XRP Price Surges 25% as Headwinds for Ripple Clear Even More

XRP zoomed as Gary Gensler’s announcement of stepping down in January as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) kept a multiweek bullish trade going.

XRP prices surged 25% in the past 24 hours, with most of the gains in early Asian hours Friday, amid widespread belief of a shift toward a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for U.S.-based companies.

XRP is closely-related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC since 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024, bringing the spotlight back on XRP, a major token that commands a $77 billion market capitalization.

The token is now up 65% in the past 7 days and 150% in the past month, data shows, with CoinDesk market analysts targeting a short-term price level of $1.40.

Donald Trump's election victory in 2024 has been positively received by the crypto community due to his previously expressed pro-crypto sentiments. Investors are betting that his administration might foster policies conducive to the growth of the crypto industry.

There are also expectations of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. among some traders amid the perceived lenient regulatory environment.

This week, XRP, alongside DOGE$0.1375, recorded significantly higher trading volumes than usual leader bitcoin on South Korean exchanges in a sign of frenzied demand.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.