The cryptocurrency market has began the yr off with a bang, seeing its market capitalization rise by greater than $160 billion within the final 24-hour interval, with the native token of the XRP Ledger standing out after surging greater than 13% in that interval.
The cryptocurrency’s rise builds upon a surge that began earlier. XRP began the yr round $2.08 and has since surged considerably to now stand close to $2.39. The surge allowed XRP’s whole market capitalization to rise to $137.5 billion.
The rise means XRP is now the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization, above Tether’s USDT stablecoin, which has a $137.26 billion market capitalization.
The cryptocurrency market’s surge as we speak has been largely attributed to expectations of a extra crypto-friendly regulatory atmosphere underneath President-elect Donald Trump. Anticipated coverage shifts, together with the institution of a strategic Bitcoin reserve and the appointment of Paul Atkins as head of the SEC, have boosted investor confidence.
Moreover, the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds early final yr has made digital property extra accessible, additional contributing to the market’s upward momentum.
Trump’s pro-crypto stance has seen many speculate that XRP may quickly see the launch of a spot ETF providing publicity to it. A number of corporations have already filed for spot XRP ETFs, together with Bitwise, Canary Capital, WisdomTree, and 21Shares. Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse has recommended such a fund is “simply inevitable.”
Featured picture by way of Pexels.