Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency that has suffered losses since the end of 2017. In fact, Ripple is another digital currency that has been down by more than 75% this year. If you will look at the number of things that contributed to this event, there are many including regulatory changes that even ban crypto activity in some parts of the world. However, things are looking positive for Ripple in the past days.
Ripple is currently the third largest cryptocurrency in the market with a market cap of $25 billion. The digital currency was able to increase in value in the past 24 hours mainly because of the One Pay FX platform that was launched by Santander.
This is a system that was developed by Ripple’s creator. It is the very first tech used by bank in order to enable cross-border payment services. Though it is true that Santander’s system really doesn’t make use of XRP itself, the coin has been riding the popularity of the platform. The price reached around 64 cents per coin after the platform was launched. Though it sounds cheap, you have to keep in mind that there are 39 billion XRP tokens available.
Crypto Market Cap Jumped
From $249 billion last week, the entire crypto market jumped to over $330 billion in just a matter of seven days. If you will look at the past three months, the entire crypto market is struggling. In January, it reached a high of around $824 billion.
There are a number of reasons why this is happening. There is the weaker stock market that could have potentially sent investors to choose cryptocurrency as an alternative in order to generate profits in a short period of time.
And as for XRP’s future, there is also the chance that Ripple can be used by Moneygram as announced in January and Western Union just a month later. This could mean wider adoption of the cryptocurrency that could have ultimately led to its price boost.
Lastly, there was a speculation that an additional coin is going to be added to Coinbase. Right now, there are only four cryptocurrencies included in Coinbase namely: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. What makes the possible inclusion of Ripple a big deal? In November, Coinbase already had around 13 million users. And with an additional cryptocurrency, regardless if it is Ripple or not, this could tend to balloon the number of buyers.
Not a Security
However, Ripple’s cryptocurrency isn’t a security according to Ripple’s chief market strategist, Cory Johnson as mentioned in a CNBC interview. He mentioned that “We absolutely are not a security. We don’t meet the standards for what a security is based on the history of court law”.
This was a statement that was released by Ripple amid the debate whether or not to include cryptocurrencies in the US securities laws. If you will ask the US Securities and Exchange Commission, they have indicated that the law should be applied to cryptocurrencies. In fact, it has issued subpoenas and requests for information on sales of new cryptocurrencies.
Will Ripple’s bullish trend continue for the next weeks? Is it simply speculation that affected its price recently?
