In a recent development, XRP has clinched the coveted fourth position in the cryptocurrency market, overtaking Binance Coin (BNB) in market capitalization. Latest data from CoinMarketCap revealed that XRP now boasts an impressive market cap of $37.61 billion, edging ahead of BNB’s $37.25 billion, which has been relegated to fifth place.
Market cap, the product of a cryptocurrency’s price and circulating supply, is a dynamic metric susceptible to shifts in both price and coin availability. XRP’s recent ascent is primarily driven by a surge in price, trading at $0.6918. The current price marks an astonishing 6.59% surge in the last 24 hours and a 24.14% increase over the past week.
Beyond price and supply, macroeconomic factors, including adoption rates, are wielding influence. Ripple, in light of its U.S. regulatory challenges, has been diversifying its operations globally, finding welcome reception in countries like the UAE and Singapore.
Meanwhile, Binance Coin (BNB) is trading at $244.93, reflecting a marginal 0.14% surge in the last 24 hours and an impressive 7.41% increase over the past seven days. The disparity in market cap, despite the price difference, stems from the contrasting circulating supplies. While BNB circulates 151.70 million coins, XRP boasts a staggering 53.61 billion in circulation.
However, the potential for XRP to surpass BNB in market cap is only partially reliant on these factors. Ripple has been actively advancing its underlying support chain, the BNB Chain, aiming to transition from a fee-generating protocol to a full-fledged DeFi movement.
According to on-chain analysis from Santiment, Ripple’s development activity has surged to an impressive 1.71, while BNB’s has dwindled to a mere 0.036. This disparity underscores the greater dedication of developers to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) compared to the BNB Chain.
As the crypto landscape continues to evolve, the battle for supremacy in market cap rankings remains a dynamic and closely-watched affair, with XRP now firmly established as the fourth-largest player, poised to make further strides in the ever-changing crypto arena.
