Litecoin (LTC) and XRP traded places in market capitalization rankings over the weekend, highlighting the impact of the recent lawsuit against Ripple filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
The so-called “flippening” happened early Sunday when Litecoin’s market cap hit $9.95 billion following a more than 11% surge in price. XRP, meanwhile, had declined in excess of 40% over a 24-hour trading period.
The battle for a spot in the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap continues to rage on.
As of yesterday, XRP was back in the fourth position with a market cap of $10.5 billion. Litecoin, meanwhile, was worth just over $10 billion. In the last week, Litecoin’s price has gained more than 30% while XRP during the same time period has only risen by about 8%.
Litecoin’s price has more than doubled since mid-December, climbing to $163 at the time of this writing from a low of about $70 on December 11, 2020. XRP was also on a tear before the SEC announced a lawsuit against Ripple for allegedly violating securities laws. From its peak to its low, XRP price tumbled more than 73%, according to CoinMarketCap data. XRP has only recovered a portion of what it lost.
XRP’s road to recovery is likely to be a bumpy one as investors await the outcome of the litigation — a process that legal experts say could take several years to play out. We do have the opion – just our opinion – that a settlement will be reached sooner rather than later. Without a settlement with the SEC, the value of XRP could struggle to regain momentum. A wave of delistings at major exchanges has also dampened enthusiasm for XRP.
Meanwhile, Litecoin’s ascendancy likely has more to do with Bitcoin than any change in the project’s underlying fundamentals. Being the oldest of the cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has assumed the role of the leader. Where Bitcoin goes, the altcoins follow.
The total market cap of all cryptocurrencies rose to all-time high today, surging past $950 billion.
