TL;DR
- Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD gained support from another well-known cryptocurrency exchange.
- XRP rebounded to $2.27 after a correction, with analysts predicting a substantial rally in the short term.
The Next Exchange to Jump on the Bandwagon
After months of testing and preparation, Ripple’s stablecoin officially went live mid-December. This became possible after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) approved it.
The product, called RLUSD, is pegged 1:1 to the American dollar and designed to play a crucial role in Ripple’s cross-border payment solutions. Upon launch, the stablecoin was embraced by multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, Moonpay, CoinMENA, and others.
Most recently, the Peter Thiel-backed Bullish also joined the list. The company announced that users can deal with the following trading pairs: RLUSD/USDC, BTC/RLUSD, XRP/RLUSD, ETH/RLUSD, USD/RLUSD, EUR/RLUSD, and SOL/RLUSD.
Earlier this month, Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz warned the community about a potential volatility surrounding the product. He said there might be initial fluctuations but eventually the price should settle around $1. The exec also alerted people not to FOMO into a stablecoin since it is “not an opportunity to get rich.”
According to CoinGecko’s data, RLUSD started trading at approximately $1 upon launch, but in the following days, it hovered between $0.96 and $1.06. The valuation has stabilized since the beginning of the week, currently set at around $0.99.
XRP Price Outlook
Numerous industry participants have maintained that RLUSD’s introduction could be among the factors fueling a price rally for Ripple’s native token. In fact, XRP saw a substantial pump in mid-December (when the product saw the light of day), with its price tapping $2.70.
However, the crypto market correction witnessed at the end of last week suppressed the asset to under $2. In the last few days, the bulls managed to recover some of the lost ground, and XRP is currently worth around $2.27.
Crypto X is full of analysts who believe it is time for a new rally. Crypto Bitlord, an X user with almost 400,000 followers, recently suggested that “the final pump for 2024 is loading.” For their part, CrediBULL Crypto claimed that “the XRP/BTC chart below looks absolutely fantastic” and “the most bullish-looking chart in the entire space.”
One element indicating that Ripple’s native token could indeed experience a price jump in the near future is the whales’ activity. Ali Martinez claimed that such large investors have purchased millions of tokens in the past week.
These actions decrease the available supply of XRP on the open market, potentially leading to a price increase if demand remains steady or grows. Significant whale purchases might also generate enthusiasm among smaller investors, encouraging them to buy in as well, which could amplify the upward momentum.
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