The XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) token is one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world. Valued at a market cap of US$37.9 billion, XRP is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency globally, at the time of writing. Similar to most other digital assets, XRP has increased investor wealth exponentially in the past decade.
In fact, the XRP token has risen by 18,500% in less than nine years. However, it’s also down 74% from all-time highs, after trading near $3.05 per token in 2018. Right now, the XRP token is priced at $0.7866.
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XRP has failed to impress investors since 2018
XRP is the cryptocurrency of Ripple, which is a decentralized payments platform created by Ripple Labs. Ripple aims to replace the traditional banking system by enabling users to transfer money at a low cost with a transaction finality of fewer than five seconds.
However, XRP has grossly underperformed the border cryptocurrency market in the last four years. While peer cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum reclaimed record highs in 2020 on the back of widespread adoption, XRP has underwhelmed investors.
One key reason is the lawsuit filed by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) which accuses Ripple’s management team of carrying out an unregistered securities offering totaling US$1.3 billion via distribution of the XRP token.
Market participants and experts expect the verdict to favour Ripple, which should drive XRP prices higher. But there is another game-changing cryptocurrency you need to watch out for right now.
The bull case for Terra
A blockchain protocol, Terra (CRYPTO: LUNA), is the ninth-largest cryptocurrency in the world, valued at US$36.57 billion, by market cap. The Terra blockchain integrates the price stability of stablecoins and the decentralized nature of Bitcoin to offer a fast and affordable payments system.
Earlier this week, LongHash Ventures, an investment fund, announced a partnership with Terraform Labs. Here, LongHash will launch the LongHashX Accelerator Terra cohort to expand the Terra ecosystem. The cohort will commence in June 2022 when DeFi protocols with solid potential will receive investments via the LongHash network.
LongHash has partnered with other blockchains including Algorand, Polkadot, and Filecoin in the past. It has accelerated protocols such as Zapper, Balancer, and Mintable as well.
In addition to Terra, 10 other projects will join the accelerator program and receive up to US$500,000 in funding. These protocols will also be advised across functions such as product strategy, tokenomics, governance, community building, and fundraising.
While most cryptocurrencies are trading 40% lower than all-time highs, Terra recently touched record prices last month. The LUNA token surged higher in March after the CEO of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, disclosed plans to purchase US$10 billion worth of Bitcoin over time which will be used as a reserve currency and support the TerraUSD stablecoin.
Kwon expects the investment in BTC will open a new monetary era of the Bitcoin standard, making TerraUSD an ideal digital asset as a P2P (peer-to-peer) electronic cash that is easier to spend and attractive to hold.
The price of LUNA gained over 10,000% in 2021 and is well-positioned to move higher in the upcoming decade.
