As of 4 p.m. ET, XRP (XRP +7.11%) has surged higher than any other large-cap top-25 cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Over the past 24 hours, this leading open-source permission-less blockchain project is up 9.5%. That's a move that is undoubtedly going to entice many investors and traders to rethink their thesis around this token, and think about jumping on the momentum wagon with XRP once again.
As a leading blockchain used for cross-border transactions (thanks to its sub-five-second time to finality and fees that cost users a fraction of a penny to transact any sum), XRP has plenty of unique token-specific catalysts to point to as reasons for today's rise. However, let's dive into a couple of key factors that appear to be most meaningful for those looking to determine whether XRP is a buy right now or not.
Significant catalysts driving heavy buying
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Some of today's move in XRP has to do with a very stark sentiment shift among crypto investors overall, as news that we could see the longest government shutdown end sends positive shockwaves through most risk assets.
That's a massive catalyst in its own right and shouldn't be discounted. However, two other key catalysts stand out to me as the primary drivers of today's outsize move in XRP.
First is news that has spread like wildfire across social media that the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has officially listed a number of spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This update suggests that institutional investors looking for an off-chain way to invest in XRP will soon be given the tools to do so. Indeed, many such investors require publicly traded vehicles to invest in assets they may want exposure to, but may be available in markets that are less liquid or actively traded. The addition of these ETFs is a big deal, and that's driving most of today's price action.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
That said, I also think comments from the CEO of Ripple Labs, XRP's parent company, during an interview discussing the future of this blockchain network are worth considering. Brad Garlinghouse noted at a recent conference, "The assets we have been buying have been on the traditional finance side, so we can bring crypto-enabled solutions to that traditional financial world." His view is that tokenization of real world assets, which have been dominated by traditional financial companies, could add tremendous value over time. Thus far, the market appears to be buying this thesis wholeheartedly.
