Ripple Overtakes Bitcoin Cash to Become the Third Largest Cryptocurrency

Ripple has overtaken Bitcoin Cash to become the third largest cryptocurrency in the market with a $31 billion market cap, after recording a 47 percent increase in value within the past 24 hours.

Up 45% Within the Past 24 Hours

Over the past two days, the daily trading volume of Ripple surpassed that of all cryptocurrencies in the market apart from bitcoin. On December 15, the daily trading volume of Ripple doubled that of Ethereum.

Previously CCN reported that the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange market pushed the price of Ripple up 71 percent within a single day, triggered by the collaboration between Japanese and South Korean banks to test Ripple blockchain technology-based payment solutions.

Takashi Okita, the CEO at SBI Ripple Asia, emphasized in an official statement that in the upcoming months, Ripple Labs will continue to deploy and test its solutions and blockchain infrastructure in Japan and South Korea.

“South Korea is one of the most active markets worldwide when it comes to blockchain innovation and trading of digital assets. With trade flows into and out of the country totaling $960 billion every year, we also see a high end growing demand for Ripple’s frictionless payments solution in the country,” said Okita.

Following the announcement of Okita and the finalization of strategic partnership between South Korean and Japanese banks, the price of Ripple surged by more than 100 percent within a three-day span. Over the past 24 hours, the price of Ripple increased from $0.56 to $0.81, by more than 45 percent.

Centralization of Trading Volume in South Korea

The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange market and the vast majority of investors within it tend to be moved by FOMO, or fear of missing out. When the value of a cryptocurrency begins to surge at a rapid rate, everyone else in the market rushes to invest in it.

Any cryptocurrency with a strong base within the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange market tend to surge or decline in large margins, as seen in the case of Ripple, Monero, and Bitcoin Cash. On some days, these cryptocurrencies increase by more than 50 percent in value.

At the time of reporting, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb accounts for more than 31 percent of global Ripple trades. Other major local exchanges including Korbit and Coinone account for an additional 12 percent.

Bithumb alone has a higher trading volume of Ripple than that of Poloniex, Bittrex, Bitfinex, Binance, Bitstamp, and Bitfinex combined.

In the short-term, Ripple’s centralization of trading volume in South Korea could become an issue, as the South Korean government is planning to impose strict regulations on the local cryptocurrency exchange market in the upcoming weeks.

As CCN reported on December 14, the South Korean government is expected to introduce policies on restricting individual investors and non accredited traders in investing in cryptocurrencies.

“In the short-term excessive regulations on preventing underaged investors and institutional traders from investing in bitcoin could negatively affect the price trend and demand for cryptocurrencies in the South Korean market.”