XRP becomes third largest crypto, surpassing Tether and Solana

Move over Tether: a surprising twist of events results in XRP overtaking Solana and Tether the same day

In the past 24 hours, the price of XRP has surged by 25%. It reached $2.4 and a market cap of $140 billion, making it the third-largest cryptocurrency. This alternative coin surged over 25 percent during the early Asian sessions^[1].

The utility-based coin registered a 45 percent surge in daily average traded volume to around $23 billion. XRP is a digital currency created by Ripple Labs to make international money transfers faster and cheaper.

Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, XRP doesn’t require mining. Instead, it uses a system in which a network of trusted participants verifies transactions. This helps move money quickly and with less energy.

Banks and other financial companies use XRP to send payments across borders more easily. Most of the XRP that will ever exist has already been created, with Ripple Labs owning a large portion of it. Although XRP has faced some legal issues, it’s still widely used in digital payments.

Why the sudden surge?

Banks and other financial companies use XRP to send payments across borders more easily. Most of the XRP that will ever exist has already been created, with Ripple Labs owning a large portion of it. Although XRP has faced some legal issues, it’s still widely used in digital payments.

Various reports have previously shown that the price of this cryptocurrency has benefited from the election of pro-crypto leaders in the United States^[2]. The successful election of Donald Trump influenced many things in the cryptocurrency industry.

All the legal issues or at least some of the hurdles and US SEC charges are expected to be dropped once the new SEC chair is confirmed in a few months.

According to reports, this recent rise is linked to the heavy liquidation of short traders. XRP's leveraged market-led liquidations in these 24 hours totaled more than $50 million, and over $36 million involved short traders. Also, the short squeeze odds have significantly increased the ongoing bullish outlook.

The prognosis for the future shows further gains

These past few days, whale traders, led by Ripple, have been more active. The company unlocked billions of XRP units from the escrow account and locked back over 800 million units. Nevertheless, multiple transactions involved whale investors withdrawing huge amounts of XRP from different exchanges, led by Upbit and Binance^[3].

Over the years, XRP managed to gain attention. In November, XRP surged by 280%. Now, its price has officially broken out of a multi-year triangular consolidation. This veteran altcoin is on the path to retesting its all-time high.

That was set in 2018 when XRP surpassed its 2021 bull cycle peak. Multiple analysts think that the XRP price has entered the much-anticipated parabolic phase, which could mean further gains in the upcoming months. But XRP traders should still be cautious. A potential correction is possible following a massive bullish breakout before the upside trend continues.