Ripple’s (XRP) price rallied by 25% in the last 24 hours following Gary Gensler’s announcement that he would resign as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair on January 20, 2025.

This development comes as a relief to the popular “XRP Army,” which has had to deal with suppressed price action due to the Gensler-led SEC’s nonstop petitions against Ripple. But that is not all that happened. 

Ripple Bears Face Notable Liquidation Following Gensler’s Notification

Gensler’s announcement appears to be a positive development for the broader crypto market. But XRP holders seemed to benefit the most. This was particularly significant given the unresolved Ripple-SEC legal issues that have persisted throughout the SEC Chair’s tenure.

As a result, it came as no surprise that XRP price rallied and outpaced those of any other cryptocurrency in the top 10. Furthermore, the development triggered liquidations totaling $26.11 million over the last 24 hours.

Liquidation occurs when a trader fails to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position. This forces the exchange to sell off their assets to prevent further losses. In XRP’s case, the liquidation primarily resulted in a short squeeze.

A short squeeze happens when a large number of short positions (traders betting on price declines) are forced to close, driving the price higher as they rush back to buy back the asset.

At press time, XRP trades at $1.40 and currently has a market cap of $80.64 billion. With Gensler almost gone, crypto lawyer John Deaton noted that XRP price gains could be higher, and the market cap could climb to $100 billion.

“XRP soon will achieve a $100B market cap. Times are changing,” Deaton wrote on X.

Meanwhile, CryptoQuant data shows that the total number of XRP sent into exchange has significantly decreased. Typically, high values indicate increased selling pressure in the spot market. This is because it suggests that more assets are being offloaded, potentially driving prices lower.

However, since it is low, XRP holders are refraining from selling. If this remains the case, the token’s value could rise higher than $1.40.

XRP Price Prediction: $2 Coming?

According to the 4-hour chart, XRP has been trading within a range of $1.04 to $1.17 since November 18. This sideways movement has resulted in the formation of a bull flag — a bullish chart pattern that signals potential upward momentum.

The bull flag begins with a sharp price surge, forming the flagpole, driven by significant buying pressure that outpaces sellers. This is followed by a consolidation phase, where the price retraces slightly and moves within parallel trendlines, creating the flag structure.

Yesterday, XRP broke out of this pattern, signaling that bulls have seized control of the market. If this momentum persists, XRP’s price could surpass $1.50, potentially approaching the $2 threshold.

However, this bullish scenario hinges on market behavior. If holders decide to secure profits, selling pressure could push XRP’s price below $1, erasing recent gains.

On Friday, Solana (SOL) soared to a new all-time high (ATH), now trading at approximately $261. This breakthrough surpasses its previous peak set in November 2021.

Solana’s rise to a new ATH marks an increase of over 32 times from its lows recorded in December 2022.

Solana Hits All-Time High as Gary Gensler Plans Resignation

Solana’s path to this new high has been anything but smooth. After reaching its previous high in 2021, the platform faced a downturn in 2022 amid a broader crypto bear market, further exacerbated by technical issues and network downtimes.

The collapse of FTX in November 2022 pushed Solana’s price down to around $8.

However, Solana has since made a remarkable recovery, increasing more than 32-fold from its low. Now, Solana enthusiasts believe that SOL could eventually outpace Ethereum (ETH) in market capitalization.

“Solana has been at an all-time high by market cap for a while actually. Now, we’re finally in price discovery. The flippening is coming,” Birch, the founder of PathCrypto, said.

The surge in Solana’s market value coincides with the news of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s planned resignation, slated for January 20, 2025, as Donald Trump assumes office.

Known for his strict regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies, Gensler’s departure signals a potential shift toward a more crypto-friendly administration. Consequently, this political change is stoking speculations about the approval of a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the SEC has begun engaging with issuers to explore the possibility of a Solana ETF.

“Talks between SEC staff and issuers looking to launch a Solana spot ETF are “progressing” with the SEC now engaging on S-1 applications. Recent engagement from staff, coupled with the incoming pro-crypto administration, is sparking a renewed sense of optimism that a Solana ETF could be approved sometime in 2025,” Terrett claimed.

Previous efforts to launch a Solana ETF were stalled by regulatory roadblocks, often stopping early in the process. However, the changing political environment and the SEC’s increased openness have reignited hopes within the crypto community. Recent filings for a Solana ETF by Canary Capital and BitWise reflect a growing interest and anticipation for regulatory approval.

Despite these encouraging developments, the odds of a Solana ETF approval in 2024 remain low, with Polymarket estimates placing it at around 4%.

Meanwhile, the crypto community is also closely watching Bitcoin as it approaches the highly anticipated $100,000 mark. On Friday, Bitcoin recorded a new high of about $99,300. This milestone is viewed as a pivotal moment for Bitcoin and could impact other cryptocurrencies, including Solana.