XRP has surged to more than $1.10 following rumors of a potential Trump and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse meeting. The crypto markets are also apparently reacting to possible leadership changes at the US Securities and Exchange (SEC) which may significantly impact cases brought against Ripple Labs.
XRP is trading at $1.13 at the time of writing. This is notably the highest level since November of 2021. The price increase has come after speculation from industry participants that there might be a meeting between president-elect Donald Trump and Brad Garlinghouse, the Chief Executive Officer at Ripple.
Available data from Coinmarketcap and CoinGecko indicates that the XRP digital token registered nearly a 90% gain during the last seven days.
The price increase notably brings the XRP crypto token back into the leading six digital assets in terms of market cap.
XRP has also appreciated more during this run that the larger crypto market with more than a 20% price surge in the past 24 hours alone.
During this timeframe, Bitcoin and Ethereum have recorded gains as well, but they are now retracing as the market is experiencing a mild correction at the time of writing.
It’s worth noting that rumors of the Ripple CEO meeting up with Trump started to circulate when the Fintech firm’s CEO interacted with a post by Zach Rector that claimed the meeting would take place.
While Ripple’s Chief Executive didn’t actually provide any confirmation of such a meeting, his actions appeared to hint at a potentially meetup with president-elect Trump.
XRP’s price also began to take a positive turn when SEC Chairman Gary Gensler indicated that he could be leaving his role. Gensler’s remarks were made as part of a speech last week.
It’s now also being reported by news media outlets that Gensler might resign following the Thanksgiving break.
Gensler’s departure is noteworthy for Ripple Labs, which has been taking part in a lengthy court battle with the regulatory agency under Gensler’s leadership.
While nothing is certain at this point, a new SEC chairman might result in the dismissals or settlements in cases brought against crypto-focused businesses.