XRP Flips USDT, Secures 3rd Spot By Market Cap – What’s Fueling The Surge?

Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency continues its impressive rally, recently surpassing Tether (USDT) in reported market capitalization to become the third-largest cryptocurrency, behind Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

XRP Flips USDT As Crypto Market Cap Shoots Past $3.6 Trillion

Alongside BTC, several cryptocurrencies, including Solana (SOL), and Sui (SUI), have shown exceptional performance during the ongoing crypto bull market. XRP, in particular, has surged by an astonishing 424% over the past month, outperforming all other large-cap cryptocurrencies.

Ripple’s native token’s remarkable run aligns with pro-crypto presidential candidate Donald Trump’s victory in the November elections. On November 4, XRP was trading at just $0.50, but it has reached $2.69 – representing a fivefold increase in less than a month.

This dramatic price momentum has propelled the crypto-asset’s market capitalization to $152.2 billion, securing its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency. This is not the first time Ripple’s flagship digital currency has achieved this milestone.

SEC Lawsuit Issues Nearing End For Ripple

XRP was previously among the top three cryptocurrencies by market cap until December 2020, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple. The lawsuit alleged that Ripple facilitated an “unregistered digital asset securities offering.”

The litigation caused years of uncertainty for Ripple, significantly impacting the cryptocurrency’s price performance between 2020 and mid-2024. However, recent positive developments in the case have sparked renewed investor confidence, driving strong price gains for XRP. Commenting, Eleanor Terrett from Fox Business said:

Wow. Pre-lawsuit, $XRP was the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap. When the SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, the price fell from around $0.50 to $0.17, taking out with it more than $15B in market value. While the price recovered, it spent the next four years at the #7 spot.

The cryptocurrency has also been buoyed by fresh optimism toward crypto regulations in the US since Donald Trump emerged victorious in the November elections. Within the last two weeks, it has surged by 133%, indicating that there might be more room for the digital asset to grow before stalling.

Further, recent data from Google Trends indicates that search results for the digital asset eclipsed the word “crypto” at least three times in November. Notably, the Ripple token surpassed ETH in Google searches earlier this month. However, it is yet to overtake Bitcoin in this metric.

Ripple’s blockchain asset stands to gain from several upcoming developments. For example, Ripple Labs is on track to secure regulatory approval in New York for its dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD.

That said, some analysts fear that the digital asset’s rally may be overextended, recommending a cautious approach and suggesting investors wait for a price correction before buying. XRP trades at $2.69 at press time, up 40.5% in the past 24 hours.