For quite a long time, Ripple's XRP took the position of the third largest crypto by market capitalization. Despite the virulent criticism that the project was highly centralized, it managed to gain enough investor's confidence to become the third largest crypto, behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum.
But things soon started to fall apart for Ripple the moment the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against it, alleging that it unlawfully sold unregistered securities. In a flash, investors' confidence was threatened with many, overtaken by the fear of losing all (FOLA), selling off their tokens. By December 2020, the price of XRP had dropped below $0.20 for the first time in about a year. Consequently, it lost its place as the third largest crypto to newcomers such as LINK, BNB, DOT etc.
Nevertheless, the price of XRP has significantly recovered in the past few weeks as rumours of its potential victory in the legal tussle against SEC continues to surface online. Now trading at a startling $1.26, XRP is up 100% in the last one week alone. Obviously, the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) surrounding XRP is now over as investors begin to realize that there is no cause for alarm.
The above notion is further reinforced by the recent victory that Ripple had in court as Judge Sarah Netburn granted it access to SEC documents clearing Bitcoin and Ethereum while denying SEC access to the personal statement of some top Ripple executives. Therefore, Ripple seem to be on the verge of claiming victory in court. Little wonder, XRP has witnessed a massive inflow of capital in the past few weeks.
Now sitting at an estimated market capitalization of $56.5 billion, XRP is fourth largest crypto while Binance coin (BNB) which up 40% in the last one week ranks third and sits at a market capitalization of $72.1 billion. The question then arises, can Ripple Flip BNB to reclaim its original seat? With the present market realities, supposing that the price of BNB remains constant, Ripple only need to spike by about 30% to flip BNB.
And that is very possible and might happen soon when the victory of Ripple at the courts becomes official. If not, BNB would continue its race to overtake Ethereum as it becomes the new generation's destination for decentralized finance and token launching.