As the surge in Bitcoin's price has slowed down, the virtual asset XRP has taken over the 'Trump rally'.
As of 5 p.m. on the 17th, Bitcoin was trading at 12,699 million won on the domestic virtual asset exchange Upbit. On Bithumb, it was trading at 12,709 million won. At the same time, it showed 90,570 dollars on the virtual asset ticker site CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin, which had fallen below the $70,000 level on the 5th, has entered a consolidation phase after breaking through the all-time high of $93,000 following the election of former President Donald Trump.
However, at the same time, XRP soared more than 30% overnight on CoinMarketCap, recording $1.07. The weekly increase rate is 85%. Among the major virtual assets, the price of XRP, which has shown a sharp rise, has risen from the 'penny stock' level of $0.51 on the 5th to the 'banknote' level. It is the first time XRP has exceeded $1 since November 2021. In the market capitalization ranking, it has also surpassed Dogecoin and ranked 6th.
This is interpreted as the influence of the President-elect Trump's pledge to dismiss Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who has been at the forefront of virtual asset regulation. Ripple Labs, the issuer of XRP, is currently being sued by the SEC, and it is analyzed that if the Trump administration comes in next year, there is a possibility of withdrawing the lawsuit or winning the case.
In particular, Ripple Labs is one of the biggest donors to the President-elect Trump in this election, along with Coinbase. The virtual asset industry is pointing to the SEC's reorganization as the payoff for pouring more than $100 million (about 200 billion won) in political funds in this election. It is known that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has recommended Brian Brooks, the former CEO of Bitcoin mining company Bitfury, as the SEC chairman. The meeting between Garlinghouse and the President-elect Trump is also the biggest concern in the market.
