The Ripple Effect: XRP Just Flipped BlackRock as Crypto World Awaits New Era

With just a weekend separating us from the start of a new crypto era, the scene is already buzzing with activity.

Even before Donald Trump takes the oath on Monday as the 47th US President, some big moves are being made.

And XRP is right at the top of that list.

In today’s edition, we take you through:

XRP’s ride to a multi-year high

Ripple’s changing fortunes ft. White House

Potential ETFs driving the optimism

Ripple’s stablecoin warm-up act

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The Ripple Effect

XRP just flipped BlackRock. Yes, you read that right - Ripple's token now has a larger market cap than the world's biggest asset manager.

Trading at a multi-year high of $3.37, a few pennies away from its all-time high, XRP has pushed past both BlackRock ($149 billion) and Disney, cementing its position as crypto's third-largest player.

While the euphoria of the upcoming Trump inauguration drove the larger crypto market up north in the past 24 hours, XRP is painting the markets a different shade of green.

More than 8% return in a day and a stunning 500% quarterly return.

What’s transpired is a classic story of political chess played to perfection.

A Lobbying Masterstroke

From Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse's Mar-a-Lago pilgrimage to the company's strategic $5 million inauguration fund contribution (the largest from any crypto entity), Ripple's moves are looking less like luck and more like calculated precision.

A cryptocurrency - which saw no breakouts, little upward movement for two whole years and a lot of regulatory tiffs with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - has smashed through ceiling post Trump’s re-election.

Ripple, along with Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz, led a $300 million super PAC campaign that's now paying dividends.

Their $5 million contribution to Trump's inauguration fund looks like pocket change compared to the $125 billion their XRP holdings have gained since election day.

XRP - In The Numbers

$192 billion: Current market cap, up 5x+ from pre-election mark

455%: Growth in last quarter

38%: Price surge in past week

Political lobbying isn’t the only thing driving up XRP.

The ETF Gold Rush 📈

Even as the crypto world’s barely begun warming up to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, XRP is already queuing up.

And the traditional finance giants on the Wall Street are betting big on them.

JPMorgan's latest projections put potential XRP ETF inflows between $4.3 billion to $8.4 billion in the first year - if approved.

"I think we will see one very soon. XRP is likely to be next in line after Bitcoin and Ether," says Ripple President Monica Long.

With four heavyweight contenders - WisdomTree, Bitwise, Canary Capital, and 21Shares - already in the race, the odds on Polymarket have surged to 70%.

There’s been a little bit of luck, too, that’s helping out Ripple.

The exit of its archenemies - SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who left no stone unturned to strangle the company with a series of regulatory mess.