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This has been a strange year for the crypto market. Wasn't 2025 supposed to be the year that the world's top cryptocurrencies skyrocketed in value, fueled by all the pro-crypto optimism surrounding the Trump administration? Instead, only a handful of the top 20 cryptocurrencies (as ranked by market cap) are actually up for the year.
Two that particularly stand out are XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Litecoin (CRYPTO: LTC). XRP is up 24% for the year, while Litecoin is up 20% for the year. By way of comparison, Bitcoin is up only 2% for the year. That's an anomaly, given that Bitcoin historically leads the market higher. So how much longer can XRP and Litecoin maintain their momentum?
XRP
Let's start with XRP, which stands out as the clear winner in the crypto market right now. It is the best-performing large-market-cap crypto of 2025. And, over the past three months, it is up a head-spinning 400%.
There's a good reason for this spectacular performance, and it has to do with the pro-crypto, pro-business approach of the Trump administration. Keep in mind: Ripple, the company behind the XRP crypto token, has faced regulatory questions about the status of XRP for more than four years now. A Securities and Exchange Commission court case lodged against Ripple has been ongoing since December 2020.
So the thinking here is that all of these regulatory headaches are going to disappear in 2025. Paul Atkins, the newly appointed pro-crypto head of the SEC, could end the case once and for all. And a new regulatory framework for crypto will make it easier for Ripple to get back to business as usual. All of that bodes well, of course, for XRP, which is the crypto token powering Ripple's blockchain-based payment operations.
XRP has a second major catalyst, as well. This is the anticipated approval of spot XRP ETFs sometime by mid-2025. After the spectacular success of the spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024, it's easy to see why there is so much optimism in the market right now.
One could argue that the arrival of the new spot Bitcoin ETFs was the key reason why Bitcoin more than doubled in price last year. So XRP bulls are clearly hoping that XRP also has the potential to double in price.
In terms of being able to maintain its market momentum past 2025, XRP seems to be in a good position. It would be nice to see a few more positive signals from the Trump administration regarding Ripple and XRP, of course. But it looks like the regulatory shackles are finally coming off this year, and that could send XRP soaring in value for at least the next 12 months.
Litecoin
Just like XRP, Litecoin is being sent higher by anticipation surrounding potential spot ETF approvals. Currently, analysts at Bloomberg think that Litecoin has a 90% chance of gaining approval from the SEC. As a result, Litecoin could become the first cryptocurrency to get a new spot ETF in 2025.
That's the good news. The bad news is that it is unclear just exactly how much demand there is for a Litecoin ETF. If you take a look at a chart comparing the performance of Bitcoin and Litecoin over the past two years, you'll understand why. In that time period, Bitcoin is up 363%, while Litecoin is up only 51%.
And that has generally been the story for Litecoin for much of its nearly 15-year history. Litecoin has historically underperformed Bitcoin, and that's what makes the current period of outperformance such an anomaly. Right now, Litecoin is running circles around Bitcoin, and, if history is any guide, that shouldn't be happening.
So, from my perspective, Litecoin is going to have a hard time maintaining its momentum past 2025. Sure, it might get a bump in price before the new spot ETFs are approved, but that is likely to be short-lived, given how little demand there might be for those ETFs.
What happens to the crypto market in 2025?
Right now, Bitcoin is struggling to get back above the $100,000 mark, and many of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world are in the red. Ethereum is down 20%, and so are many other Layer 1 blockchain networks used to power the blockchain economy.
Against this backdrop, it's easy to see why investors are flocking to XRP and Litecoin. They are just about the only top cryptocurrencies with any momentum behind them right now, and they will likely continue to go up. Both are clear beneficiaries of the buzz and speculation surrounding new spot crypto ETFs.
But just keep your expectations in check: Once Bitcoin gets its mojo back, both XRP and Litecoin may lose some of their appeal. Over the long haul, neither of these two cryptos may be able to keep up with a soaring Bitcoin.
[The Motley Fool]