XRP Briefly Overtakes BNB as Third-Largest Crypto—Wallet Growth Explodes

XRP just pulled off a coup—flipping BNB to claim the #3 market cap spot before retreating. The surge comes as active wallet addresses hit record highs, signaling retail frenzy or another case of ’number go up’ theater.

Behind the pump: Whale movements and exchange listings juiced momentum, while Ripple’s legal wins keep painting XRP as the ’safe’ bet in the regulatory circus. Never mind that ’safe’ in crypto still means 20% daily swings.

Cynic’s corner: Wall Street bankers watching this unfold between martinis—’Ah yes, fundamentals: lawsuit progress and hopium.’

Rising Holder Number Bolsters XRP’s Rally

Without a doubt, XRP has become one of the best-performing digital assets alongside Bitcoin in the ongoing bull market cycle. After climbing rapidly yesterday, Santiment, a market intelligence and on-chain data platform, reported that the altcoin moved to the third position among cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Specifically, the altcoin surpassed Tether (USDT), which has held the position for a lengthy period, to claim the top 3 spot, demonstrating the strength of the recent upward trend. Even though XRP has moved back into the fourth position, reclaiming the top 3 spot is a testament to the increased attention and interest in the asset.

During the time of the report, the altcoin’s price rose above the $2.61 level, marking its highest level in the past month. Santiment pointed out multiple conditions that are responsible for the recent notable upside MOVE to the top 3 crypto and the asset’s price push toward key resistance zones.

The first condition, underlined by the on-chain platform, is US House Bill 594. A bill that would make Missouri the first US state to offer a complete income tax deduction on all capital gains, including profits from bitcoin and XRP.

Another key reason Santiment stated is the recent acceptance of XRP by Travala as a payment method, bolstering its position as a functional utility crypto asset. This acceptance of the asset by Travala also reflects its potential as a long-term financial asset.

A Steady Rise In Non-Empty Wallet Addresses Amid Price Surge

Lastly, Santiment noted that the altcoin‘s short-term upswing into the third position in the overall crypto sector was driven by a significant rise in the number of active wallet addresses. Data from Santiment shows that more than 638,000 non-empty wallets have been added to the network since the beginning of 2025.

The additional 638,000 non-empty wallet addresses imply an over 11% increase thus far in 2025 alone. Currently, XRP’s overall holders are approaching 6.5 million for the first time in the network’s 12+ year history following the newly added 638,000 non-empty wallet addresses.

Since the uptick coincides with price spikes, it demonstrates increasing network activity and investors’ interest, indicating a new stage of adoption for the asset. In a competitive and quickly changing market environment, the growing wallet base may offer the fundamental support required for the asset to maintain its current upside momentum as retail and institutional demand align.

At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.49, indicating a nearly 4% increase in the last 24 hours. Investors’ sentiment has strongly turned bullish, as evidenced by a more than 179% increase in trading volume in the past day.