- XRP broke the US$2 mark, gaining 350% in 30 days, with a market cap of US$130B. Speculative activity in derivatives is at an all-time high, too.
- The surge can be attributed to several factors: Gary Gensler stepping down as SEC chair, Ripple’s legal progress, and developments in the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
- It’s not all sunshine and rainbows: analysts warn of potential long liquidations due to high leverage, reminiscent of a 17% drop following similar activity in November.
After seven long —very long— years XRP has finally broken above the US$2 barrier (AU$3.60). Hell, no one thought it would even go past US$0.70 (AU$1.08).
But it did, and the XRP community is having a blast. XRP is now one of the top performers in the crypto market, outranking coins like BNB, Tether (USDT) and Solana (SOL), something you thought you would never hear again.
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In the last 30 days, XRP has surged by over 350%, and 61% in the weekly chart. Even today, the coin is up 25%, coming in just under US$2.50 (AU$3.84) at US$2.4909 (AU$3.83). Its market cap is currently standing at US$136B (AU$209B), ranking it third behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Not so Fast
XRP’s price surge is most likely the result of the market’s reaction to Gary Gensler dropping out of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair role and recent developments in the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem as well as in the Ripple vs. SEC case.
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The XRP community is finally having its moment, and rightly so.
While XRP is still down 40% from its all-time high, market observers are advising caution ahead.
In the derivatives market we can notice a growing speculative activity, as XRP has seen a 37% surge in open interest (OI) over the past 24 hours, reaching an all-time high of US$3.19B (AU$4.91B).
JA Maartun, an analyst at CryptoQuant, drew parallels to a similar increase in OI that occurred before a 17% price drop between November 23 and 26.
Basically, Maartun is suggesting that the current “leverage-driven pump” in XRP could lead to a wave of long liquidations if prices drop in the following weeks.
Leveraged trading involves borrowing funds to increase exposure, amplifying potential gains and losses. Each leveraged position has a liquidation price —a threshold where a trader’s collateral becomes insufficient to cover losses.
If XRP prices fall sharply, a cascade of liquidations may occur as over-leveraged positions are forcibly closed. This process can intensify downward pressure on the token’s price.
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