XRP is Up 330% Since Trump’s Election, But What is it Really Good For?

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In the wild, wild world of crypto, getting in early is like finding a golden ticket, only with fewer Oompa Loompas and more math. And for Ripple Labs, a San Francisco-based blockchain company, that early-bird ticket is worth over $40 billion. Lucky them!

After years of bickering with the SEC (the crypto equivalent of a really bad ex), Ripple is finally experiencing some sunshine in the regulatory department. Thanks to Trump being in office (don’t ask why, we’re just going with it), XRP, the altcoin launched by Ripple back in 2012, has been comfortably resting above a $2 price tag – a level we haven’t seen since the Great Blockchain Bull Run of 2017.

But hold up-does XRP actually do something useful? Or is it just the crypto world’s version of an Instagram influencer with questionable credentials?

The XRP Payments Corridor

According to Hedy Wang, CEO of crypto liquidity provider Block Street, Ripple’s presence in the U.S. is expanding, but it’s already making waves in other parts of the globe too. Apparently, it’s been a bit of a slow burn in America due to, you guessed it, the SEC saga. But overseas? It’s like the hottest club in town.

“In the U.S., it’s been more constrained because of the whole SEC saga, so interest skewed retail and offshore venues,” Wang told BeInCrypto. “Historically, you see decent XRP traction in Japan, parts of East Asia, and some remittance-heavy corridors like the Philippines or Latin America via partners.”

But let’s not ignore the facts here. Investors have been all over XRP like cats on a laser pointer. Since Trump’s election in November 2024, XRP has skyrocketed from $0.50 to $2.15, a staggering 330% increase. Wow, that’s like buying avocado toast in 2012 and selling it for a mansion in Malibu now. 🏠💸

“Bitcoin is like ‘digital gold,’ Ethereum’s the king of smart contracts, but XRP? XRP’s got its value in cross-border payments,” said Gregory Monaco, the CPA who apparently moonlights as the crypto whisperer.

Monaco isn’t pulling any punches here. With Ripple’s 300 financial partners across 45 countries and $15 billion in annual cross-border payments, XRP’s got a lot more going for it than just a pretty price tag.

Ripple might just be onto something with this whole “global payment system” thing. If they keep stacking those licenses and cozying up with banks and fintechs, XRP could end up as the world’s most sophisticated plumbing system. (Yep, that’s a compliment, I think.)

Cross-Border Is Not So Simple

“Cross-border payments”-sounds fancy, right? But when you’ve tried sending money to another country, you know the drill: slow, expensive, and full of hoops. It’s like trying to do a cartwheel in a pair of skinny jeans.

But here’s where XRP swoops in like the superhero of global finance. No need for currency exchanges, and it’s fast. It’s like the anti-bank transfer-if the bank transfer were a sloth trying to move through a pool of honey.

Still, don’t get too excited. Just because it looks shiny doesn’t mean XRP’s valuation is all tied to its real-world usage. It’s still a lot of “hopium” and “to-the-moon” talk. 🚀

“XRP is still a speculative asset,” says Paul Holmes, a researcher at BrokerListings. “With crypto as a whole, the valuation isn’t supported by its own income stream, so it’s a function of liquidity production and reallocation from other stores of value.”

In other words, people are snapping up XRP because Ripple Labs seems like a solid crypto company-kind of like buying stock in Apple because they made a really good iPhone, but you’re really just betting that the price will keep going up. 🍏📈

In fact, Ripple’s recent $500 million investment from Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities at a $40 billion valuation speaks volumes. (It’s like someone just put a shiny new pair of rollerblades on Ripple’s feet.)

XRP as an ETF Catalyst

Now, XRP’s got its eye on the prize: ETFs. But here’s the plot twist-UK-based CoinShares decided to back away from launching a U.S. XRP ETF product. Apparently, the SEC is still giving XRP the cold shoulder, and CoinShares isn’t into that. It’s like trying to date someone who’s already in a relationship with a complicated ex.

“CoinShares likely walked away because the SEC isn’t giving XRP regulatory clarity that it’s ETF-ready,” said BrokerListings’ Holmes.

Let’s not forget that CoinShares also passed on launching ETFs for Solana or Litecoin. It’s not just XRP who’s getting the cold shoulder here. 😬

“XRP is already being used to move value between currencies, stablecoins, and across the growing set of tokenized financial assets on the network,” said Raquel Amanda, Senior Communications Lead for Ripple. “As the ecosystem grows, the need for fast and neutral settlement increases, and we see XRP naturally continuing to fill that role.”

Fun fact: XRP’s price has shot up over 36,000% since it was first listed in 2013. Just imagine buying XRP back then and feeling like a crypto wizard now. 🔮✨

The irony? A speculative asset being used for actual payments. It’s like buying a vintage car to drive it to work every day. But hey, that’s crypto for you!

“On-chain activity shows that there are 50-55 million XRP transactions per month, and a majority of those are payments,” Holmes added. “At the same time, XRP is still used as a speculative asset for many rather than utility and can’t be expected to be a reliable store of value.”

A Rip to the Moon?

While using a volatile asset like XRP for payments might seem confusing, don’t forget: it’s divisible, fast, and programmable. You can send fractions of XRP to wherever it needs to go, based on the current price. So, for high-end institutional payments, XRP might just be the fastest, most flexible choice around. 🚀

It also helps that 58% of the activity on the XRP network comes from just ten wallets. (Hey, more power to the whales, right?)

Oh, and don’t worry. Even though Ripple Labs recently ended its SEC battle, XRP doesn’t need an ETF to thrive. There are already nine XRP-backed products out there with a total of $1.1 billion in assets. And that’s pretty impressive for a coin that started off as a “might-be-niche” asset.

So, the XRP Army (yes, that’s what they call themselves) has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about XRP’s future. If you ask me, they’re not just marching to the moon-they’ve got their eyes on Mars. 🌕👽

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2025-12-04 00:33