XRP and Ripple… So Now What?

The last week has been a crazy and exciting time for the XRP Community. It has not been alone in its reach for the stars, with other prominent coins such as Stellar (XLM), Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) and Tron (TRX) making significant moves up the charts and up the rankings on CoinMarketCap.

At the time of writing, XRP has currently gained around 60% in the past 7 days. An excellent move by any investor’s standards. Presently, it is trading for around $3.58 after starting the month at 77c and hitting a high of $4.50.

With this opportunity of a healthy pullback, let's consider what other momentum drivers are bubbling away under the surface that could reignite the XRP move towards its all-time highs.

An obvious spark to this entire crypto market has been the result of the U.S. Election. The incoming Trump Administration has been extremely vocal in its support of Bitcoin and the crypto industry as a whole, promising a whole new approach with respect to encouraging and fostering growth within the U.S. for U.S. crypto projects. Proposals have been floated that crypto companies within the U.S. could become tax-free. This would bode well for Ripple, a San Francisco-based company, which confirmed personal meetings with Trump during the U.S. Summer time period.

Trump and Senator Lummis have also been proactive in their approach to a U.S. Strategic BTC Reserve. The  S.4912 - BITCOIN Act of 2024 bill was lodged with the House of Representatives for a reading on 31 July 2024 and is set to be thrust into serious debate once the new administration takes office. A successful passing and signing into U.S. Law could spark Bitcoin which in turn could lift the entire market, including projects such as XRP.

Possibly the biggest news over the past 24hrs has been the new appointment of a new SEC Chair. Paul Atkins is set to take over the reins from Gary Gensler, who quite frankly had, over the course of the past 4 years, used the reigns to choke any competition to his legacy banking buddies. The appointment of Atkins is seen as a huge positive for the XRP Community and Ripple which still has its case with the SEC tied up in the Appellate Court of the Southern District of New York.

Recent interviews from former CFTC and SEC Chair Chris Giancarlo suggest that, with the new administration, and new SEC leadership, the case could be settled or outright dropped. In previous videos, dug up by the XRP Community, Atkins is shown criticizing and disagreeing with the approach by Gensler, suggesting that XRP was never a security and that the case should never have been brought against the company Ripple or the digital asset XRP. With this in mind; from a former SEC Chair, and an incoming SEC Chair, things could wrap up relatively quickly for Ripple and allow XRP to perform the function it thrives at, moving value.

Literally, within days, the new RLUSD stablecoin from Ripple could be launched. It is estimated that stablecoins could make up over 3 trillion in market cap over the coming years, as adoption and defi products launch for community and institutional players. This could see a significant increase in the volume over the XRPLedger, resulting in greater network effects and value.

Presently there are four (4) XRP ETFs that have been submitted to the SEC. With a new crypto-friendly and educated SEC Chair, the ETFs could be approved, thus creating further demand for the XRP tokens, locking up supply and increasing token value. BTC has proven to be very popular as an ETF amongst institutional investors. Will they share the same appetite for XRP? Time will tell.

The XRP Ledger itself is also undergoing an evolution. An Automatic Market Maker (AMM) function within the decentralized exchange that exists on the XRPL has shown compounding growth, effectively locking up greater numbers of XRP and decreasing supply on the market. TVL or total value locked can have a significant impact on the price of a token due to supply and demand fundamentals.

In an attempt to promote greater interoperability, Ripple has teamed up with the developers from AXELAR, allowing connection to a large number of other ecosystems such as Cosmos (ATOM). The partnership allows “Axelar network integration with the XRPL [helping] enable secure and efficient transfer of assets across 55+ connected blockchains.”

Lastly, the XRP Ledger is looking to incorporate its own smart contract ability. Side chains and network integrations are one thing, but having native smart contract ability could also be a game changer. Discussions have started amongst XRP Ledger community developers, Ripple and a new XRPL Foundation DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)  https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-dao/ called XAO DAO, which could lead to smart contracts for the XRPL. This would enhance XRP as a gas token to execute smart contracts. The options seem to be either resurrect Codius from the early Ripple days, develop something completely new, or use Hooks, a proven light smart contract platform being used on a Ripple sidechain called Xahau. Discussions continue.

The factors listed are not an exhaustive list, they are part of what lies underneath the surface bubbling away, awaiting their time to be either implemented, resolved or adapted. Locking up XRP could have a significant impact on its price moving forward. With the resolution of a 4-year targeted attack by the SEC, freedom could allow the proverbial foot to come off XRP’s throat allowing it to breathe and accelerate towards greater adoption. The future appears bright for crypto … XRP could be about to have its time in the sun.