For once, most of the current cryptocurrency-related discussions will not revolve around Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. Instead, we saw XRP gain a lot of value overnight and reach a new all-time high. It has been a while since the XRP price showed any significant momentum. However, things are looking pretty good right now. Whether or not we will see more XRP price gains remains to be seen, though.

XRP Price Tops out at $0.51

The year 2017 has been extremely bullish for all cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Although most Bitcoin and altcoin fans don’t like Ripple or its native XRP asset, it has certainly cemented its legacy in this industry. Earlier this year, we saw the XRP price rise from US$0.0066 all the way to US$0.34. No one knows for sure what sparked this sudden surge back then, and most people dismissed the XRP price gain as a pump-and-dump cycle at the time.

Thanks to some solid partnerships with Asian banks, Ripple’s ecosystem has been growing pretty significantly as of late. Moreover, the Ripple team announced they have locked up 55 billion XRP – over half of all tokens – in time-locked escrow contracts. These funds will not be made accessible on exchanges, although Ripple will try to sell XRP to its current and future partners. Ever since this lockup was announced, people have been waiting for the XRP price to make a big move.

Nothing seemed to happen at first, as XRP hovered between US$0.20 and US$0.25 for most of Q3 and Q4. Things suddenly picked up late last night, as the XRP price noted major gains in quick succession. An initial push to US$0.35 was rejected, yet the price subsequently bounced to US$0.42. After more pushback, another leg up propelled the XRP price all the way to US$0.51. Since hitting that mark, the market has turned bearish once again as traders take their profits.

With over US$3.216 billion in 24-hour trading volume, the demand for XRP certainly seems genuine. It is uncanny how this volume rose so quickly, as the XRP markets usually generate a few hundred million dollars worth of trades on a daily basis. Seeing this number surpass US$3 billion is both spectacular and entirely unexpected. At the same time, all currencies and assets among the top 10 have been in high demand as of late.

Unsurprisingly, the South Korean exchanges are driving the Ripple price up right now. Bithumb generated over US$1 billion in 24-hour trading volume, whereas Coinone added another US$308.68 million. Bittrex is in third place among the exchanges, although it’s not that far ahead of Poloniex, Bitfinex, and Korbit. It seems a lot of fresh capital is flooding the XRP markets right now, although we know this is only a momentary snapshot. Anything can change in a moment’s notice, especially in the world of cryptocurrency.

It is interesting to keep an eye on the XRP price momentum right now. While most people dismiss this asset as “not a cryptocurrency” and “evil bank money”, it is evident Ripple has a lot to offer. Whether or not we will see the Ripple price continue to rise in the next few hours and days remains to be determined. As is the case with most cryptocurrencies rising in value, things will either calm down or reverse altogether. Then again, all markets are thriving right now, and we may not see any major XRP trend reversals anytime soon.