Ripple’s XRP Market Cap Hits $100 Billion For First Time Since 2018 As $2 Price Beckons

For the first time since 2018, XRP’s market capitalization has skyrocketed above the $100 billion mark, fueled by bullish sentiment and regulatory optimism. The Ripple-promoted crypto asset has flipped BNB to become the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the market, now only trailing Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether’s USDT, and Solana (SOL).

Factors Driving XRP’s Market Cap

According to CoinGecko data, XRP’s market cap jumped to $110.5 billion on Nov. 30, with the token’s price rising 11.2% to reach a peak of $1.93. The crypto asset is up an eye-watering 270% over the past 30 days.

XRP’s price uptrend comes amid increasing speculation that a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) might be on the horizon, alongside optimism around the imminent leadership change at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Global ETF issuer WisdomTree recently filed paperwork for an XRP ETF with the state of Delaware. Then, the European XRP ETP rebranded to the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP, as Ripple announced it would invest an unspecified amount in the fund.

XRP has been mired in a legal brawl with the SEC since late 2020 after the Wall Street regulator alleged the asset is an unregistered security. In July 2023, a New York judge found that XRP is not necessarily a security. Then in October of this year, the SEC appealed some key aspects of the ruling relating to the sale of XRP on crypto trading platforms and the personal sales by Ripple’s top executives.

With current SEC chair Gary Gensler announcing his intention to resign as Trump reenters the White House, some dark regulatory clouds have lifted. There’s growing speculation that the SEC will drop the drawn-out Ripple lawsuit under the incoming Trump administration.

What’s Next For XRP?

If bulls continue to be in the driver’s seat, XRP could soon hit $2 in the near term.

Widely-followed crypto analyst Mikybull recently noted the possibility of breaching the $2 barrier.

“$XRP 2017 kind of rally vibes. Hit $2, experience a pullback, and then continue its vertical hated rallies to a new cycle top of probably $10.”

However, a pseudonymous community analyst at on-chain data platform CryptoQuant, JA Maartunn, warns that the recent price surge is mainly spurred by leveraged trading — a factor that can trigger huge price swings. In the past, a similar event led to a 17% price drawdown.