The departure of Gary Gensler from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has coincided with a powerful rally in XRP, the cryptocurrency at the heart of a long-standing legal battle with the regulator he once led.
On January 20, 2025, the day Gensler officially stepped down as SEC Chair, XRP was trading at $2.95. As of July 18, the token has surged to $3.41, marking a 15.42% gain over six months.
That means a $1,000 investment in XRP on the day Gensler exited the SEC is now worth $1,154, netting a return of $154 in just under 180 days.
This follows months of bullish momentum that began building after Gensler’s resignation announcement back in November 2024, when XRP was trading around $1.10. From that November 21 price level, XRP has now climbed over 209%.
XRP trading volume
In parallel, XRP’s trading volume has remained elevated. Over the last 24 hours, the token saw $22.81 billion in trading activity, up 91% compared to the previous day while its market cap has topped $201.8 billion, placing it firmly as the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap, behind only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
On-chain data from Santiment and Ali Martinez recently showed that whales holding between 100 million and 1 billion XRP have been aggressively adding to their positions, driving both price and market cap upward.
Moreover, XRP’s price action since January shows a breakout from months of consolidation, firmly decoupling from broader crypto stagnation and rising nearly 490% year-over-year.
While correlation doesn’t equal causation, the timing of Gensler’s resignation and XRP’s subsequent price surge has not gone unnoticed by market watchers. With the SEC’s posture toward digital assets now in flux and the broader market continuing to rally, many investors view XRP as a strategic bet on regulatory normalization and institutional acceptance.
As of July 18, XRP is trading at $3.41, just under its all-time high of $3.84 set in January 2018. If the current momentum holds and ETF optimism spreads beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP may soon challenge its historical peak, making that $1,000 bet from January look even smarter in hindsight.
