Ripple XRP Shows Resilience Amid Broader Holiday Slump

The value of Ripple surpassed a key milestone Thursday, solidifying an incredible year for the world’s fourth largest cryptocurrency.

XRP/USD Price Levels

Ripple’s XRP token rose above $1 on Thursday for the first time, adding more than 41% to $1.004. Short-term gains are still possible, based on the technical indicators, which show major targets at $1.10, $1.25 and $1.50.

Trade volumes over the past 24 hours reached reached $3.9 billion, with South Korea’s Bithumb processing a quarter of all transactions. Bitfinex, another popular cryptocurrency exchange, processed 10.5% of total transactions on Thursday.

Ripple peaked at $1.10 Thursday morning for a market cap of $42 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. The token has risen 160 times in value this year from an initial price point of less than 1 cent.

Coinbase Rumors

The latest rally is being fueled in part by rumors that Ripple may soon appear on Coinbase, where it would join the elite company of bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and, more recently, bitcoin cash. Coinbase, which has more than 13 million live accounts, is one of the world’s most popular crypto exchanges. Extending support to Ripple would likely generate greater buying interest in the token.

Coinbase is reportedly considering adding several cryptocurrencies to its basket next year. If that’s the case, XRP is likely on the short-list, given the coin’s growing profile in corporate circles. The company recently announced a partnership with American Express to solve liquidity issues in remittances. Under this partnership, Ripple will help AMEX achieve instant blockchain-based payments.

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington is also launching the creation of a $100 million crypto ledger called Arrington XRP Capital. As the name implies, the hedge fund will use XRP to pay distributions, salaries and other fees.

At the same time, financial institutions such as Standard Chartered are building a cross-border payment system on top of technology developed by Ripple. The platform will connect corporations across vast geographical distances.

It’s not just positive news that’s driving Ripple’s price gains. As we showed earlier, South Korean trading desks are on fire for XRP. As Kenneth Rapoza of Forbes reports, Asian traders are “going mad” for Ripple. This euphoria extends far beyond traders to include financial institutions as well. Ripple recently reported that a coalition of 61 Japanese banks and two of South Korea’s largest banks will launch a new digital payment platform on its blockchain, thereby bringing more institutional players to the mix.

“This initiative will be the first time money moves from Japan to Korea over RippleNet,” Team Ripple announced last week.

Disclaimer: The author owns bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins, but does not engage in short-term or day-trading.

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