Ripple Drops Back to 4th in Market Cap, Plunges 11% from Previous Day

Ripple (XRP), which showed the most notable rise over the past week, turned bearish on this day.

As of 11:12 AM on the 5th, Ripple is trading at $2.25, down 11.37% from the previous day according to CoinMarketCap. Consequently, its market cap ranking has fallen to 4th place, overtaken by Tether (USDT).

The heightened political instability in Korea is cited as a major factor for Ripple's sudden bearish trend.

Following the declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk-yeol around 10 AM on the 3rd, Korea's capital market has been weakening, and Ripple has been similarly affected. This is because Ripple's recent rally was driven by Korean investors. In fact, an analysis of the Korean virtual asset market showed that Ripple consistently ranked first in total trading volume. Additionally, during this period, Ripple's trading volume on Upbit was greater than the combined trading volume of Ripple on Binance and Coinbase. As the sentiment of Korean investors deteriorated, Ripple naturally turned bearish.

However, there is positive news for Ripple. On this day, the Donald Trump administration appointed Paul Atkins, who is favorable to virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Atkins, the nominee, is the founder of the crisis management consulting firm Potomac Global Partners, which advises on virtual assets and fintech companies. Once the nominee for the next SEC chairman begins his tenure, the market is expected to become more vibrant. Bloomberg reported, “If Atkins passes congressional approval, he is expected to focus on easing regulations and imposing lower penalties for violations.”

Meanwhile, Ripple is currently focusing all efforts on launching its stablecoin RLUSD. Although it was initially scheduled to launch on the 4th (local time), issues arose in the final stages, and it is currently in the coordination process with the New York Department of Financial Services.