Today in crypto, Ripple’s XRP flipped both Tether and Solana’s market cap, while an analyst warns it could be “leverage driven,” and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have maintained their monthly sales momentum, surging by 57.8% in November as digital collectibles continue to recover.
Analyst warns of “leverage driven” XRP pump as token flips Tether
Analysts warn Ripple’s native XRP token could be experiencing a “leverage-driven” pump as the price of the asset soars to reach levels not seen since 2021.
In a Dec. 1 post on X, CryptoQuant analyst Maarten Regterschot noted that open interest in XRP (XRP) — a measure of open derivatives positions — had spiked massively in the last 24 hours, warning that sharp upticks can result in a quick sell-off.
“Open Interest is up 37% already — watch for volatility. The last similar event led to a -17% drawdown,” said Maartuun, adding:
“Stay sharp, manage risk accordingly.”
According to data from CoinGlass, open interest in XRP has skyrocketed 30% in the last 24 hours to reach a total of $4 billion across major exchanges and trading platforms.
On Dec. 1, XRP flipped by Solana by market capitalization and has since surged past Tether as well, making it now the third-largest crypto asset by total value.
XRP flips Solana market cap
Ripple’s XRP flipped Solana’s market capitalization on Dec. 1. At the time of writing, this makes XRP the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, right beneath stablecoin issuer Tether.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows XRP now has a considerable $122 billion market cap, compared to Solana’s current market capitalization of approximately $111.9 billion.
XRP has been on a historic rally since mid-November 2024, climbing as high as $2.19 per token, price levels not seen for seven years.
The rally can be attributed to several factors, including Ripple Labs signing key partnerships, the potential approval of an XRP ETF in the United States, and the likely approval of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
NFTs hit $562 million in monthly sales volumes, recording a six-month high
NFTs had a monthly sales volume of over $562 million in November, surpassing October’s record of $356 million.
On Dec. 1, data company CryptoSlam showed that NFTs recorded $562 million in sales in November, a substantial increase in volume from October. CryptoSlam data also indicates that November’s monthly sales volume for NFTs is the highest since May, when digital collectibles had a $599 million sales volume.
Despite the surge, NFT monthly volumes are still far from their peak in 2024. In March, digital collectible sales volumes recorded a yearly high of $1.6 billion. However, this was followed by a seven-month slump, with each month’s sales volume decreasing until it reached its lowest point since 2021.
As the broader crypto markets surged, popular NFT collection CryptoPunks also had an impressive record in November. According to crypto data website DefiLlama, the NFT collection had a floor price of 26.3 Ether on Nov. 1. By Nov. 30, CryptoPunks’ floor price had risen to 39.7 ETH, worth about $147,000 at current market prices.
