- Comments from Elon Musk regarding crypto have uplifted market sentiment, resulting in gains for XRP and Ethereum.
- Increased wallet activity was noted on the XRP Ledger during the SEC’s appeal against Ripple Labs.
Elon Musk, the famous tech visionary and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has long been a supporter of Dogecoin [DOGE], frequently using his platform to promote his favorite digital currency.
However, after being accused of misleading investors through alleged manipulation of DOGE and insider trading, which caused significant financial damages amounting to billions, Musk decided to step back.
On August 29th, though, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan dismissed the federal lawsuit filed against him.
Despite this case being thrown out, Musk has continued to hold back on promoting cryptocurrencies.
Debate ignited by Musk’s mention of XRP
Just when things seemed settled, Elon Musk stirred the pot again by mentioning XRP, the cryptocurrency linked with Ripple, during a town hall event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This occurred during a recent rally for Donald Trump, where an attendee asked about the SEC’s adversarial stance on crypto under the Biden administration and whether Musk believes financial institutions will adopt the XRP Ledger in the future.
In response, Musk stated,
“This is definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement for XRP, but I do think crypto by its very nature helps with individual freedom.”
The impact of Musk’s crypto endorsements
At this same gathering, Musk showed his support by wearing a signature ‘Make America Great Again’ hat and labeling himself as ‘Dark MAGA.’
“As you can see, I am not just MAGA, I’m dark MAGA.”
Consequently, the price of MAGA surged by 20%, while Dark MAGA (DMAGA) experienced an extraordinary rise of 227%, reaching approximately $0.0073.
Moreover, Musk has not only been involved with DOGE and DMAGA but has also promoted various other cryptocurrencies.
For example, he previously shared a post on X showcasing the frog-themed cryptocurrency, Pepe [PEPE], resulting in an impressive 23% price increase.
Overall impact on XRP
It’s critical to point out that instead of focusing solely on XRP, Musk shared his views on cryptocurrencies in general.
He referred to them as an “interesting and likely valuable safeguard against centralized control,” emphasizing their potential for fostering financial independence.
Notably, even without directly endorsing XRP, Musk’s comments about crypto have triggered positive momentum across the market, with Ethereum [ETH] leading the charge with a 4% rise.
Other cryptocurrencies have also experienced similar increases.
According to the latest figures from CoinMarketCap, XRP was trading at $0.5542, marking a 2.41% rise in the last 24 hours and a 3% increase over the week.
Additionally, recent data from Santiment showcased a notable rise in activity on the XRP Ledger, with daily active wallets hitting a three-month high of 35,799 unique addresses participating in at least one XRP transfer.
As expected, the XRP Ledger recorded the creation of 3,858 new wallets in a single day, the highest number of new wallets established in more than seven months.
What does the future hold?
This uptick coincides with the SEC filing a ‘Civil Appeal Pre-Argument Statement’ against Ripple Labs, indicating its plans to appeal a past court decision in the ongoing case.
While Musk didn’t offer a direct endorsement of XRP, his reference to the cryptocurrency may result in a positive effect on the ongoing SEC lawsuit.
Therefore, this renewed interest could signal a brighter future for XRP, which has been grappling with a prolonged bearish market.
