group compared to traditional enterprises, rising to the 136th position among global mainstream assets.
Other data shows that XRP trading volumes are active on major exchanges. The XRP/KRW 24-hour spot trading volume on Upbit reached $3.8 billion, 11 times its BTC trading volume, surpassing Binance's XRP spot trading volume; the XRP/KRW 24-hour spot trading volume on Bithumb reached $1.2 billion, accounting for 32% of its total trading volume.
The xrpscan data also shows that the number of active XRP accounts grew by 100% in November, with on-chain indicators showing signs of positive recovery. The number of active accounts or unique senders on the XRP network increased from 15,592 on November 1 to 47,044 on November 16. The total number of active accounts in November doubled (increased by 100%) from around 12,000 to 25,000 this month. Similarly, the number of newly activated accounts on the XRP ledger in November also increased significantly, indicating a large influx of new users into the network.
Regarding the above performance of XRP, Ripple's CEO seems to have anticipated it. He stated as early as the beginning of November that the Trump administration might bring new hope for the crypto industry, and XRP might see a turnaround.
He explained that the Trump administration may change cryptocurrency regulations and resolve Ripple's years-long legal disputes. He mentioned that since the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, XRP has faced many setbacks, but as adverse market factors dissipate, the situation is changing, and XRP's future prospects are becoming broader.
2. Multiple favorable factors.
1. Expectations for policy easing.
The optimistic expectation of favorable cryptocurrency policies following Trump's administration continues to bring confidence to the crypto industry, and Ripple's CEO has also mentioned that Trump is likely to resolve Ripple's years-long legal disputes.
Subsequent news revealed that Trump may meet with Ripple's CEO and other representatives from the crypto industry to discuss formulating U.S. cryptocurrency policies.
Companies like Ripple are vying for the cryptocurrency committee positions promised by Trump, seeking to have a voice in his planned U.S. policy reforms.
The former CFTC chairman also predicted that the SEC would drop its lawsuit against Ripple, indicating that a regulatory shift could trigger a significant rise in XRP.
2. The launch of the XRP ETF and expectations for financial products.
Ripple's CEO stated that the XRP ETF is destined to be launched.
Bloomberg ETF analysts pointed out that XRP and other altcoin ETFs might need to be approved by the end of 2025, as the new SEC leadership in 2025 may be more friendly towards cryptocurrencies, potentially allowing ETF products to incorporate staking features.
Ripple is expected to obtain approval from the New York Department of Financial Services to issue the stablecoin RLUSD, which may launch on December 4. If approved, Ripple will be able to legally offer RLUSD to the public, making it a major player in New York's regulated digital financial market and the broader stablecoin ecosystem, and will allow Ripple to compete directly with other well-known U.S. stablecoin issuers like Circle, Paxos, and Gemini.
WisdomTree will launch the XRP ETP on European exchanges, which will be 100% backed by spot XRP. The assets will be stored in cold wallets and will employ a dual custody model, managed by regulated custodians.
Additionally, WisdomTree has registered the XRP ETF in Delaware, USA. 21Shares has also submitted an S-1 form to the SEC to apply for the launch of the XRP ETF, and Bitwise has submitted an application for the XRP ETF in Delaware.
Grayscale has opened private placement subscriptions for qualified investors including XRP and 17 other tokens. Robinhood's U.S. platform has re-listed SOL, ADA, and XRP, and has added PEPE.
3. The giant whales' support.
The trading volumes of XRP on South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb reached $3.8 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. Analysis firm Scopescan stated that Korean investors might be the main driving force behind the increase in XRP prices.
At the beginning of November, 400 million XRP were unlocked from an unknown custody wallet, amounting to approximately $203 million.
At the end of September, Ripple whales bought over 470 million XRP within 10 consecutive days.
However, despite the significant increase in XRP and the various favorable factors, some analysts have issued warnings:
CryptoQuant analysts: The open interest for XRP has risen by 37%, which may lead to a decline; the last similar event resulted in a 17% drop.
Another analysis suggests that the current target price for XRP may be between $1.95 and $2.05, but it is important to note that since November 16, XRP's price and trading volume have shown an inverse correlation, indicating that XRP is undergoing a distribution phase, and market traders may be looking to sell.
Summary.
As an established project, it is not easy for XRP to explode again. However, there have been various favorable factors surrounding it recently, whether in terms of policy regulation or expectations for the launch of financial products like ETFs, which have led investors to have considerable expectations. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency market has a long-standing tradition of favoring new projects over old ones. Whether XRP can continue to grow stronger and achieve brilliance again remains to be seen over time.
