The market capitalization of XRP, the controversial cryptocurrency with ties to San Francisco-based distributed ledger company Ripple, has topped $20 billion. The token gained nearly 5% over the past 24 hours alone.
This increase in value comes amid a broader rally in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin (2.41%), Ethereum (1.62%), BNB (0.72%), and Cardano (1.62%) also experiencing gains.
XRP's price has been steadily climbing over the past week. This recent surge in price has brought XRP near a horizontal resistance level, which is a technical analysis concept referring to a price level at which a cryptocurrency's upward momentum is expected to be met with significant selling pressure.
This week, investors are showing a preference towards cryptocurrencies due to the ongoing banking crisis. The fact that crypto prices are holding steady and that Bitcoin's correlation to stocks is currently at its lowest point in months has caused a change in the perception of the fledgling asset class.
The recent price rally for cryptocurrencies, including XRP, has been partly fueled by speculation about the US Federal Reserve pausing rate hikes.
Since the shutdown of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, Bitcoin has increased by more than 35%, outperforming other major assets and attracting investor attention in spite of warnings of overbought conditions.
As XRP's market capitalization surpasses the much-coveted $20 billion mark, investors and traders will be closely watching the cryptocurrency's performance to determine whether it can maintain its upward momentum and break through the horizontal resistance level.
Vladislav Sopov