XRP price has recorded substantial gains in the past week, jumping more than 20% over the period. The altcoin has been among the best-performing cryptocurrencies in the market. XRP’s total market capitalization currently stands at $23.2 billion, ranking it as the 6th largest cryptocurrency after USD Coin and above Cardano. The total volume of the coin traded in the past 24 hours has declined by more than 27%.
XRP has experienced significant volatility in its market capitalization in recent years, reaching a peak of $140 billion in early 2018 before plunging to under $10 billion in 2019. The coin was designed to be a bridge currency, allowing seamless transactions between different currencies without the need for a traditional financial intermediary.
Even so, XRP faces stiff competition from other altcoins, particularly ones that focus on cross-border payments. Stellar Lumen (XLM) is one of the cryptocurrencies that was created to facilitate cross-border payments. Additionally, traditional financial institutions have also started creating their digital currencies and blockchain solutions, which could potentially compete with XRP.
Over the years, XRP has been adopted by several major institutions including American Express, Standard Chartered, and Santander. Ripple has also partnered with over 300 financial institutions globally to use XRP for cross-border payments. However, even with adoption, the coin still faces regulatory hurdles in several countries including the United States.
XRP price performance has been subdued over the past few years since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit in 2020. The coin’s regulatory status has been a point of contention since its inception. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in December 2020, alleging that XRP was an unregistered security. The lawsuit has had a significant impact on the altcoin’s performance, as many cryptocurrency exchanges delisted XRP due to regulatory uncertainty.
As such, XRP’s adoption and regulatory environment remain uncertain. Even so, the altcoin has the opportunity to revolutionize cross-border payments.
The daily chart shows that the XRP price has made significant gains in the past week amid uncertainty about the SEC lawsuit. The digital asset has been moving along the ascending trendline, shown in yellow. The coin has managed to remain above the 50-day and 100-day moving averages, while its Relative Strength Index (RSI) moves higher. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is in the bullish zone but hints at a limp in the bullish momentum.
Therefore, the XRP price is likely to continue to rise in the medium term. A break through the important resistance level at $0.4949 may initiate further gains. However, a drop below the crucial support level of $0.400 will invalidate the cautiously bullish thesis.