For many investors, XRP has been relatively quiet over the past two years. The cryptocurrency didn’t make any significant headlines to bring back the enthusiasms and, as for its loyal fans… *crickets*.
In the past few weeks, however, Ripple has managed to make quite a comeback. XRP dominated headlines in November as it rallied 169% during the last month alone, claiming the number 1 spot on Coindesk’s Top 20.
Today, we discuss the reasons behind this unexpected price surge, the recent developments surrounding XRP, as well as realistic Ripple price prediction estimations based on the prior. Are you ready to find out where XRP is headed? If so, keep on reading.
Ripple’s (XRP) recent developments
As Ripple is fighting to break the $0,70 price barrier, there are several developments that could either push it towards new highs or cause sell pressure. These are mainly played out on the sentiment of (new) buyers, as many rush to benefit from the rumors.
Flare Network, a Ripple-backed startup, will distribute (airdrop) Spark tokens to all XRP holders on a ratio of 1:1. The distribution will occur on the 12th of December and Coinbase will not support the airdrop. Read more.
XRP has (temporarily) stopped offloading tokens each quarter, a practise which previously created strong price opposition. While this does improve the odds towards an increase in the coin’s price, Jed McCaleb (Ripple’s founder) continues to sell large amounts on a daily basis. Read more.
The SEC’s lack of regulatory clarity surrounding XRP’s legal status has caused several issues. Among them, the potential relocation of Ripple from the US and “shaky” relationships with their currency banking partnerships. Read more.
Ripple’s largest gaming partner – Forte – recently announced a series of new partnerships, including Gallium studios. The gaming company is led by Will Wright, the creator of SimCity, SimSeries, and SimEarth. Read more.
From all the developments listed above, the main reason behind the rapid surge of XRPs price is the upcoming airdrop that is set to occur in just a few days (at the time of this writing). While there is no information regarding the value of Spark tokens, it is well known that such large-scale airdrops can cause a massive increase in the native cryptocurrency.
Knowing this, it might be interesting to try and estimate where Ripple’s price will be headed in the next year(s) and how investors can benefit from this.