Ripple recovery becomes a wave
XRP overtakes Solana to join crypto leaders
Crypto markets appear to be cycling across the leading currencies, with attention switching from one to another amid the ongoing rally across the market.
Over the last few days, the action has been with Ripple (XRP), which surged almost 30% over the weekend. As of early today (2 December) XRP stood at around $2.30.
The rise has compounded a rally that has been underway since early November, and which has seen XRP overtake Solana to become the third largest non-stablecoin cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The weekend also saw strong rallies by Hedera (HBAR), Stellar, (XLM) and Cardano (ADA), though all three dropped back in early trading today.
While BTC’s rally appears to have stalled, at around $95k it remains close to its highs and many observers believe the $100k mark is still within reach before the year end.
FX markets eye US jobs data
Fiat currency markets will be dominated by US economic data this week, most importantly the latest non-farm payrolls data due on Friday, which will be key to the Fed’s next interest rate decision due next week. Market consensus is for an extra 200,000 jobs, but a surprise on the upside or downside could hit interest rate expectations with knock-on effects to the dollar.
Meanwhile in Europe, the budget battle in the French parliament is being watched closely for its effect on French government yields and even speculation it could prompt a fresh political crisis. France’s economy is the second largest in the Eurozone, and fiscal or political crisis would doubtless add to softness in the Euro.
The prospect of peace in the Middle East was shattered over the weekend as Syrian rebel fighters entered Syria’s second city of Aleppo reigniting a frozen conflict and throwing the region into further turmoil. Government forces loyal to President Assad withdrew from the city with reports that Iranian backed militias have entered the country to support the government. The news quickly follows the announcement that Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a ceasefire late last week. Elsewhere, the US treasury has sanctioned several crypto wallets associated with non-state actors in the region as it grapples with attempts to circumvent previous sanction packages.
Fresh crypto eruption
Meanwhile, the crypto industry is hotting up in central America, where El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, posted on X suggesting the country could ‘rent out’ its volcanoes to commercial crypto mining operators.
The country already uses geo-thermal power for bitcoin mining, but renting out a volcano would be something of a first. It’s hard to know how seriously Bukele intended to be, but after El Salvador became the first country to declare BTC to be legal tender in 2021 and continues to surprise investors with its crypto initiatives, it might be rash to rule anything out.
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