My cryptocurrency no. 1 To Buy Now That Donald Trump Won The Election (Hint: Not Bitcoin)

Cryptocurrency stakeholders got exactly what they wanted with Donald Trump’s election win. The price of Bitcoin it is at all-time highs of over $85,000. Trump has positioned himself as an advocate for crypto, promising regulatory reforms. I expect the sector to continue to go higher. While I’m sure Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies will benefit as many tokens tend to move in parallel, my no. 1 to buy after Trump win is not Bitcoin.

Escaping regulatory uncertainty and gaining more exposure

Although Bitcoin has almost doubled this year, the price of XRP (XRP 9.74%) decreased by about 2%. Ripple Labs founders Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen created XRP in 2012. Initially, the primary use case for Ripple and XRP was to streamline cross-border payments with near-real-time settlements that cut out the middleman needed in banking transactions.

XRP, however, has struggled since becoming the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit. The SEC sued Ripple, Garlinghouse, and Larsen, alleging that they sold XRP as unregistered value in 2012. Cryptocurrency stakeholders and industry watchers closely monitored the case because it had ramifications for how much authority should regulate SEC. cryptocurrencies as securities. Ripple and its founders won the case, but SEC appealed parts of the court decision.

Trump has vowed to try to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler “on day one” if elected. Gensler led the charge in the Ripple lawsuit and many see him as an obstacle to crypto progress. As a face of this important and lengthy process, XRP should benefit if Gensler is removed, which is looking increasingly likely.

Gensler also instituted Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, which requires banks to treat cryptoassets they hold in custody for clients as liabilities on their balance sheets. This has effectively prevented many banks from offering crypto services, as they would have higher capital and liquidity requirements and likely come under closer scrutiny from regulators. The deregulation of SAB-121 could increase the number of financial institutions willing to protect crypto assets.

It is also possible that a more crypto-friendly administration will pave the way for the debut of XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at sight. In early 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved after a lengthy application and approval process. Such funds buy and hold Bitcoins, then issue shares based on how many Bitcoins they hold. Bitcoin ETFs are easier for investors to buy than Bitcoin itself, expanding access to the asset. They have also increased the demand for Bitcoin because they need to buy Bitcoin and hold it when investors add money to ETFs. Ethereum ETFs have followed Bitcoin funds to approval, and some entities have already filed for spot XRP ETFs. Ripple CEO Garlinghouse has previously said that an XRP spot ETF is “inevitable”.

XRP is a buy

XRP is a buy for all the reasons listed above. The regulatory glut it has faced for years could finally dissipate next year, an XRP spot ETF could be approved, and the token has underperformed so it could have more runway to rise once start. XRP also has a solid use case and fixed token supply, making it a potential hedge against inflation. Don’t get me wrong, investors don’t see XRP as Bitcoin, but I’d rather invest in a cryptocurrency with a fixed supply than one that never stops mining new tokens. Economists expect Trump’s policies to be inflationary and add to the country’s national debt, so assets with deflationary attributes could benefit in the long run.