Despite a strong surge of around 300% in November, XRP has traded weakly this month, giving back nearly all of its December gains. Notably, earlier last month, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap (excluding USDT) managed a 55% surge, peaking at $2.90 on Dec. 3 before sharply recoiling in the following weeks, as investors booked profits after the broader crypto market rally of the past two months. Nevertheless, despite the pullback, there are signs of brewing activity under the crypto-assets network, indicating a potential price eruption. In a tweet, analyst Maartun from CryptoQuant pointed out a rising trend in XRP’s velocity. Sharing a chart, he noted that velocity on the XRP Ledger is approaching the trendline, suggesting an imminent breakout. Notably, in crypto, “velocity” refers to how quickly an asset circulates within its network, measuring the frequency of transactions involving the asset. It’s calculated by dividing the coin’s total value in the market (Market Cap) by the total number of transactions happening (Transaction Volume). When the velocity goes up, the coin is being used more frequently on the ledger for payments and other financial activities. Right now, XRP’s velocity is increasing, and it’s approaching a key point where it might break through a trendline, signaling a major potential price increase. This surge in XRP’s velocity coincides with Ripple’s continued global expansion, highlighted by the recent launch of its RLUSD stablecoin. Last week, MoonPay, a major crypto payments platform, announced it is among the first to offer Ripple USD (RLUSD), meaning customers can now purchase RLUSD on MoonPay using popular payment methods such as debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, and bank transfers. On Monday, December 30, the company announced it had secured regulatory approval under the Netherlands’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, setting the stage for increased liquidity across the XRPL in Europe. The XRP community is also optimistic that Trump’s anticipated crypto-related executive orders, expected on January 20, 2025, could boost XRP prices. Additionally, a potential dismissal of the SEC’s case against Ripple for the alleged sale of unregistered securities will likely fuel positive momentum for XRP. Analysts are forecasting renewed strength for XRP’s price from a technical perspective, even as it has traded within a range in recent weeks. In a Monday tweet, popular analyst Javon Marks predicted that XRP’s “2017-style run” appears to have begun, with its all-time high likely to be surpassed. Marks further suggested that if XRP replicates the magnitude of its previous breakout, the price could soar to over $100, marking a staggering 45x increase from current levels. At press time, XRP was trading at $2.4, reflecting a 5.2% drop in the past 24 hours.
