The rise in the price of XRP, can it continue to compete in the digital asset market?

Recently, the price of XRP broke the $3 barrier, hitting its highest level since 2018, making it the leader in the digital currency market for 2025. In just 15 days, its price rose by 63%, outperforming the other top ten digital currencies.
Currently, the price of the digital asset XRP is very close to its all-time high of $3.4, with a market value of $1.9 trillion, successfully surpassing asset management giant BlackRock. Behind this tremendous increase, there are expectations of friendly policies towards digital assets and a push for reforming digital asset regulation in the United States. For many years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has engaged in a fierce legal battle with Ripple over the sale of XRP tokens, and now it seems that everything is moving in a positive direction for XRP.
According to Diego Cardenas, a digital asset trader at Abra platform, the rise of XRP can be attributed to the increasing number of partnership collaborations, the launch of the stablecoin RLPUSD, and speculations about potential ETF funds for underlying assets. Monica Long, CEO of Ripple, also expected that ETF funds for underlying assets will soon be approved, and the new US government will accelerate this process. Ripple's leadership has already been in direct communication with the incoming US government, indicating the possibility of collaboration between the two sides in shaping a favorable regulatory environment for digital assets.
It's worth noting that the rise in XRP price corresponds with continued accumulation by "whales" who own 1 million to 10 million tokens. Analysis firm Santiment noted that these whales have increased their holdings by 1.4 billion XRP, worth around $3.8 billion, since November 12. Even during price stability, they continue to accumulate.
In addition, XRP has also surpassed Bitcoin in Google search popularity. The global search volume for XRP exceeded that of Bitcoin on January 15th, marking the second time it has happened in the past year. Analysts believe that the rise in XRP price is primarily attributed to investors in physical commodities, rather than the derivatives market. Dom, one of the order flow analysts, pointed out that the cost of funds and the actual purchase price have not risen significantly during the 15% price increase of XRP.
Some sectors believe that if the two assets continue to rise at a similar percentage, XRP's performance may surpass Ethereum. Jith, the founder of Sophron, says that holding Ethereum now "there is no reason for that" because XRP has received positive regulatory support, and the first US government to support digital currencies is about to take office.
Technically, XRP shows strong growth indicators. After a 105% increase at the end of 2024, it surpassed the multi-flag pattern. However, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 79.5, indicating that the token is already overbought and may experience a temporary decline or sideways trading. Nevertheless, technical analyst Dark Defender remains optimistic about XRP's long-term prospects. Based on Fibonacci retracement levels from the 2017 high, it is believed that the price of XRP could reach $10.23 or even $18.23 in the short term. These targets could be achieved by 2025, making people eagerly anticipate the future of XRP.