XRP Becomes the Fourth Largest Cryptocurrency After $100 Billion Post-Election Surge

The XRP token, linked to Ripple Labs, has surged to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency globally by market capitalization. This remarkable achievement follows weeks of upward momentum, sparked by President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and speculation about the SEC potentially dropping its legal case against Ripple.

Table of Contents

Key Facts

Price Surge:
- XRP’s price climbed above $2.50 early Monday before slightly retreating to $2.30.
- This marks a 21% surge in the past 24 hours and a nearly 50% increase compared to last week.
Market Cap Growth:
- XRP’s market cap jumped from $30 billion to $131 billion since Trump’s electoral win.
- Over the weekend, XRP’s market cap surpassed $100 billion for the first time since 2018, overtaking Solana’s SOL.
- XRP briefly surpassed Tether’s USDT market cap early Monday but later settled slightly lower.
Comparison to Other Cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC): Market cap of $1.89 trillion, maintaining its position as the most valuable cryptocurrency.
- Ether (ETH): Second-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $436 billion.

What Fueled XRP’s Weekend Surge?

The price surge over the weekend was driven by:

Fox Business Report: Speculation that the New York Department of Financial Services may approve Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin launch as early as December 4.
Election Results: Positive market sentiment following Trump’s victory, signaling a potentially pro-crypto regulatory environment.

News Peg

Ripple Labs has faced legal challenges since 2020 when the SEC sued the company for selling XRP tokens without registering them as securities. Key developments include:

2022 Ruling: A federal judge ruled Ripple did not violate securities law by selling XRP on public exchanges.
2023 Appeal: The SEC appealed the ruling in October.
Post-Election Speculation:
- Trump’s election victory and SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s impending resignation in January have fueled optimism about the case being dropped.
- Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo, a potential “Crypto Czar” in Trump’s administration, has publicly suggested the SEC abandon the case.

What to Watch For

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse: Recently interviewed by CBS News’ 60 Minutes about crypto regulations and industry efforts to promote pro-innovation policies.
Regulatory Updates: The crypto community is closely watching developments around Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and the SEC case.

Key Background

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a significant post-election boost, largely driven by:

Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance: During his campaign, Trump promised to transform the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Policy Shift: This marks a dramatic change from his earlier criticism of Bitcoin as a “scam.”