Very little is happening in the world of cryptocurrency right now, as most currencies are suffering from a temporary downturn. There is one exception when it comes to the top currencies, though, as Ripple is effectively bucking the trend in this regard. It is the only currency to be noting any major gains right now, as the XRP price has increased by 9.1% over the past 24 hours. That’s quite spectacular, to say the least.

XRP Price Gets a Healthy Nudge

When it comes to Ripple and its XRP asset, the opinions among cryptocurrency enthusiasts have always been divided, to say the least. A lot of cryptocurrency users feel there is no place for XRP in the cryptocurrency world, although that is not entirely surprising. It is also important to note that Ripple has never claimed its asset is a cryptocurrency, as it is a digital asset which does not compete with, or exist in the same league as, Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any others.

That being said, good things are happening to the XRP price as we speak. It is evident a lot of people have kept a close eye on this particular asset, as its value has undergone some big changes throughout 2017 so far. Not too long ago, this asset was worth less than one cent, but it is worth US$0.22 right now. A lot of people missed out on this sudden price jump, but the volatility of the XRP market certainly allows users to make some profit just by trading XRP back and forth on a regular basis.

While this volatility is not necessarily how Ripple wants to see the XRP price evolve, it has also brought a lot of attention to this digital currency over the past few months. There are people who are confident XRP will grow in market capitalization and even rival Bitcoin in the near future. Whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen. It is evident the current XRP price momentum can’t be overlooked, although it may only be a temporary trend right now.  

One thing working in XRP’s favor is how this currency successfully generates large amounts of trading volume out of the blue every now and then. That is exactly what has happened over the past 24 hours, as the daily volume sits at US$320.4 million. For a digital asset so many people readily dismiss, that amount is rather significant. In fact, XRP’s trading volume is a lot higher than some of the other top altcoins right now, which could be a sign of positive things to come. It may also indicate a pump-and-dump cycle, though, as that is always a big risk these days.

Speaking of XRP trading volume, Bithumb is clearly leading the other exchanges in this regard right now. Its volume is almost four times that of Coinone and 5.5 times higher than Korbit’s. The sudden interest from South Korean trading platforms is somewhat surprising, although XRP has been doing well ever since it was listed on all of these major exchanges. All the platforms value the XRP price at the same level as well, which is rather interesting to take note of.

For the time being, it is unclear what the future holds for the XRP price. This sudden price jump while all other markets are going down is surprising, although it does not appear to be a long-term trend at this point in time. With the current gain in value against both the US dollar and Bitcoin, there is a lot of good money to be made if you bought in cheap. However, these markets tend to reverse on a whim, and when that happens, things will go from bad to worse pretty quickly.