XRP surged to surpass a $100 billion market capitalization late Saturday, continuing a multiweek rally that has shown no signs of slowing down. The recent boost has pushed XRP’s 7-day gains to 30%, outperforming Bitcoin (BTC) and other major cryptocurrencies, while its 30-day gains now stand at nearly 300%, according to CoinGecko data.
In a 24-hour period from Friday to Saturday, XRP rose nearly 10%, hitting a local high of $1.92, a level not seen since January 2018 when the token briefly touched an all-time high above $3.40.
The surge followed a Fox Business report that revealed the New York Department of Financial Services had signaled approval for Ripple, the payments company closely linked to XRP, to launch its RLUSD stablecoin. If approved, Ripple would be allowed to offer the RLUSD token to the public, with a potential launch date set for December 4.
Several key fundamental and regulatory developments have fueled XRP’s recent price surge, with bulls now targeting the $2 mark as the token shows signs of renewed strength. The rally began in early November, following Republican victories in the U.S. elections, which renewed investor confidence in tokens associated with U.S. companies, including Ripple Labs, which is closely tied to XRP.
Expectations are also growing for an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., particularly among traders anticipating a more favorable regulatory environment. Additionally, XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest reached record levels last week, with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions, betting on further market volatility.
