XRP and Cardano (ADA), two projects that are beloved by their communities, have managed to move further up in the CoinMarketCap top by market capitalization. After receiving a boost of positivity in recent weeks, both have moved up the ranks, and as of now XRP takes the 6th spot and Cardano the 7th. Capitalization estimates for XRP and Cardano have settled around $18 billion, with XRP outpacing its old ranking neighbor by $800 million. Binance USD, Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE) remained behind in the top 10.
Ahead of both projects is a wall of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC) and BNB. The capitalization of these coins is at least three times that of XRP and Cardano, but there is a loophole that could allow both to move at least two places higher.
What's the catch?
It is clear that in order for XRP and Cardano to continue to stay in the top they need to grow and develop along with the crypto market. However, the battle for the top places is not so simple: the places in the top five, where XRP and Cardano aspire to get to, are occupied by USDT and USDC stablecoins. That's the catch.
With a capitalization of $66.2 billion and $54.45 billion, USDT and USDC became a full-fledged parking lot for those investors who decided to wait out the market turbulence in money, but not in fiat. When the market finally moves into the phase of active accumulation and further growth, it may be expected that some of the capitalization of stablecoins will cross into other projects, the strongest and closest to the top first of all.
This thesis was also confirmed by Binance CEO and BUSD "owner" Changpeng Zhao in his latest tweet:
3 of the top 10 are stable coins, meaning there is a lot of "fiat" sitting sidelines, ready to get back in.
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) July 31, 2022
If people wanted to get out of crypto, most won't hold stablecoins. https://t.co/QONyq1894U
Arman Shirinyan
Alex Dovbnya
U.Today Editorial Team
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin