The XRP token, closely associated with Ripple Labs, has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the fourth-largest cryptocurrency globally in terms of market cap. This surge was triggered by President-elect Donald Trump's election win in November and the subsequent speculation about the SEC potentially dropping its legal case against Ripple. Let's delve deeper into the details.

Key Highlights and Market Movements

The price of XRP witnessed a significant upward trend. Early on Monday, it rose above $2.50 and then dropped slightly to $2.30, registering a 21% surge over the past 24 hours and nearly a 50% increase compared to the previous week. Since Trump's electoral victory, its market cap has soared from around $30 billion to an astonishing $131 billion on Monday. Over the weekend, XRP's market cap crossed $100 billion for the first time since 2018, overtaking Solana's SOL and becoming the world's fourth most valuable cryptocurrency. It also briefly surpassed Tether's USDT stablecoin market value early on Monday before settling slightly lower. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, with its value hovering around $100,000 in the past week, remains the world's most valuable cryptocurrency with a market cap of nearly $1.89 trillion, followed by the Ether token with a market cap of $436 billion.

What Fueled The Xrp Surge This Weekend?

The steady rise in XRP's price since election day was further accelerated over the weekend. Fox Business reported that the New York Department of Financial Services might soon approve the launch of Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin. The report suggested that the company could be preparing to launch RLUSD as early as December 4. This news had a significant impact on XRP's market sentiment.

News Peg and Regulatory Implications

Ripple Labs, the developer of the XRP payment protocol and the user of the token for its payments platform, faced a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2020. The agency accused the company of selling XRP tokens without proper registration. However, last year in July, a federal judge ruled that Ripple did not violate securities law by selling the token on public exchanges. In October this year, the SEC appealed the ruling before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The election of President Trump and the announcement by SEC chair Gary Gensler that he is stepping down in January have triggered speculation about the Ripple case. Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Chris Giancarlo, who is a top contender to serve as the "Crypto Czar" in the incoming Trump administration, expressed his view that the SEC should drop the case against Ripple. This has added to the positive sentiment surrounding XRP.

What To Watch For

In a post on X last week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse mentioned that CBS News' 60 Minutes program had interviewed him. The interview focused on crypto, the push for regulatory clarity, and how the industry came together to advocate for pro-innovation candidates through Fairshake PAC. This indicates the importance of regulatory clarity in the cryptocurrency space.

Key Background and Policy Shifts

The post-election cryptocurrency surge is driven by the expectations of a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump and the GOP controlled Congress. During his campaign, the President-elect adopted a pro-crypto stance and promised to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet." This was a significant departure from his earlier stance when he labeled Bitcoin as a "scam" and a disaster waiting to happen.