XRP has reclaimed its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency in the world after a 10% price surge, along with a market valuation skyrocketing to about $152 billion. At the time of writing, on May 13, 2025, XRP is trading at $2.49. This increase has helped it surpass Tether (USDT), which now has a market capitalization of about $150 billion.
This sudden surge reflects the largest 24-hour price volatility of XRP since March and is part of an increasing sentiment across the market, following recent legal and business news related to Ripple, the organization supporting XRP.
The deal with the SEC removes legal barriers.
Ripple's long-running legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a peak. The two sides have settled together for a total of $50 million, a much smaller sum than previous penalties. The settlement agreement, still pending final court approval, also allows Ripple to access $75 million of the funds they had escrowed.
Analysts have viewed this settlement as a significant reprieve for the future of the token. Regulatory uncertainty is often seen as one of the barriers to XRP adoption. This news comes as investor sentiment improves and institutional demand for XRP increases.
XRP skyrocketed past Tether with a sudden surge of 10 percent in a shocking market shift.
A spreading expansion strategy for institutions.
Ripple is taking on its new role as a second layer for money and value like a pack of wild dogs playing poker. In April, the company announced it had completed the acquisition of Hidden Road, a multi-asset prime brokerage firm, for $1.25 billion.
This acquisition is said to strengthen Ripple's corporate financial services, and the Hidden Road team will help bolster the XRP Ledger, potentially streamlining and increasing transaction efficiency as well as improving liquidity.
Ripple has also made a proposal worth several billion dollars to acquire the stablecoin issuer USDC Circle. There is speculation that this proposal is in the range of $4 billion to $5 billion, but Circle has ignored it, believing the valuation is too low as the company prepares for an initial public offering.
These are strategic moves reflecting Ripple's aggressive stance in the digital financial ecosystem—especially in the stablecoin and institutional finance sectors.
Price analysis and short-term prediction.
Recent price movements have also led to a significant increase in trading volume on leading exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, with XRP trading volume now more than 30% higher than on August 30, 2019. Technical indicators have turned positive; there will be resistance appearing near the $2.70 level.
Social media reactions to the market.
On Reddit, more optimistic themes have emerged in subreddits like XRP and CryptoCurrency, and the top posts of the day are filled with comments about the SEC settlement and the story of an XRP spot ETF being listed in the U.S. once again. Conversations on X (formerly known as Twitter) have appeared under hashtags like XRPArmy and XRP3rd, while market followers have commented on this coin's 'comeback story' after years of legal uncertainty.
Final outlook.
And consider the price-increasing aspects of the situation—large acquisitions aside from legal resolutions: Boom: XRP is a prominent candidate among known digital assets. The price has dropped 24% from the all-time high of $3.40 reached in 2018 when things seemed promising, but this shitcoin has a quite clear upward trend in the coming months.