Having experienced an enviable uptick in value, XRP, Ripple’s native token, demonstrates that Bitcoin (BTC) may not hold all the cards anymore. A 10% surge in the last 24 hours puts this token top amongst the major 20 cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap increases.
One component that allegedly triggered this financial roller coaster is a partially favorable court ruling in XRP’s skirmish with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This jolted a few exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp to relist XRP. Accompanied with soaring trading volumes and open interest for futures contracts, investment numbers have experienced a bounce.
XRP is currently valued at about $0.84, which is not far off its recent peak of $0.93. However, smaller tokens have had their day under the sun. Stellar Network’s token (XLM), shot up by a staggering 24%. Not to be outdone, Cardano’s ADA and Solana’s SOL increased by approximately 6%, while Elon Musk favorite memecoin, Dogecoin (DOGE), had an increase of 4%.
Bitcoin, in contrast, is relatively sidelined at around $30,000. Similarly, Ethereum (ETH), the second largest digital asset by market cap, remained quiet on the frontlines, trading at about $1,900.
Nonetheless, this noteworthy shift of focus by investors from Bitcoin to smaller and potentially more volatile tokens can be seen as both a gamble and strategic pivot. Bitcoin’s dominance in the overall market cap has descended from a recent 52% zenith at the end of June to roughly 49.8%. If such a pattern persists, Bitcoin’s hold on the cryptographic throne may be further threatened.
However, founder of bitcoin-focused hedge fund Capriole Investments, Charles Edwards, expressed some concerns, pointing out that all despite compelling news for the crypto industry lately, Bitcoin has struggled to generate momentum above the $31K threshold. When the positive news fails to translate into sustained inflows and price progression, one might wonder if a different path is on the horizon for this cryptocurrency market leader.
Source: Coindesk
