Ripple Price Leaps Another 32% as FOMO Sets In

The ripple price climbed another 32 percent on Thursday as South Korean traders continued to demonstrate insatiable demand for XRP.

Ripple Price Leaps Another 32 Percent

The ripple price had already climbed by more than 70 percent on Wednesday, primarily due to the news that a group of major banks in South Korea and Japan is conducting a trial using the Ripple blockchain. The surge continued on Thursday, and the ripple price surpassed the $0.60 mark for the first time on the heels of a 32 percent surge.

Source: TradingView/Bitfinex

As was the case on Wednesday, trading volume was heavily concentrated on South Korean exchanges. Bithumb processed more than $1 billion worth of XRP/KRW volume, and fellow Korean exchanges Coinone and Korbit featured prominently as well.

Source: CoinMarketCap

This is because, in South Korea, investment opportunities spread rapidly through word-of-mouth, and, more prominently, social media channels. Investors fear missing out on the opportunity (FOMO), driving the price increasingly higher.

Contributing Factors

Thursday’s rally is likely connected to the recent banking trial announcement, as well as two other contributing factors. As CCN reported, the trial will continue through the month of December, and, if the pilot is successful, cross-border payments between Japan and South Korea will commence at the end of January.

Moreover, although still relatively unknown to retail investors, ripple has gradually been gaining name recognition as new investors educate themselves about the cryptocurrency markets. As Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse pointed out yesterday on Twitter, “XRP” was the eighth most popular Google search term on Wednesday, ranking just below football powerhouse Real Madrid.Finally, ripple will feature prominently on the Friday edition of Nikkei Morning Plus, a popular Japanese morning show. Traders are likely buying XRP today in anticipation that the show will lead new investors to enter the market, as was the case with litecoin’s recent rally.

Featured image from Shutterstock.