As 2025 begins, Ripple XRP has hit the ground running. The XRP price has surged by 12% today following a major XRP transfer worth more than $1 billion. According to on-chain data, Ripple transferred 500 million XRP coins from its escrow account to another Ripple-owned wallet.
The transaction was accompanied by an intriguing note that captivated the market. The note showed the anticipation of a more crypto-friendly administration under incoming U.S. president Donald Trump. Trump made campaign promises for crypto-friendly policies and a strategic Bitcoin reserve, which is largely fueling optimism for 2025.
This move corresponded with XRP’s price increase in the previous 24 hours, propelling the altcoin to a daily high of $2.39. XRP’s market valuation has now reached $135 billion.
Additionally, the open interest (OI) increased by 25% on the first two days of the new year, indicating that new money was entering the market. This is after a 54% drop in OI in December.
XRP trading volume in South Korea surpasses BTC and ETH
Today, XRP experienced an 11% increase in trading volumes, which were primarily driven by the $1.3 billion worth of trades on the Korea-focused exchange Upbit. This growth was the most significant among major cryptocurrencies.
Source: CoinMarketCap
The surge was realized on Tuesday as an analysis identified unusually high trading volumes for XRP, which have historically been indicative of price volatility with a positive bias, originating from South Korean exchanges.
The total trading volume of XRP across the country’s leading exchanges, Upbit, Bithumb, and Korbit, exceeded $1 billion. This indicates a major rise in XRP activity on these platforms.
Notably, on Upbit alone, XRP contributed $716.79 million of the $5.23 billion overall trading volume, greatly above Bitcoin’s $400.43 million figure. Ethereum trailed behind with only 2.51% of total trading volume. This indicates XRP’s growing popularity among South Korean traders.
Additionally, whereas XRP accounted for 13.67% of UpBit’s volume, Bitcoin’s share was around half that. Interestingly, Ethereum, the largest altcoin, accounted for only 2.51% of the total $5.23 billion volume on UpBit.
Will Ripple and SEC’s case end in Q1 2025?
Investors focus returned to the SEC versus Ripple case as crucial developments unfold in January 2025. Key dates include January 15th. This is the deadline for the SEC’s appeal-related opening brief.
Jaime Lizarraga, the Democratic SEC Commissioner, will leave the office on January 17. In addition, SEC Chair Gary Gensler will step down on January 20th, which is also Trump’s inauguration day.
The best-case scenario for XRP would be a withdrawal of the appeal by January 15. This could push the coin above its record high of $3.5505. Alternatively, the SEC might proceed with an opening brief, only to have incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioners decide to withdraw.
Ripple-SEC Case Could Be Dropped, Says Fox Business’s Charles Gasparino https://t.co/ycsaQABKvQ via @TimesTabloid1
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) January 1, 2025
The newly appointed Commissioners, along with the incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins, may terminate the Ripple case and replace Caroline Crenshaw and Jaime Lizarraga. However, XRP may be subject to selling pressure if the SEC submits a well-argued appeal. This could result in a decline below $2.
In the meantime, an eventual internal resolution to withdraw and a closed meeting would likely support an XRP move to new record highs. The appeal’s continuation or withdrawal is determined by an agency vote, not the Chair alone, as required by internal SEC Rules.
Notably, the SEC’s appeal is predicated on the critical Programmatic Sales of XRP judgment. Judge Analisa Torres determined in July 2023 that programmatic transactions of XRP did not satisfy the third prong of the Howey Test.
The ruling diminishes the agency’s regulatory authority over crypto exchanges and trading, which establishes a precedent for the US digital asset space.
As a result, XRP would be subject to regulatory oversight by the SEC if the ruling is effectively overturned. This could lead to exchanges delisting XRP in order to comply with US securities laws. It would also bolster the agency’s cases against crypto exchanges, such as Binance and Coinbase.
OKX already delisted the coin. Depending on the SEC’s decision over the Ripple case, XRP can either do extremely well or fail.
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