XRP Surges 11% on High South Korean Trading Volumes as Crypto Market Kicks Off 2025 Strong

XRP saw a significant 11% gain on Thursday, leading the charge among major cryptocurrencies, bolstered by a surge in trading volumes from South Korean exchanges. A CoinDesk analysis earlier this week pointed out that the unusually high activity on platforms like UpBit, which saw $1.3 billion in trading volume, has historically signaled increased volatility, often skewed toward upward price movements.

The rise in XRP’s price comes as Bitcoin (BTC) and other leading cryptocurrencies enter 2025 with a renewed sense of optimism. Bitcoin rose above $95,000, shaking off the previous week’s losses. The positive momentum for the broader crypto market is being fueled by expectations of a more favorable regulatory environment under the incoming U.S. administration, with President-elect Donald Trump promising crypto-friendly policies and potential initiatives like a strategic bitcoin reserve.

Other major cryptocurrencies followed XRP’s lead, with Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and Chainlink (LINK) each gaining as much as 8%. Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB) saw more modest increases of 3%, while meme-based tokens Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) rose by 5%. As a result, the CoinDesk 20 index, which tracks the 20 largest digital assets excluding stablecoins, rose 5.8%, reflecting a strong start to the year for the market overall.

Looking ahead, there’s growing optimism around the potential effects of the upcoming Bitcoin halving event in 2024, which historically has led to bullish trends in the market. The halving reduces the supply of new bitcoins entering circulation, and the crypto market generally follows a four-year cycle influenced by these events. Analysts expect key sectors like memecoins, AI-driven projects, and real-world assets to lead the charge this cycle.

Beyond the typical market cycles, research from firms like Galaxy Research points to increasing institutional adoption of bitcoin in 2025. The firm forecasts that five Nasdaq-100 companies and five nation-states will incorporate bitcoin into their portfolios. Galaxy’s targets for the year include a price of $185,000 for Bitcoin and $5,500 for Ether (ETH).

QCP Capital, based in Singapore, shared similar expectations, noting that January may see institutional reallocations driving stronger demand for Bitcoin. “With Bitcoin now widely adopted by institutions, we expect allocations to increase, reinforcing its dominance and stabilizing price movements,” QCP wrote in a recent Telegram update. “This shift will likely reduce volatility, aligning Bitcoin’s behavior more closely with traditional equities.”

Some experts believe that Bitcoin’s increasing institutional adoption will lead to a decrease in its famed volatility, opening the door for further mainstream acceptance and investment.

Augustine Fan, head of insights at SOFA, explained, “The correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 remains one of the strongest indicators as we approach the end of 2024. Bitcoin is steadily moving toward becoming a mainstream asset class. As its volatility decreases, it will provide greater diversification benefits and alpha to traditional investment portfolios.”

Fan added, “As crypto matures, we expect volatility to continue to decline, aligning Bitcoin and other digital assets more with traditional asset classes, which is a trend we have seen in other markets.”