Throughout most of the history of the cryptocurrency industry, Bitcoin has overwhelmingly dominated headlines. This extends even through the beginning of this year, as the price of the major digital currency has climbed to new peaks over and over again. Still, investors are wise to look also to some of the other players in the cryptocurrency field, and particularly those that are gaining traction on Bitcoin when it comes to market capitalization. Specifically, Ethereum and Ripple are the second- and third-largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization as of this time, and there are reasons to believe that both of these currencies are on the rise. Ethereum has seen its share of the market capitalization for the industry grow considerably in the past four months. Will Ripple also see significant gains?
Ripple Lacks Momentum of Ethereum and Bitcoin in Recent Weeks
XRP, the native currency of the Ripple network, reached a record high on May 17 after a major rally before dropping over the next 10 days. By May 27, XRP had bottomed out, along with the broader field of cryptocurrencies. What has happened since then is more revealing: ether, the currency token for Ethereum, has gained about 200% while Bitcoin has climbed by 45%. Ripple, on the other hand, has seen its value essentially stay sideways since that time.
According to analysis by Elliott Wave Forecast, in spite of a 40% drop since June 1, XRP appears to be reaching a short-term extreme area at equal legs, providing a floor for buyers who are likely to appear for a 3 waves bounce. Elliott Wave analysts predict XRP may be able to rally for new all-time highs.
Ripple Offers Unique Transaction Processing
One of the key elements of the Ripple structure which may be able to set it apart from other cryptocurrencies is its payment and transaction infrastructure. Ripple eliminates time delays in order to ensure that transactions can be settled in real time. This keeps transaction costs down and helps to open up new revenue opportunities for banks and other customers. The issues of transaction processing time and fees are key to the cryptocurrency industry, particularly as Bitcoin struggles with these challenges. In Bitcoin's case, the issue is one of scaling, as the original code for the currency, much of which is still in use, has not properly accounted for the size of the current customer base and transaction load. If an alternative like Ripple can attract enough attention in the broader digital currency market, it may possess the infrastructure to displace a behemoth like Bitcoin. For the time being, however, the Ripple rally has yet to take place.
By Nathan Reiff | June 19, 2017 — 12:22 PM EDT