XRP, the native asset used by blockchain payments firm Ripple, has surged to a new 2024 high as investors anticipate pro-crypto developments in the United States under President-elect Donald Trump.
On Dec. 1, XRP (XRP) surpassed Solana (SOL) in market capitalization and has since flipped Tether’s USDt (USDT) to become the third-largest crypto asset by market cap. Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows that the token surged as high as $2.46 on Dec. 2 before dropping back to $2.29.
Seven-day price chart for the XRP token. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro
The surge came amid expectations of a more favorable US political climate for cryptocurrencies and progress on Ripple’s dollar-pegged, overcollateralized stablecoin project, RLUSD.
Trump’s election win boosts crypto markets
After Trump’s win in the 2024 US presidential election, the crypto market rallied, led by Bitcoin (BTC), which reached an all-time high of $99,645 on Nov. 22. Other crypto assets, including XRP, followed suit as investors anticipated a potential shift in US crypto policies.
Following Trump’s win, XRP prices also increased on rumors about a meeting between Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Trump that circulated on social media. XRP saw a price increase of more than 17% on Nov. 15 amid buzz that the pair had met.
Source: Pierre Rochard
Rumors of the meeting sparked controversy within the crypto community. In an X post, former Messari CEO and founder Ryan Selkis said Garlinghouse was “shilling XRP and CBDC implementations.” Riot Platforms vice president of research Pierre Rochard agreed, urging Trump to include more Bitcoin advocates on his team.
Anticipation of SEC cases being settled or dismissed
In 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple for unregistered securities offerings through XRP sales. This led to a legal back and forth between the crypto company and the securities regulator.
On Nov. 15, Consensys CEO Joe Lubin told Cointelegraph that legal battles between crypto companies and the SEC may be “dismissed or settled” under the Trump administration. Lubin said that while not all cases might be settled, the industry will “save hundreds of millions of dollars” as it moves forward.
Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Chris Giancarlo also urged regulatory agencies to drop several cases, including Ripple’s. In a Fox Business interview on Nov. 26, Giancarlo said, “It’s time for regulatory agencies to drop a lot of these cases.”
When asked if the SEC should drop the Ripple case specifically, Giancarlo responded: “I think they should.”
Related: Analyst warns of ‘leverage driven’ XRP pump as token flips Tether
New RLUSD stablecoin project
Anticipation surrounding Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin project may have further influenced XRP’s recent price surge.
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is expected to approve the RLUSD stablecoin. On Nov. 29, Fox Business reported that the regulator may approve the stablecoin in the coming days and it could see a product launch by Dec. 4.
In August, Ripple said that once RLUSD becomes available, it will use the stablecoin and XRP in its cross-border payments solution.
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