- XRP has soared to a new 12-month high, finally breaking through the US $1 price point it hadn’t seen since 2021.
- The move comes on the back of a rumoured meeting between new President Trump and Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
- Despite the market positivity, some in the community were sceptical of Garlinghouse’s intentions, arguing he used the opportunity to shill Ripple and CBDCs rather than the industry as a whole.
XRP is (almost) back.
One of the better-known projects, XRP has had a tough introduction to the 2020s, with its price languishing under US $1 (AU $1.55) for the past 48 months.
However, for the first time since 2021, Ripple Labs’ XRP has eclipsed this psychological barrier on the back of 82% weekly gains.
Amid a protracted legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), positive sentiment might finally be returning to XRP – but as it turns out, not everybody is happy with the coin’s renaissance.
Related: XRP Rallies as Societe Generale Pumps Up Ledger with MiCA-Compliant Stablecoin
President Trump built much of his election campaign on pro-crypto sentiment, promising to legitimise the industry and remove the “regulation by enforcement” approach adopted by the SEC.
This means that anything crypto-related that goes through Trump sees a swell of support from industry investors.
So, when news leaked that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse had a personal meeting with the president-elect, the market went into a frenzy.
XRP climbed from US $0.58 (AU $0.90) to US $1.20 (AU $1.86) in a matter of days.
It was reported on November 16th that Garlinghouse may have had a meeting with Trump following his appearance on Fox Business where he carefully avoided questions regarding the potential interaction.
Social media sleuths also uncovered Garlinghouse liking a Tweet that read “Ripple actually met with Trump.”
Ripple Labs Sees Backlash Over Rumoured White House Visit
Buuuuut, much of the crypto community is up in arms about the purported meeting.
Several industry players believe the purpose of the meeting was for Garlinghouse to “shill” XRP and CBDCs to the White House. Generally, they are arguing that Ripple’s intent was simply to promote their products in the eyes of the Government, rather than presenting a strong use case for crypto as a whole.
Especially given Garlinghouse and co’s history of being anti-Bitcoin, some are sceptical that the XRP Head had the industry’s best intentions at heart.
Regardless, all of the noise surrounding the meeting is pure speculation – which is, of course, a key pillar of crypto social media.
Related: Franklin Templeton Funds Token Effort, Expands $410M to Ethereum Blockchain
XRP was always bound to bounce back from its rough winter following the likely structural changes coming to the SEC – but 100% in just a few days surprised even the most bullish investors.
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