- XRP’s market cap hits $141B, surpassing USDT to become the third-largest cryptocurrency.
- Ripple boosts XRP liquidity, unlocking 500M XRP from escrow on January 1, 2025.
- RLUSD stablecoin, launched by Ripple, amasses a $72M market cap shortly after its release.
XRP recently surpassed Tether’s USDt to become the third largest cryptocurrency with a market value of $141.1 billion. This level demonstrates increasing confidence among investors and heightened trading in XRP. However, adopting the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation led to a USDt value decline of $1.6 billion.
Market Dynamics and Ripple’s Strategic Moves
Ripple contributed to the recent surge by unlocking approximately 500 million Unique XRP from escrow to increase the market’s supply. Moreover, robust trading activity on South Korea’s Upbit exchange, where XRP trading crossed $1.3 billion, created high investor interest.
According to data collected from CoinGecko, the cryptocurrency has increased by about 17% in the past 14 days and by about 280% year over year. Forecasts for XRP from cryptanalysts suggest the price of this token could increase to between $8 and $20 in the current market phase. This optimism comes from XRP’s benefits for cross-border payments, including quicker processing time and relatively cheaper fees than traditional financial systems.
These make XRP an investment opportunity for retail and institutional investors, facilitating instant and cost-effective global money transfers.
Ripple Enhances Its Ecosystem with RLUSD Stablecoin
On December 17, Ripple unveiled the RLUSD stablecoin. This strategic development aims to connect with Ripple Payments early 2025 to facilitate cross-border transactions for enterprise clients.
In just the weeks since its creation, RLUSD has been recognized with a market capitalization of $72m. The introduction of RLUSD is anticipated to set new standards for compliance and transparency in the stablecoin segment, potentially driving further adoption of Ripple’s technologies.
