Ripple drives crypto market higher as key resistance level breached

Ripple led price gains for cryptocurrencies on Wednesday as speculation about a new product launch continued to drive the XRP token higher.

Ripple moves higher after product launch hopes and resistance level passed

The world’s third-largest digital currency by market capitalisation rallied strongly for a second session following reports on Monday of the imminent launch of its xRapid cross-border payments product.

XRP was up more than 15% on Wednesday, breaking through the key resistance level of 30 US cents which, according to FXStreet analyst Tanya Abrosimova set off a bullish spiral.

“While an upside movement is seemingly based on a solid fundamental reason, there is a vast speculative component in it,” she said.

“Traders are buying XRP on expectations of the upcoming xRapid launch into commercial use, which has not been officially confirmed yet.”

Nevertheless, it remained the biggest percentage gainer among the crypto top 10 for a second session.

The total market capitalisation of the 2,287 listed cryptocurrencies remained below $200bn, however, following Monday’s sharp losses. The cap stood at $198.4bn in late morning trade in Europe.

Price round-up

Here’s how the top 10 were performing at 11.20 on Wednesday morning [London time]:

• Bitcoin +1.3% at $6,328
• Ethereum +6.2% at $209.11
• Ripple +15.3% at $0.32
• Bitcoin cash +3.7% at $429.50
• Eos +4.8% at $5.06
• Stellar lumens +4.9% at $0.21
• Litecoin +3.9% at $53.39
• Tether unch at $1
• Cardano +12% at $0.07
• Monero +2.6% at $108.69