The Ripple cross-border payment token surged nearly 15% over the past 24 hours, reaching an intraday high of $2.44 during early trading in Asia on January 2. This marks the highest value for XRP since mid-December, as payment coins are gaining momentum in the new year. The Ripple token had previously soared to over $2.90, a seven-year high in early December, but later dipped to $2 by the month’s end. “Momentum and increased focus on real-world utility continues to build,” said CEO Brad Garlinghouse on January 1.
On New Year’s Day, community member ‘Jack the Rippler’ noted that the fintech firm released its monthly 500 million XRP from escrow with an intriguing note. The memo in the transaction mentioned, “January 20 is around the corner,” sparking further speculation. There are many unconfirmed rumors about Ripple potentially collaborating closely with the new Trump administration. Additionally, XRP “broke out from a descending triangle and is ready for $3,” he observed.
Stellar Lumens (XLM), a sibling currency forked from Ripple, is also performing well, typically mirroring XRP’s momentum. XLM surged 28% in a day, reaching an intraday high of $0.456 during the Thursday morning Asian trading session. Stellar previously spiked to over $0.60 in late November but remains 50% down from its 2018 all-time high. Cardano (ADA) is also doing well today, with a 10% gain to reach $0.95, its highest price in two weeks. Other altcoin gainers include Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink (LINK), and Hedera (HBAR).
Bitcoin has increased by just 1.3% over the past day, topping $95,000 during Thursday morning trading. The asset remains in a consolidation phase since falling below $100,000 in mid-December. BTC dominance is currently at 57.44%, down 7% since its multi-year high of nearly 62% in late November. Some analysts anticipate a significant altcoin rally in the first three months of 2025, potentially at Bitcoin’s expense if capital rotates into altcoins.
Twitter highlights:
– Oscar Ramos: Just smash the LIKE button if you are HOLDING $XRP!
– JackTheRippler: BREAKING: @Ripple has released its monthly 500 million #XRP from escrow, but with an interesting note!
– Elja: The biggest Altcoin rally will happen in Q1 #Altseason is coming
