XRP Reaches a New All-Time High at $3.39

XRP hits an all-time high of $3.39, surpassing its 2018 high for the first time in nearly seven years. Ripple’s altcoin has gained over 15% today and 40% in January so far.

XRP’s market capitalization also stands at almost $193 billion and is currently the third largest cryptocurrency, surpassing Tether, Solana, BNB and many others.

XRP All-Time High Is Not $3.84

The commonly cited XRP all-time high of $3.84 is considered misleading. In fact, it’s between $3.30 and $3.40. Ripple CTO David Schwartz clarified this taking these factors into account.

Even though platforms like CoinMarketCap list XRP’s all-time high at $3.84, the altcoin has never been available to buy or sell at that price.

“This is often considered the all-time high, but you couldn’t actually sell XRP for $3.84 nor did you have to pay $3.84 to buy it. This figure included inflated amounts due to the use of “official” exchange rates for Korean exchange rates,” wrote David “JoelKatz” Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO.

This misconception is due to “Premium Kimchi”. This is a phenomenon in which cryptocurrency prices in South Korean markets trade at a significantly higher price than in global markets.

This gap results from capital controls and market inefficiency in South Korea, leading to higher local prices. When these higher prices are factored into global averages without adjustment, they can artificially elevate the perceived record high.

“XRP just hit a new all-time high of $3.38 after 7 years of consolidation. This is a massive breakthrough, $5-$10 targets are now open. It’s the start of a new season,” wrote influencer Ash Crypto.

XRP marks historic comeback with new all-time high

Over the past six years, XRP has underperformed in several bull markets. While Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana have reached consecutive all-time highs, XRP has even struggled to surpass $1 since 2021.

This was due to the long-running lawsuit filed by the SEC against the company. The SEC claims that XRP is a security and that Ripple violated federal securities laws by failing to register the token sale. This lawsuit severely impacted the growth of the altcoin throughout the year.

However, since the re-election of Donald Trump in November 2024, XRP has found new life. Several reasons explain this resurgence.

The upcoming Trump presidency is strongly expected to bring several pro-crypto regulations. The president-elect has promised to completely overhaul the SEC’s regulatory framework.

More importantly, Trump’s policies will aim to strengthen US-based crypto companies in the market. Ripple being one of the largest crypto entities in the US market has boosted the credibility of XRP.

Additionally, current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who led the review of XRP, is expected to resign next week. The SEC already has a pro-crypto leader, Paul Atkins, ready to take on this role.

At the same time, Ripple has consistently donated to Trump’s election campaign and inaugural committee, suggesting that the company will be on the favorable side of the new government.

“XRP just hit a new 7-year high, crossing a market value of $3.39 for the first time since January 2018. With this rise, we just saw 2,365 XRP transactions over $100,000 in the over the last 8 hours, the highest peak. since December 34. The total number of holders is also skyrocketing,” Santiment wrote.

Yesterday, the SEC appealed the district court’s ruling that sales of XRP to retail investors were not considered securities. However, the crypto community sees this as a final attempt by the regulator to disrupt the business ahead of the change in administration next week.

It is widely expected that the SEC under the leadership of Paul Atkins will drop this lawsuit, which could spark another potential hyperbolic bull run for the altcoin.

For now, the XRP community is extremely optimistic after today’s all-time high.