XRP Becomes Third Largest Crypto, Surpassing Solana and Tether Amid 25% Rally

In a surprising twist of events, Ripple Labs-backed XRP has overtaken Solana (SOL) and Tether USDT on the same day to become the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The large-cap altcoin surged over 25 percent in the last 24 hours to trade about $2.4 on Monday, December 2, during the early Asian session.

The utility-based altcoin, with a market cap of about $140 billion and a fully diluted valuation of over $240 billion, registered a 45 percent surge in daily average traded volume to about $23 billion at the time of this report.

Why Is XRP Going Up

As Coinpedia previously noted, XRP price has significantly benefited from the election of pro-crypto leaders in the United States, led by President-elect Donald Trump. The long-standing legal hurdles emanating from the US SEC charges are likely to be dropped once a new SEC chair is confirmed early next year.

The notable rise of XRP in the past 24 hours is partly attributed to the heavy liquidation of short traders. According to data from Coinglass, XRP’s leveraged market-led in liquidations during the past 24 hours of more than $50 million, with over $36 million involving short traders. Consequently, the odds of a short squeeze have significantly increased the ongoing XRP’s bullish outlook.

In the last 24 hours, on-chain data shows a heightened activity of whale traders, led by Ripple. For instance, Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP units from the escrow account and locked back over 800 million units.

Meanwhile, several transactions involved whale investors withdrawing huge amounts of XRP from different exchanges led by Upbit and Binance.

What Next For XRP Price?

Following a 280 percent surge in November, XRP price has officially broken out of a multi-year triangular consolidation. The veteran altcoin is now on the verge of retesting its all-time high (ATH), which was set in 2018 after surpassing its 2021 bull cycle peak.

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From a technical analysis standpoint, XRP price has entered its much anticipated parabolic phase, which could yield further gains in the coming months. Already, the weekly Relative Strength Index (RSI) has surged above the 85 percent level for the first time since 2021, signaling the bulls are in control.

However, XRP traders should be cautious of a potential correction following a massive bullish breakout before continuing with the upside trend.