Embroiled for two years in a legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American company Ripple has become a shadow of its former self. Its supporters are hoping that the end of the legal proceedings, which could have a favourable outcome, will enable it to get back on its feet. But is this really possible? A look back at one of the most divisive projects in the crypto ecosystem.

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Old-timers still remember the incredible rise of the XRP token during 2017 🚀

In the space of a year, the crypto developed by the US company Ripple had risen by 55.000% (yes yes) to reach $130 billion in capitalisation, just behind the king of the market, Bitcoin, which had come close to $300 billion for the first time!

At the time, Ripple was at the top. Several of the company's products began to be tested by major international banks such as UniCredit, UBS and Santander, which were looking to learn about blockchain technology.

In France, Crédit agricole even experimented with its services to transfer funds between France and Switzerland.

But this enchanted interlude has since closed...

Today, XRP has fallen back into line without ever regaining its 2018 level. Worse: it is currently trading well below its level at the time (20 billion in capitalisation), when the rest of the market has held up much better.

How can such a gap be explained? 🤔

Grégory Raymond

Gregory Raymond is a French journalist specializing in economics and cryptocurrencies, currently head of research at The Big Whale.

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