TL:DR;

• Ripple’s native cross-border token was among the top performers in the crypto market, especially in Q4 after the US presidential elections.
• The question now arises of whether the asset soared by triple digits due to ‘buy-the-rumor’ speculations or if it will maintain its run during the Trump administration.

XRP’s Spectacular End of 2024

It’s safe to say that XRP had a very quiet 2024, at least until November. The cryptocurrency traded in a dull range between $0.4 and $0.6 for the most part after entering the year at just over the latter.

However, it all changed a few weeks after Donald Trump was re-elected on November 5. The token, backed by the US-based blockchain enterprise, skyrocketed from under $0.6 all the way to nearly $3 within less than a month. Although there were numerous bullish developments on the Ripple horizon, the most probable reason behind this spectacular surge was the upcoming change in the regulatory landscape in the US.

After all, Trump promised to fire Gary Gensler, who led the SEC’s charge against Ripple for years, upon his inauguration on January 20. However, Gensler didn’t wait to be fired and announced his resignation before the year’s end.

XRP reacted with immediate price gains to the news and spiked toward $3 on a couple of occasions. Although it was rejected there and pushed south to under $2, it managed to recover some ground and ended the year at $2.08 (on most exchanges). This means that its yearly surge stood at around 225%.

What About 2025?

Cryptocurrencies tend to react to news in a more volatile manner than actual developments. As such, it’s interesting to see what will transpire once Trump indeed enters the White House later this month and if there will be a substantial change in the SEC leader