XRP Becomes Third Largest Crypto, Surpassing Solana and Tether Amid 25% Rally
Surprisingly, Ripple Labs-backed XRP surpassed Solana (SOL) and Tether USDT on the same day to become the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The large-cap altcoin has surged more than 25% in the past 24 hours to trade around $2.40 in early Asian trading on Monday, December 2.
The utility-based altcoin has a market capitalization of approximately $140 billion and a fully diluted valuation of over $240 billion, with average daily trading volume surging 45% to approximately $23 billion at the time of this report.
Why is XRP rising?
As Coinpedia previously noted, XRP price benefited significantly from the election of a pro-crypto leader in the United States under President-elect Donald Trump. Once a new SEC chairman is confirmed early next year, the long-standing legal hurdles created by the SEC charges may be removed.
XRP’s significant rise over the past 24 hours has been partially attributed to massive liquidation by short traders. According to data from Coinglass, XRP’s leveraged market dominated liquidations in the past 24 hours, with more than $50 million in liquidations, including more than $36 million in liquidations involving short traders. Therefore, the possibility of a short squeeze significantly increases XRP’s continued bullish outlook.
Over the past 24 hours, on-chain data shows an increase in whale trader activity, led by Ripple. For example, Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP units from escrow accounts and locked over 800 million units.
Meanwhile, several transactions involving whale investors withdrawing huge amounts of XRP from different exchanges were reported by upper bits and Binance.
What’s next for XRP price?
Following a 280% surge in November, XRP price has officially broken out of a multi-year triangle consolidation. The veteran altcoin is now on the verge of retesting its all-time highs (ATH) set in 2018 after surpassing the peak of the 2021 bull cycle.
From a technical analysis perspective, XRP price has entered a much-anticipated parabolic phase, which could lead to further gains in the coming months. The weekly relative strength index (RSI) surged above 85% for the first time since 2021, suggesting bulls are in control.
However, XRP traders should remain cautious about a possible pullback after a massive bullish breakout before continuing the uptrend.
