By Michael Scott
Ripple-linked crypto asset XRP rallied 45% on Thursday towards breaking the seven-year peak, coming within two cents shy of the 2018 price.
The XRP staged a swift surge on Thursday, Jan. 16, to exchange hands two cents of the all-time high set seven years ago. The earlier Thursday leap to $3.38 punctuated the weekly surge for the Ripple-linked asset per CoinGecko data. The altcoin was within 1% of the $3.40 milestone January set in 2018. However, XRP encountered resistance, leading to a pullback to $3.10.
XRP 45% Rally to New Peak?
The past seven days have seen XRP rally 45% to build upon the monstrous gains witnessed in November and December last year. Reflecting on the XRP gains, this altcoin is up 560% since the US election on Nov. 5.
The ultimate victory of pro-crypto Republican Donald Trump triggered optimism, given his campaign promises to back the digital assets industry. It is not coincidental that XRP is leading other crypto assets to rebound days before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Is XRP ETF Next?
The anticipation of crypto support in the incoming Trump administration adds fuel to the XRP surge. The altcoin community is optimistic that the SEC will approve the spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) approval under Trump’s nominee, Paul Atkins. They expect conclusion of the multi-year battle Ripple Labs overseen by Gary Gensler.
The Commission appears adamant not to back down from the lawsuit against Ripple even in the upcoming shakeup once Atkins takes over after Gensler’s departure on Jan. 20. On Wednesday, the SEC filed its opening brief in its appeal of a verdict that partially favoured Ripple, with the agency seeking a reversal of the court’s previous classification of XRP.
Despite Gensler’s exit, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally submitted its appeal to challenge the July 2023 ruling that granted Ripple Labs a partial win. The appeal filed on late Jan. 16 challenges the view that Ripple’s XRP sales to retail investors are excluded from the unregistered securities transactions under the existing federal law.
The SEC faults the exemption and instead indicates the promotional efforts undertaken by Ripple Labs satisfy the Howey Test. Notably, the efforts created an expectation of profits among holders to make XRP an investment contract.
The XRP surge emerged a week after Ripple Labs chief Brad Garlinghouse indicated a strong start to the year. The crypto executive featured in a photo with Donald Trump and chief legal executive Stuart Alderoty with a caption on the strong start to 2025.
Whale Transactions Precedes XRP Price Pump
The impressive uptick in XRP price coincides with the notable surge in the non-zero wallets and whale accumulation. The past two months have seen the non-empty increase by 511,430 as the whale transactions above $100,000 hit 2,365.
The improved on-chain metrics coincide with the ongoing attempts by XRP to steady into the price discovery phase to hit the seven-year high of $3.38.
While the XRP price has retraced to $3.10 at press time, the altcoin retained a 45% gain over the past 24 hours, reinforcing the bullish momentum.
Santiment data weighs on this price surge, adding that the rising whale transactions occurred when empty wallets decreased sharply. This implies that large-scale investors have developed interest coincidentally as new retain participants drive the movement.
Whale Activity Hit Six-Week Peak
The recent Santiment update on X affirms that transactions higher than $100K executed by large-scale investors rose after the US elections. The on-chain analyst reported a 2,365 uptick in whale activity within an eight-hour window to set a new high since Dec. 3.
In the past two months, the XRP has seen more non-empty wallets shoot by over 511,000. The increase leaves the current wallets holding XRP at 5.93 million, signaling the entry of new retail participation.
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