XRP Briefly Overtakes USDT in Market Cap as Daily Trading Volume Surges 100%

After a frenzy of heightened trading volume, XRP overtook USDT to become the third-largest cryptoasset by market cap. It maintained this position for over an hour before USDT reclaimed its spot.

Although data analysis clearly shows where this market cap came from, it’s difficult to ascertain the exact motive for traders. The SEC settled the Ripple case last week, but the XRP’s volume began spiking this morning.

XRP Market Cap Nears $150 Billion

Since the SEC vs Ripple case ended last week, XRP has enjoyed heightened activity. In addition to an impressive price rally, the token has also benefited from growing trade volume.

In the previous 24 hours, XRP’s volume spiked by more than 100%, allowing it to surpass USDT to become the third-largest cryptoasset by market cap.

It’s impressive that XRP sped past USDT’s market cap, especially since the stablecoin sector is booming. However, data analysis shows the outsized influence trade volume can have.

According to analysts, a comparatively small volume boost caused the token’s market cap to skyrocket:

Ever wondered how much money it takes to cause a 16.6B increase in $XRP market cap?Since I am tracking every trade on all major spot exchanges, I have the exact $ figure61M USD. Thats the net market buying pressure we saw over the last 13 hours.So yes, 61M USD of buy… 

— Dom (@traderview2) May 12, 2025

In other words, it’s difficult to assess the exact macroeconomic reason for XRP’s market cap spike. The SEC case was settled last week, but most of this 107% increase in trade volume took place this morning.

It’s very possible that a single trader or small group moved $61 million in XRP, which significantly complicates any narrative about the token’s success.

All that is to say, this volume spike had a significant impact, but it didn’t have much underlying stability. After XRP’s price fell in the early afternoon, USDT reclaimed its position as the third-largest cryptoasset by market cap.

Meanwhile, positive developments continue to drive optimism for the altcoin. In the US, recent reports suggest that Missouri could become the first state to exempt digital assets like Bitcoin and XRP from capital gains tax.

Such developments and continued market optimism could drive more traders to hold ‘Made in USA Coins‘ like XRP.