XRP Skyrockets to $2.39, Crushing USDT to Claim Third Spot

Key Takeaways

• XRP surges to reclaim its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, trading at $2.39 after a remarkable 68% weekly gain.
• Daily trading volume on Upbit exceeds $3.69 billion, outpacing BTC and ETH, with renewed optimism surrounding Ripple’s SEC lawsuit resolution.
• Market momentum is fueled by speculation of favorable regulatory shifts and significant token unlocks by Ripple’s official wallet.

XRP has reclaimed its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a title it held before its legal troubles with the SEC. The coin is now trading at $2.39, surging 30% in the past 24 hours and 68% over the week.

This rally comes about after years of uncertainty by a December 2020 lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission labeling XRP also known as an unregistered security amidst such news, XPR was trading at $0.50 and plummeted suddenly to $0.1700, wiping out huge amount of value, while ranking seventh.

The present momentum has brought XRP into the investor spotlight once again, rejuvenating investors’ enthusiasm. With $3.69 billion of trade volume on South Korea’s Upbit exchange, accounting for 27.35% of the total trades, XRP is well outpacing Bitcoin and Ethereum by a wide margin.

Legal Optimism and Strategic Unlocks Bolster Rally

In a recent spike, two major developments were contributing factors to XRP’s action. First, Chris Giancarlo, the former chairman of the U.S. CFTC, has come out positive on Ripple’s legal prospects under a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. Giancarlo’s legal analysis puts XRP as a non-security, a finding which sets off hopes of an end to the SEC lawsuit.

The second important factor is that on December 1, “Ripple 24,” the wallet designed by the company, had a major token unlock of 500 million XRP worth $970 million. This is the consistent monthly unlock in place since June and shows that Ripple’s approach is aimed at maintaining liquidity while simultaneously fueling market demand.

Bold Predictions Amid Volatility

There is much speculation upon the future price of the XRP token. Some analysts are extremely optimistic, creating forecasts for the token value to go as high as $18 by December this year and an ambitious rate of $150 in January 2025. This is identical to how events happened during XRP’s 2017 bull run, when – under the same conditions – their growth in price was exponential and unforeseen.

Historical patterns provide a basis on which such predictions are made. That would translate to a 300% increase in November to match 2017 performance, while an 830% rally in December could place XRP at $18.

If January’s growth indeed follow through with the trends of the past, another surge of 713% could see the token catapult to $150. But it does come with a big reminder that such optimism carries potential volatility, including price wicks of a lot during the most volatile phases.

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