According to The Block, XRP, closely related to Ripple Labs, has a market capitalization of $141.8 billion, surpassing USDT's $134.5 billion.
XRP has surpassed Tether's stablecoin in market capitalization, becoming the third largest cryptocurrency in the world, only behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Currently, XRP has a market capitalization of $141.8 billion, with its price rising 30% in the past 24 hours to $2.46. According to The Block's price page, XRP has increased by 364.1% over the past month.
The surge in XRP occurred after its weekend market capitalization surpassed Solana. Bitcoin rose 1.28%, currently trading at $97,862, while Ethereum increased by 0.68%, changing hands at $3,721. Solana saw a slight decline of 0.96%, priced at $235.84.
Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, told The Block that XRP's recent strong performance seems to be driven by news that NYDFS is set to approve Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD.
According to Fox News, the New York Department of Financial Services may soon approve Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, which the company is considering launching on December 4. Ripple has not immediately responded to The Block's request for comment.
The price momentum of XRP may also be influenced by the announcement that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will resign in January. Since 2020, the SEC has been in a legal battle with Ripple, accusing the company of raising $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP, considering it an unregistered security.
Chung stated, 'Gensler's resignation is also a positive signal, as it means the SEC under new leadership may address or withdraw many pending lawsuits, including the appeal against Ripple.' He added, 'It's hard to judge how long this surge will last. If the XRP community can leverage RLUSD to nurture the XRP Ledger ecosystem and create value, this increase could potentially continue. Ripple will certainly be in a better position without the interference of the SEC lawsuit.'
Market participants are also watching the potential for a spot XRP exchange-traded fund. Several asset management companies, including 21Shares, Canary Capital, and Bitwise, have applied for an XRP ETF.
