The resignation of Gary Gensler as the Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), effective January 20th -the same day President-elect Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated – is set to be a monumental day for the XRP community. In his latest video, crypto analyst Rodney (@cryptojourneyrs) shared an analysis of the price potential in the post-Gensler era.
At the time of his analysis, XRP was trading at $1.43, reflecting a remarkable 172% increase over the past month. The market capitalization had soared to $81 billion, accompanied by $22 billion in daily trading volume. “XRP is starting to return to its normal spot in crypto, being one of the dominant altcoins,” Rodney remarked.
Why XRP Is Poised To Surge Higher
In his video, Rodney suggests that Trump’s promise to fire Gensler on his first day in office may have influenced Gensler’s decision to resign preemptively. “Gary Gensler is going to be stepping down from his role as the chair of the SEC January 20th, the same day Trump is going to be inaugurated,” Rodney stated. “Trump promised to fire Gary Gensler on day one, so I think Gary Gensler wanted to go out on his shield and resign on his own.”
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Reflecting on the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, Rodney noted the significant impact it had on the price and market perception. “When the SEC sued Ripple, [XRP] price dipped 50%. This was one of many lawsuits that the SEC and Gary Gensler filed against many different crypto projects. It seemed like they were trying to regulate the space out of existence,” Rodney stated.
He pointed out that despite the legal challenges, XRP remained a top cryptocurrency. “Even through all the BS, XRP has still been a top crypto and it really hasn’t fallen out of the top 10 in many years,” he said.
Rodney also discussed Ripple’s partial victory against the SEC in July 2023, which set a significant precedent in the crypto industry. However, he expressed surprise that the price did not react more positively at the time.
“When we heard about that news of them partially beating the SEC, XRP started to pump to around $0.67 but then promptly dipped down to about $0.50 and didn’t really do anything,” he observed. “It wasn’t moving with the cryptocurrency market at all… It was a running joke that it was kind of our favorite stablecoin.”
Turning to the political landscape, Rodney explained: “Donald Trump actually ended up destroying Kamala Harris and is going to be the next president of the United States,” he stated. He emphasized Trump’s pro-crypto stance, noting that he was “much more open about supporting crypto” and was “the first president to purchase anything with cryptocurrency.”
Rodney highlighted the involvement of various crypto projects in political campaigns, mentioning that “many cryptocurrency products were funding both candidates’ campaigns behind the scenes.”
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With the political shift, Rodney expressed optimism about the future integration of cryptocurrency into government systems. “Now more than ever, it seems like cryptocurrency is going to be involved with our government, and in my opinion, XRP is going to be up there with the top projects,” he asserted.
He elaborated on XRP’s core objectives, stating, “What is XRP trying to do? They want to be used for international money transfers […] They want to enable fast and low-cost international money transfers and currency exchanges.” He suggested that with supportive figures in government, XRP could realize this potential.
How High Can XRP Price Go?
Rodney also delved into his price predictions for XRP, considering various market capitalization scenarios.
If XRP were to achieve Ethereum’s market cap of approximately $400 billion, it would result in a 4.9x increase from its current price, bringing XRP to around $6.98. “Say, for example, XRP becomes a part of our government and we actually use it for its real utility. Everyone uses it, and it magically got the same market cap size of Ethereum,” he speculated.
Imagining XRP reaching Bitcoin’s market cap of about $2 trillion, he calculated a 24x increase, which would place XRP at approximately $33. “Let’s fantasize a little crazier […] Say we gave it Bitcoin’s market cap size that’s currently sitting around $2 trillion,” he mused.
He considered a $10 XRP, corresponding to a $600 billion market cap, as a reasonable possibility. “I think that a $10 XRP or an XRP with a $600 billion market cap size is reasonable,” he concluded.
However, Rodney acknowledged the challenges inherent in these predictions, noting that “it would be tough for any cryptocurrency project to hit those market cap sizes because Bitcoin’s dominating the entire market right now.”
At press time, XRP traded at $1.40.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
