Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election on November 5th played a significant role in the resurgence of bullish enthusiasm in the crypto market. As investors bet on the president-elect to fulfill pro-crypto promises, the market size of cryptocurrencies skyrocketed by 42% to reach $3.5 trillion. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse even declared that Trump will "make crypto great again." Since November 5th, XRP has seen a fivefold increase, outperforming bigger-name crypto rivals like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
This victory for Trump has set the stage for further growth in the crypto space, with Ripple potentially eclipsing its 2018 high of $3.40. The positive sentiment surrounding Trump's presidency has given a much-needed boost to the entire crypto ecosystem.
XRP's price bump has been accompanied by a trading frenzy that coincided with Robinhood relisting XRP on its platform last month. Crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant's CEO, Ki Young Ju, believes that Coinbase whales are driving this rally. Furious XRP trading activity on Coinbase has created a price premium for the cryptocurrency when compared to more retail-focused platforms like Upbit.
Data from crypto analytics platform Scopescan also indicates that South Korean retail investors are contributing to XRP's price surge. In the last 24 hours, XRP trading on Asian exchanges including Upbit and Bithumb has eclipsed Bitcoin. This shows the growing interest and participation of retail investors in the Ripple token.
The resignation of SEC Chair Gary Gensler is another reason cited for the jump in XRP's price. Gensler's tenure was marked by a hostile stance towards the crypto industry. His departure on January 20th, the day of Trump's inauguration, is seen by many as a positive sign for Ripple.
Ripple's long legal battle with the SEC has stifled its growth. However, with Gensler leaving, there is a chance that this fight might come to an end, unlocking even more potential for the cryptocurrency. This could lead to further price appreciation and increased adoption of XRP.
Bitcoin surged close to $100,000 on the strength of Trump's victory. However, its dominance in the crypto market has dropped from 60% to 53% in the last week. Historically, a falling Bitcoin dominance amid an increase in crypto market value usually signals the start of an altcoin season, where attention shifts to other cryptocurrencies like XRP.
Following the success of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds this year, Solana and XRP are now competing to be the next cryptocurrency to get ETFs approved. Garlinghouse himself believes that an XRP ETF is "inevitable." Bitwise Asset Management, Canary Capital, 21Shares, and WisdomTree have already submitted XRP spot-ETF filings with the SEC. If these ETFs are approved, it could push the price of XRP even higher.
With Trump taking office next year, market analysts predict that the path towards more crypto ETFs could become easier. This could have a significant impact on the future of XRP and the entire crypto market.
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Companies like Stripe and PayPal have also entered the stablecoin business, recognizing the potential of these digital currencies in cross-border payments. The Bloomberg report argues that these efforts could help prevent another major market crash, such as the $19 billion collapse of TerraUSD two years ago.
According to Sheraz Shere, GM payments and commerce at the Solana Foundation, "Blockchain solutions and stablecoins - I don't like to use the term crypto because this is more about FinTech - they've found product-market fit in cross-border payments. You get the disintermediation, you get the speed, you get the transparency, you get extremely low cost." This highlights the importance of stablecoins in modern payment systems and the role that Orbital's dashboard can play in facilitating their adoption.