XRP Rises 370% After Trump’s Win: What’s Driving the Rise?

XRP has surged a staggering 370% since Donald Trump’s US election victory, outperforming other major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin only rose 46% during the same period, while XRP overtook Solana to become the third largest cryptocurrency, behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum.

XRP was created in 2012 as a token for the XRP Ledger, which powers Ripple’s international payment systems. Although Ripple focuses on global payments, most of its business—95%—is done outside the US.

Ripple is in a long legal battle with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). Last year, a judge ruled that XRP is not a security when sold to regular investors but is an unregistered security when sold to large institutions. This wasn’t a complete win for Ripple, but it provided some clarity and helped XRP recover.

Recently, XRP has been gaining momentum due to several positive developments. Mudrex CEO Edul Patel noted, “XRP has rallied close to 300% in just one month due to growing interest in banking tokens. The recent approval of Ripple’s stablecoin – RLUSD has provided another boost, pushing the price of XRP above $2.” He added that a pro-crypto SEC chair is also expected to bring a friendlier stance to cases like Ripple, further boosting market sentiment.

Another key factor driving demand is Ripple’s use of XRP for fast, low-cost international money transfers. “Ripple using XRP in its payment network could serve as a key use case, creating more demand for the token. XRP is well positioned to sustain its upward momentum throughout the altcoin season, setting a new all-time high,” explained Patel.

Also Read: Could Cryptocurrencies Emerge As ‘New Gold’? Exploring their future as a safe-haven asset

Major financial firms such as Bitwise, WisdomTree and 21Shares are working on launching XRP-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). If approved, these ETFs could bring more money and attention to XRP, strengthening its position in the market.

This week, XRP reached a market capitalization of $140 billion, surpassing global companies such as Sony ($128.6 billion), Nike ($115.57 billion), Starbucks ($112.6 billion), Spotify ($97.51 billion), PayPal ($90.23 billion), Dell ($86.75 billion). has gone ), and Ferrari ($80.92 billion). The rally follows Ripple’s regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for its RLUSD stablecoin. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse celebrated the milestone on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “We have final approval from @NYDFS for $RLUSD! Exchange and partner listings will be live soon – and a reminder: when RLUSD is live, you’ll hear it from @Ripple first.

At 10:54 am IST on Sunday, XRP was trading down 1.35% to $2.43.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)