XRP Jumps 17% Outperforms Rest of the Market as Rally Cools; Trader Thinks $120K Bitcoin Target Still in Play

As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade of experience under my belt, I’ve learned to navigate the turbulent waters of this dynamic market with a steady hand and a cool head. The recent fluctuations in Bitcoin’s price, from $93,000 to $88,000, might be disheartening for some, but for me, it’s just another day in crypto-land. I’ve seen far worse, believe me!

In the last 24 hours, XRP surged by 17%, outpacing Bitcoin [BTC] and other major cryptocurrencies, due to a favorable change in the U.S. regulatory environment. This shift has encouraged growth for tokens that were previously hindered by actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

During early trading on Friday in Asia, XRP surpassed 82 cents, marking a 50% increase over the past week. This rise brought the cryptocurrency back to levels last witnessed in June 2023. The surge in value can be attributed to 18 U.S. states filing a lawsuit.

SEC, along with its commissioners, including Chairman Gary Gensler, are being accused of exceeding their constitutional limits by critics, who claim this involves the crypto sector.

There’s a hopeful outlook among traders that a crypto-friendly presidency under Trump might advantage tokens associated with U.S.-based corporations, like Ripple Labs (related to XRP) and Uniswap (UNI), as these firms are primarily focused on enhancing the value for token holders.

During the late hours on Thursday in the U.S., Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies dropped by up to 4%, a typical response from the market after several consecutive days of growth, as investors decided to cash out their profits.

In my analysis, the recent downturn in market expectations was primarily triggered by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish stance during his latest speech. His comments seemed to dash hopes for quicker interest rate cuts. To quote him directly from his prepared remarks at a Dallas conference, he stated, “The economy is not signaling any urgency to lower rates.” This statement suggests that the current economic strength allows us to proceed cautiously with our decision-making process.

By Friday, it appears the market anticipates a 66% likelihood that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will reduce interest rates by 0.25% during their December meeting. This probability has decreased from 83% as of Thursday.

Bitcoin plummeted from its Thursday high of $93,000 down to $88,000, leading to approximately $120 million worth of liquidations in both optimistic and pessimistic trades. On the other hand, Ether (ETH) and Solana’s SOL decreased by 3.5%, while dog-themed cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) suffered losses of up to 5%.

In simpler terms, the diversified CoinDesk 20 (CD20), which monitors the biggest cryptocurrencies based on market value, showed minimal movement.

After a 75% increase on Thursday, the token PEPE ranked among the top 20 surged by 8%, following its listing on Coinbase. This event momentarily placed the frog-themed meme coin at a $10 billion market capitalization for the first time in history.

Bullish sentiment for bitcoin and the broader market remains unchanged, however.

Based on bitcoin’s strong surge following the US election, our prediction is that it might not be too much of a stretch for bitcoin to reach between $100,000 and $120,000. Traders at QCP Capital stated this in a broadcast on Telegram. They believe that the solid foundation supporting BTC suggests a significant change in the market, which could potentially be due to anticipation of Trump’s second term in office.

QCP noted that Trump’s proposal for creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve and shifting from gold to Bitcoin strengthens the argument that contributes positively to Bitcoin’s market value.