Ripple (XRP) Surges 24% as Crypto Market Leader Bitcoin (BTC) Nears the $100K Mark After SEC Chair Gary Gensler Announces He Will Step Down Next Month

Remittance token XRP soared more than 24% in the past 24 hours to trade at $1.38 as of 3:30 a.m. EST. Bitcoin climbed more than 1% to $98,772 after earlier hitting a new all-time high (ATH).

Gary Gensler announced he will step down as SEC Chair next month

Gary Gensler shared his resignation announcement in a Nov. 21 thread on X. The SEC executive disclosed that he will step down as the regulator’s chair on Jan. 20, 2025, after Donald Trump is inaugurated as president.

“On January 20, 2025 I will be stepping down as @SECGov Chair,” Gensler wrote. “It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve w/ them on behalf of everyday Americans & ensure that our capital mkts remain the best in the world.”

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse retweeted Gensler’s resignation thread on X, adding that he is “thankful” for Gensler’s resignation this Thanksgiving.

“Gary, I’m thankful for your service to our country & to everyday Americans, like those who continue to suffer from the SEC’s overreach,” Garlinghouse wrote. “This Thanksgiving, I’m especially thankful that you’ll be stepping down as SEC Chair next month. Enjoy the mashed potatoes!”

Gensler’s departure from the SEC comes after a multi-year-long lawsuit between Ripple Labs and the SEC over XRP’s security status. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that the company sold XRP in an unregistered securities offering. Ripple has maintained that XRP is not a security and has fought the SEC’s claims in court.

Bitcoin price nears $100K as Gensler resignation boosts crypto euphoria

With Gensler leaving the SEC and pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump entering the White House next year, crypto prices have started to rally due to investor euphoria.

As reported by X earlier today, market leader Bitcoin set a new all-time high of $99,467.89. With the new peak, BTC is less than $1K away from achieving the major $100K milestone.

institutional investors are also rushing to buy Bitcoin, with data from Farside Investors showing that US spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) recorded over $1 billion in inflows yesterday.

BlackRock’s IBIT maintained its dominance after over $608 million entered the fund. Fidelity’s FBTC took second place with its $301 million inflows on the day.

Cat-themed crypto pumps 8% as MOG leads top cat coins by market cap

In other crypto market news, the cat-themed segment of the market was among the best performing with a more than 8% pump.

Mog Coin (MOG) led gains by the biggest cat-themed tokens by market capitalization, surging 22% in the last 24 hours. However, it was a new meme coin by the name of CatSlap (SLAP) that stole the spotlight.

CatSlap Token went viral on social media and soared 1,756% in the last 24 hours. The token’s price went on a wild ride this week, surging over 24,000% since X.