This has been a wierd 12 months for the crypto market. Wasn’t 2025 alleged to be the 12 months that the world’s high cryptocurrencies skyrocketed in worth, fueled by all of the pro-crypto optimism surrounding the Trump administration? As an alternative, solely a handful of the highest 20 cryptocurrencies (as ranked by market cap) are literally up for the 12 months.
Two that significantly stand out are XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Litecoin (CRYPTO: LTC). XRP is up 24% for the 12 months, whereas Litecoin is up 20% for the 12 months. By means of comparability, Bitcoin is up solely 2% for the 12 months. That is an anomaly, on condition that Bitcoin traditionally leads the market increased. So how for much longer can XRP and Litecoin keep their momentum?
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XRP
Let’s begin with XRP, which stands out because the clear winner within the crypto market proper now. It’s the best-performing large-market-cap crypto of 2025. And, over the previous three months, it’s up a head-spinning 400%.
There is a good cause for this spectacular efficiency, and it has to do with the pro-crypto, pro-business method of the Trump administration. Have in mind: Ripple, the corporate behind the XRP crypto token, has confronted regulatory questions in regards to the standing of XRP for greater than 4 years now. A Securities and Trade Fee courtroom case lodged in opposition to Ripple has been ongoing since December 2020.
So the considering right here is that every one of those regulatory complications are going to vanish in 2025. Paul Atkins, the newly appointed pro-crypto head of the SEC, may finish the case as soon as and for all. And a brand new regulatory framework for crypto will make it simpler for Ripple to get again to enterprise as ordinary. All of that bodes properly, in fact, for XRP, which is the crypto token powering Ripple’s blockchain-based fee operations.
Picture supply: Getty Photos.
XRP has a second main catalyst, as properly. That is the anticipated approval of spot XRP ETFs someday by mid-2025. After the spectacular success of the spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024, it is easy to see why there’s a lot optimism out there proper now.
One may argue that the arrival of the brand new spot Bitcoin ETFs was the important thing cause why Bitcoin greater than doubled in worth final 12 months. So XRP bulls are clearly hoping that XRP additionally has the potential to double in worth.
By way of with the ability to keep its market momentum previous 2025, XRP appears to be in a superb place. It will be good to see a number of extra optimistic indicators from the Trump administration relating to Ripple and XRP, in fact. But it surely appears to be like just like the regulatory shackles are lastly coming off this 12 months, and that would ship XRP hovering in worth for a minimum of the subsequent 12 months.
Litecoin
Identical to XRP, Litecoin is being despatched increased by anticipation surrounding potential spot ETF approvals. Presently, analysts at Bloomberg assume that Litecoin has a 90% probability of gaining approval from the SEC. Because of this, Litecoin may grow to be the primary cryptocurrency to get a brand new spot ETF in 2025.
That is the excellent news. The unhealthy information is that it’s unclear simply precisely how a lot demand there’s for a Litecoin ETF. If you happen to check out a chart evaluating the efficiency of Bitcoin and Litecoin over the previous two years, you will perceive why. In that point interval, Bitcoin is up 363%, whereas Litecoin is up solely 51%.
Bitcoin / U.S. dollar chart by TradingView
And that has typically been the story for Litecoin for a lot of its practically 15-year historical past. Litecoin has historically underperformed Bitcoin, and that is what makes the present interval of outperformance such an anomaly. Proper now, Litecoin is operating circles round Bitcoin, and, if historical past is any information, that should not be taking place.
So, from my perspective, Litecoin goes to have a tough time sustaining its momentum previous 2025. Positive, it would get a bump in worth earlier than the brand new spot ETFs are accredited, however that’s prone to be short-lived, given how little demand there could be for these ETFs.
What occurs to the crypto market in 2025?
Proper now, Bitcoin is struggling to get again above the $100,000 mark, and lots of the most beneficial cryptocurrencies on the planet are within the pink. Ethereum is down 20%, and so are many different Layer 1 blockchain networks used to energy the blockchain economic system.
In opposition to this backdrop, it is easy to see why buyers are flocking to XRP and Litecoin. They’re nearly the one high cryptocurrencies with any momentum behind them proper now, and they’re going to probably proceed to go up. Each are clear beneficiaries of the excitement and hypothesis surrounding new spot crypto ETFs.
However simply hold your expectations in test: As soon as Bitcoin will get its mojo again, each XRP and Litecoin could lose a few of their attraction. Over the lengthy haul, neither of those two cryptos could possibly sustain with a hovering Bitcoin.
Do you have to make investments $1,000 in XRP proper now?
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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Idiot has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the writer and don’t essentially mirror these of Nasdaq, Inc.