XRP Overtakes Tether to Become the Third-Biggest Cryptocurrency by Market Capitalization

Cryptocurrency markets are surging on the first official trading day of 2025, with the top three coins by market capitalization up between 4% and 11% before U.S. markets open.

Cryptocurrency markets surged on the first official trading day of 2025, with the top three coins by market capitalization rising by 4% to 11% ahead of U.S. markets opening on Thursday.

XRP overtook Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. XRP was trading up 11% at $0.39, which put its market cap at $138 billion.

CoinDesk reported that XRP's price surge coincided with an increase in trading volume on South Korean exchanges.

UpBit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, saw $1.3 billion in XRP trades on Wednesday, which was more than double the volume of the next-highest coin, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).

This aligns with a CoinDesk analysis from earlier in the week that highlighted unusually high XRP trading volumes from South Korean exchanges, which have historically served as a precursor to upward price volatility in the coin.

Bitcoin was up 4% at $31,235, while Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) was trading up 6% at $2,323.

CoinDesk reported that Bitcoin's uptick occurred despite the U.S. dollar strengthening since Donald Trump's election victory.

The DXY Index, which measures the dollar's value against major trading partners, increased by over 3%, mirroring a pattern seen in the run-up to Trump's first term in 2016.

This dollar strength could potentially impact Bitcoin's rally, as Andre Dragosch, Bitwise's head of research in Europe, told CoinDesk that “macro is a headwind right now.”

Industry analysts are making bold predictions for 2025, with Galaxy Research targeting a $185,000 price for Bitcoin and $5,500 for Ethereum by year-end.