XRP's 1.8% Price Surge to $0.754665: Key Insights for July 18, 2023

XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, has seen a 1.8% price increase over the last 24 hours. XRP is currently trading at $0.754665, up from $0.741123 yesterday.

Key Metrics Showing Strength

Several key metrics point to growing strength and momentum for XRP. The 24-hour trading volume stands at a substantial $2.07 billion. XRP's market capitalization now totals $39.58 billion, making it the 4th largest cryptocurrency by market value.

Perhaps most significantly, XRP has posted outstanding 7-day and 14-day gains of 59.2% and 54.6%, respectively. This shows strong upside price momentum over the past two weeks.

How XRP Compares to Bitcoin and Ethereum

To provide context, it is useful to compare XRP's recent performance to that of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies. While XRP has surged over 50% in the past week, BTC and ETH have remained relatively flat, posting 7-day gains of just 3.2% and 0.8%, respectively.

This divergence indicates traders and investors are favoring XRP over Bitcoin and Ethereum right now. The rally in XRP seems to be driven by coin-specific catalysts, rather than broad market sentiment lifting all major cryptocurrencies together.

Given the powerful upside momentum exhibited over the past two weeks, I expect the XRP rally to continue in the near term. The next key resistance level sits around $0.90. If the bulls can push through this barrier, the psychological $1.00 level is within reach.

However, the Relative Strength Index on the daily chart is approaching overbought territory, signaling the pace of the uptrend may slow. This could lead to a period of consolidation around current levels before another leg higher. But the overall technical picture remains decidedly bullish for XRP.

Can XRP Maintain Its Momentum?

XRP has dramatically outperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past two weeks. The question now is whether this relative strength can be maintained.

Much depends on continued progress in Ripple Labs' legal case with the SEC. If Ripple can resolve the lawsuit on favorable terms, that would remove a major overhang restraining XRP. It would also open the door to relisting on major US exchanges.

Additionally, further adoption of Ripple's payment solutions by global banks and financial institutions should provide fundamental support. As the RippleNet network effects grow, demand for XRP may increase.

Overall, the technicals and fundamentals underpinning the powerful XRP rally remain positive. This points to a strong likelihood the surge higher can continue in the coming weeks.

Will XRP Finally Reclaim Its All-Time High?

XRP reached an all-time high of $3.40 in January 2018. It has struggled to regain this peak ever since, as many cryptocurrencies fell into a prolonged bear market.

Now, after a structural basing process lasting over two years, XRP looks poised for a new bull run. The coin has already doubled off its lows this year. However, XRP still trades 77.85% below its peak from 2018.

For XRP to reclaim its prior all-time high, it will need to gain over 300% from current levels. This is a tall order, but certainly within the realm of possibility in crypto's volatile markets.

Key factors that could fuel such a massive run include an extremely positive resolution to the SEC lawsuit, a return to prominence on US exchanges, and another wave of retail investor interest in cryptos. If these catalysts align, a march back toward the $3.40 high is not out of the question.

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