XRP has grabbed the lead from Bitcoin as the most-traded digital assets on Coinbase. In the past 24 hours, XRP/USD made up 25% of Coinbase’s $6.86 billion trading volume, compared to BTC/USD’s 20%, according to data from CoinGecko.
This, in short, means that U.S investors are now tracking interest in XRP. Bitcoin is still holding the position on some exchanges like Binance while XRP ranks second. However, American investors cannot use Binance because of restrictions.
Investors started looking into XRP after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s meeting with President-elect Donald Trump that took place two weeks ago.
The meeting was said to focus on including alternative cryptocurrencies like XRP in a possible U.S. crypto reserve. Garlinghouse confirmed this in a tweet “Had a great dinner last night with @realDonaldTrump & @s_alderoty. Great start to 2025!”
Speculation on the approval of a spot XRP ETF has also seen interest in the asset increase, with several companies, including Bitwise and WisdomTree, seeking ETF approval from the U.S. SEC.
According to market data from Polymarket, 67% of bettors expect an XRP-backed ETF to launch this year.
Since November, the price of XRP has risen over 600% to a peak of $3.33, its highest point since 2017. This week alone, it has risen nearly 33%, boosted by high futures open interest and more big holders.
According to data from CoinMetrics, the number of addresses holding at least $100,000 in XRP has increased to 108,540.
Meanwhile, Ripple is still dealing with legal problems from the SEC. On January 15, the SEC made an appeal against a court decision that said XRP sales to regular investors were not unregistered securities offerings.
Also Read: SEC Files Opening Brief in Ripple’s Ongoing XRP Appeal
