The recent surge in the value of cryptocurrencies over the weekend has turned up positive news for the crypto enthusiast and even more positives for Ethereum fans as the Ether has climbed becomes once again the most valuable altcoin by market capitalization.
Led by Litecoin with about 40 percent increase, the top cryptocurrencies saw posted notable gains during the weekend. Ether, was one of the major gainers in the top 10 as it regained the 2 spots on the cryptocurrency leaderboard several weeks after it was replaced by a then-blazing XRP.
ETH price moved from $103 on Wednesday to as high as $125 on Sunday posting up to 21 percent gain during the period. The surge came in a timely manner as enthusiasts worried that the token will trade at double digits, breaking the $100 support as it did in December.
The market capitalization of Ether (ETH) also grew from just below $11 billion to 13 billion on Sunday, a remarkable surge that saw it overtake Ripple’s XRP for the first time this year.
| Name | Price | 24H % |
|---|---|---|
 | $0.00 | -2.08% |
| Name | Price | 24H % |
|---|---|---|
 | $0.00 | -0.80% |
At the time of writing, Ethereum has slightly corrected and is currently trading at $120.87 with a total market cap of about $12.67 billion according to data from CoinMarketCap. It edges Ripple’s XRP which is trading at $0.3 to the USD with a total market cap of $12.5 billion. Activity around the ether has also increased with the price and market cap. Trading volume increased from about $2.5 billion on Wednesday to 2.8 billion on Friday and $3.2 billion at the peak on Sunday.
Ripple’s XRP on its part has also surged with the rest of the market albeit at a slower pace compared to the ETH. Its market cap grew from 11.9 billion on Wednesday, Feb 6th to $12.7 billion on Sunday. It has since corrected to just under $12.5 billion at the time of writing. Unlike Ethereum, 24-hour trading volume for XRP dropped from 683 million on Friday to $484 million as at press time.
Will Ethereum maintain 2nd Spot?
While Ethereum may have soared in this period, analysts, for the most part, are less confident about Ethereum in the short term. The delays in the launch of its planned upgrade, Constantinople may have added to its decline in the recent past. If it is successful in the new Sept 27 date, ETH price may be boosted.
Ripple XRP may soon surge as it gains more partnerships with financial organizations, especially ones that will integrate its XRP-enabled x-Rapid financial product. As reported, the Compliance and Operations Head at Euro Exim bank, Graham Bright confirmed that the bank has integrated Ripple’s XRP-powered x-Rapid to its system following an agreement in January. Since the difference between the market caps of both cryptocurrencies is slim, it’s anybody’s guess if XRP will overtake ETH again. We’ve seen this play out before.
Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.
