The giant whale increases by 3.8 billion dollars, trading volume surpasses Bitcoin, how high can XRP rise?

Source: BitpushNews

In the past 24 hours, the price of XRP has surpassed $3 for the first time since 2018, continuing to lead the cryptocurrency market in 2025. The 15-day increase has reached 41%, outpacing the top 10 cryptocurrencies.

According to Coinmarketcap data, the current price of XRP is only 17% away from its all-time high of $3.84. With a current market capitalization of $170 billion, the token's market cap has already surpassed that of asset management giant BlackRock.

This surge is driven by expectations of cryptocurrency-friendly policies and U.S. digital asset regulatory reforms, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple have been engaged in a legal battle over XRP token sales for years.

Diego Cardenas, an over-the-counter trader at digital asset platform Abra, stated in a report: "This surge is driven by an increasing number of partnerships, the launch of Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD, and speculation about a potential spot XRP ETF."

Ripple President Monica Long mentioned in an interview last week that she expects the spot ETF to be "approved soon," as the new government's approval will accelerate this process. Additionally, Ripple's leadership has been in direct contact with the incoming U.S. government, with CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty recently meeting with Trump, indicating that both parties may collaborate to shape a favorable regulatory environment for digital assets.

Moreover, the current surge in XRP prices aligns with the continued accumulation by "whales" holding between 1 million and 10 million tokens.

Analysis firm Santiment pointed out that since November 12, addresses holding between 1 million and 10 million tokens have accumulated 1.4 billion XRP, worth approximately $3.8 billion, continuing to accumulate even during the price consolidation period after the early December 2024 peak.

XRP Surpasses Bitcoin in Google Search Trends

XRP prices and its holders have shown strong resilience over the past few weeks. Google Trends data shows that on January 15, global Google search volume for XRP surpassed that of Bitcoin. Over the past year, XRP has led Bitcoin in search volume twice, the most recent instance being in November 2024.

Analyst: XRP's Rise Driven by Spot Investors

In 2024, the futures open interest for major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum reached an all-time high, highlighting the importance of the derivatives market during a bull market. However, the recent rise in XRP is primarily driven by spot investors.

Order flow analyst Dom stated that the retest of $3 for XRP is entirely driven by spot buying. He noted that during XRP's weekly increase of 15%, the funding rate and spot buying premium for XRP did not significantly rise. Dom remarked: "If this were happening with Bitcoin, I would say we are about to see a significant surge."

Meanwhile, some industry insiders have pointed out that if both assets continue to rise at the same price ratio, XRP's performance could potentially surpass that of Ethereum.

Jeth, co-founder of Sovrun, stated that there is "no reason" to hold Ethereum now. Although Ethereum has better "fundamentals," XRP has received positive regulatory support as the first pro-crypto U.S. government is set to take office on January 20.

From a technical perspective, XRP shows strong growth indicators, breaking out of its bullish flag pattern after a 105% rise by the end of 2024. However, its relative strength index (RSI) is at 79.5, indicating that the token is overbought, which could lead to a short-term pullback or consolidation.

Technical analyst Dark Defender emphasized the "confirmed bullish breakout" on XRP's monthly chart on the X platform, drawing parallels to the 2017 bull market when XRP surged by 1022%.

The analyst believes that based on the Fibonacci retracement levels from the 2017 surge, XRP prices could rise to $10.23 or even $18.23 in the short term, with both targets potentially achievable in 2025, whether it be "moon" or "Mars."