XRP (XRP +0.96%) is up nearly 8% in the last 24 hours on Monday as of 5:39 p.m. ET, reaching above $1.50. The S&P 500 finished the day up 1%.
A flight to safety?
The move tracks the broader crypto market and Bitcoin, which has spent the past two weeks behaving less like a speculative asset and more like a hedge against global uncertainty. Bitcoin is up more than 13% since the war in Iran began, while stocks across the board have fallen.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
Ripple is partnering with Mastercard
There is also a Ripple-specific tailwind worth noting. On March 11, Mastercard launched its Crypto Partner Program with more than 85 companies, and Ripple -- the company behind XRP -- was named as a launch partner. The program targets cross-border payments and business-to-business settlements.
XRP is struggling to match Ripple's wins
Image source: Getty Images.
Still, XRP is down more than 60% from its $3.65 peak last July. While Ripple the company continues to land real partnerships, the connection between Ripple's success and XRP token demand remains the weakest link in the investment thesis -- banks can and do use Ripple's payment tech without ever touching XRP. And this disconnect has been on full display in recent months.
